Immediately outside Bend the Cram Fire is currently blazing approximately 64,000 acres. Luckily no people or structures have been harmed but all yesterday it poured thick acrid smoke into the city. Nightfall felt especially apocalyptic as the fiery sunset was blanketed by a flint covered blanket of soot. Quick trips from our Airbnb to the car made us cough and our eyes stung.

The smoke greatly dissipated come morning as the wind blew the fire a different direction. The sky, while not entirely blue, was at least recognizable. Feeling recharged, we walked from our Airbnb to Shevlin Park to hike miles along a fast flowing creek. The multipurpose trails there were speckled with friendly folks doing Bendy things like mountain biking challenging single tracks as a family (with the youngest child, maybe ten, happily straggling behind in order to more cautiously skip over rocks and other such obstacles). From those we met along the way we learned that 1) Bend has always had a fire season and that 2) this season is getting longer each summer. If only we knew the reasons why then maybe we could do something to make it better.

Of course we know some of the reasons why the earth is warming quicker than it should. And of course we know some of the things we can do to help make things better.

But enough with my rants. Bend is truly a special mountain town/small city of about 100,000 outward focused people who all drive Subarus and wear Birkenstocks. People here also age gracefully, at least that is what the cool couple at the brewery told us. Transplants from other Oregon spaces they made sacrifices in order to live in their dream space. They stated that folks in Bend are just generally healthy to the point that you almost never see a heavy set person in town. I then stood up to prove them wrong.

From that same couple we also learned that it ain’t cheap to live in Bend (which maybe helps explain the local lean and hungry look). A small fixer upper reportedly starts in the mid $600,000 range. By our Airbnb, which is tucked on the outskirts of town by a really cool park, homes start around a million dollars. We might stay here forever if only we could afford this slice of heaven.