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Turn off the Television

With the weather forecast finally offering something reasonable, now is the time to get outdoors and take advantage of the variety of recreation opportunities Central Oregon has to offer. The following is the NewWest.Net/Bend guide to getting out of the house and exploring the earth. No excuses. Step outside and do something. Please enjoy.

Hiking

Because it's still early in the summer that feels more like early spring, start with an easy stroll to loosen the legs. We suggest traveling a few miles outside of town to Shevlin Park. Here there are more than 650 acres of hiking trails to explore. Most of the trails follow Tumalo Creek and are spread across fairly-level ground. A mixture of Aspen and Ponderosa trees are host to numerous wildlife species, including deer and bear.
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House Denial

A bill that would have continued to give money to Western schools, roads and public safety for the next four years was denied today by the House because Republicans sided with "already profit-rich oil and gas companies," according to one Oregon senator.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., was vividly distraught when the timber program he diligently supported was denied by the House.

As a result of the bill’s shut down, many counties in southwest Oregon and other areas in the West are about to lay off employees by the hundreds, DeFazio said. [more]

Trash With No Home

A wise, slightly disturbed and possibly insane friend of mine once told me the following statement when I ran out of beer and asked him for one: “Don’t make your problem, my problem.”

And that’s the first notion that popped into my head when I heard about Hawaii’s plans to start dumping trash in the Pacific Northwest, including a landfill in eastern Oregon.

Hawaii's largest city, Honolulu, is apparently unable to find enough room its trash and is thus looking to barge its garbage to the Northwest and ship it up the Columbia River.

Are you kidding me?

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When Bears Get Shot And Go Bad

It was supposed to be a normal day.

And then things just got strange.

An Oregon man was mauled by a bear during the weekend after a friend of his shot the animal and left it staggering about the wilderness.

An Oregon State Police Trooper tells the Roseburg News-Review that 33-year-old Aaron Wyckoff had bite and scratch marks "on his ankle and on his forehead, and everywhere in between."

The bear that attacked Wyckoff is believed to be the same bear shot earlier in the day by 15-year-old Chris Moen, Wyckoff’s friend. [more]

Geothermal Power Production

If the West is truly going to make a difference in America’s pursuit for renewable energy, those concerned with protecting every tree, every body of water and every parcel of land from Denver to Portland must step aside and allow certain methods of research and development to begin.

A perfect example of this lies below the Newberry Crater near Bend. Heralded as one of the best geothermal resources in the world, the fiery mother lode resting beneath the caldera could produce enough electricity to light up 80,000 homes in the West (okay, in California).

Geologists and modern-day miners have been researching the potential for renewable energy at Newberry Crater for more than 30 years. Outrageous financial costs to dig in the area and environmental concerns have always been a road block in tapping into Newberry.

Until now.
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30,000 Acres Of ATV-less Freedom

A 30,000-acre parcel of land east of Bend will officially be declared as a wilderness area in the coming weeks, bringing joy to those who have spent years pushing for the federal designation, and disgust to those who would like to use the area for off road vehicle recreation.

Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., traveled Tuesday to Central Oregon's Badlands, as the area is known, to announce that he will introduce legislation that will designate the area as a national wilderness. Wyden said the wilderness bill will be officially introduced when he returns to Washington.

During the past several years thousands of Central Oregonians, including more than two hundred local businesses, have strived to designate the Badlands as a wilderness area. It’s impressive that locals concerned with protecting Central Oregon are not only focused on the Cascades and other lands already within the millions of acres of national forest near Bend.
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Living Through Live Music

The first musician I saw perform live was Raffi. The show took place in the late 1980s at a large theater in Des Moines, Iowa. I don’t remember much about the music, but images of a man with a guitar and a beard singing peaceful songs about whales and polkas remain with me. And I remember eating popcorn while he sang. And I remember it all seeming very pleasant.

Nearly two decades have passed since the Raffi concert. In that time I’ve seen some the world’s finest musicians perform. I’ve rocked out to Neil Young, danced to the beats of Ben Harper, sang along with Joan Baez as she belted out “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” been entranced with Bela Fleck and his crew, tripped out with Radiohead, gawked at Lucinda Williams, spit with Michael Stipe, screamed with Okkervil River and so much more.

And despite all the greatness I associate with live music, the image of this passed-out guy is how I always feel at the end of things. I came across this snoring angel at the Sasquatch Music Festival held at the Gorge Amphitheater during Memorial Day Weekend. Despite the glory I found from the music and the madness, this is how I left feeling.
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Get in touch with the live music within

If you’re a live-music junkie and live in the West, there’s no better place to during Memorial Day Weekend than at the Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge in Washington.

Acts ranging from the likes of Okkervil River, Modest Mouse, R.E.M., The Cure, Cold War Kids, Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips, The Presidents of the United States of America are just the tip of the bliss at Sasquatch! this year.

Now in its seventh year, Sasquatch! is the West’s equivalent of the giant festival Bonnaroo, held each summer in Tennessee. [more]

Beauty And The Beast

There’s always been a sense of allure that follows the vibrations of Scarlett Johansson’s voice. It’s husky. It’s mysterious. It’s all the way sexy.

That’s why I was fascinated and anxious last fall when I heard Johansson was planning to release an album covering songs of one my favorite musicians, Mr. Tom Waits.

The actress-turned singer released her debut album “Anywhere I Lay My Head,” a collection of Waits covers, this week.

I’ve listened to “Anywhere I Lay My Head” about a dozen times through during the past two days, and I proudly admit that I’m falling down with love for it. [more]

Shakedown On The Slopes

The Utah-based Powdr Corp., owners of Mt. Bachelor ski area, fired four top officials at the Central Oregon resort after a disappointing number of people chose to visit the slopes despite a tremendous amount of snowfall during the last winter.

Among the four let go was General Manger Matt Janney, who held the top position at Mt. Bachelor for less than a year. Janney acknowledged last month that the mountain was plagued with problems, including a disconnect with local customers, mechanical trouble with the ski lifts and disorder with food and beverage operations.

Others executives fired yesterday at Mt. Bachelor include Carly Carmichael, the director of marketing; Mark Perry, the food & beverage director; and Ernie Pool, director of operations [more]

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