In Bend and soooo disappointed, what happened?

[mike633]

The name 'Bend' is actually a shortened version of 'Farewell Bend' which was a phrase used by pioneers in the late 1800s who camped near a shallow spot that was easy to cross. The name was shortened to 'Bend' when the first Post Office was established. There is also reference to the phrase 'The Bend in the river' as being used to describe this area also.

Time to bring back the "DO NOT CALIFORNICATE OREGON" BUMPER STICKERS!!

 

[RVTECH]

Time to bring back the "DO NOT CALIFORNICATE OREGON" BUMPER STICKERS!!

Remember Gov. Tom McCalls design for the sign he wanted to have posted on the border of California and Oregon?

 

[ponyblanket]

Bend is an absolute tragedy! The bizarre confluences of people and the complete lack of continuity between them is probably the worst part of it. When I moved to Bend the City Limit sign said 12,500 so that should pretty much support anything I have to say or express about it....
AND I am beginning to see rapid changes in the LaPine area - and they are happening MUCH faster than ever did in Bend...

And the traffic is beyond clogged

 

[EPS]

I used to drive through bend all the time always stop at Jake's truck stop to fuel and eat and sleep best chicken fried steak dinner on the road it's been growing and going down hill for years I'm sorry to say

 

[CoastRange57]

And the traffic is beyond clogged

Back in April of 2009 we were going through Bend to Sunriver for a trade show. 10 am on a Tuesday morning it was like a ghost town. No rock, cement, delivery trucks, no contractors rolling around in jacked up brand new 4x4's, just a few cars. It was the beginning of the recession and the Bend area is a brutal mistress on the down side. It will be the first area to go up, and money will be made. It will also be the first to crash and it will crash real hard. That had been the case for the last several down turns. Now with all the inflow migration of people, a crash is unlikely anymore and the run up will continue.

 

[CoastRange57]

I used to live on Deschutes River Ranch before moving my flag up to Alaska in 1995, at that time Bend's population was around 50,000. I flew down to the lower 48 in 2003 to visit friends who live around the Bend area, was astonished at how the areas population had exploded to around 85,000. That's too bad, it was such a "sleepy" town when I lived there.

In that time frame, 1992 and beyond I was in the golf course construction and equipment business. They were building 3 courses a year over there for a solid 8 years. We would tell our drivers and people how to find the golf course, was just drive to Sisters, Bend, Redmond, Prineville or where ever and just look for the dust clouds in the sky that is where the courses were. I counted 3 dust clouds in one day when courses were being built in Sisters, Broken Top and adding on to Eagle Crest.

Of course most of those courses failed to gain enough golfers or real estate sales to make it and ended up banko two or three times and whoever got them now, got them for pennies on the dollar. The Bend area is way over built on courses, but most are upscale tracts who have steep fees paid by out of state golfers so who cares anyway.

 

[EPS]

In that time frame, 1992 and beyond I was in the golf course construction and equipment business. They were building 3 courses a year over there for a solid 8 years. We would tell our drivers and people how to find the golf course, was just drive to Sisters, Bend, Redmond, Prineville or where ever and just look for the dust clouds in the sky that is where the courses were. I counted 3 dust clouds in one day when courses were being built in Sisters, Broken Top and adding on to Eagle Crest.

Of course most of those courses failed to gain enough golfers or real estate sales to make it and ended up banko two or three times and whoever got them now, got them for pennies on the dollar. The Bend area is way over built on courses, but most are upscale tracts who have steep fees paid by out of state golfers so who cares anyway.

That's because they needed a summer time money maker I the the winter it was ski resort not far away but summertime it was kinda dead hikers and people passing through town but now they got a reason to stay buy a small summertime house and play golf

 

[Joe Link]

Interesting reading this thread, heading over tomorrow for two nights in Sisters and one in Bend. It's sure changed a lot from the town we'd drive into when we couldn't find something in Prineville (20-30 years ago).

Another vote for the High Desert Museum!

 

[RVTECH]

Back in April of 2009 we were going through Bend to Sunriver for a trade show. 10 am on a Tuesday morning it was like a ghost town. No rock, cement, delivery trucks, no contractors rolling around in jacked up brand new 4x4's, just a few cars. It was the beginning of the recession and the Bend area is a brutal mistress on the down side.

Literally one of the BEST times ever for Bend - it was like a breath of fresh air. To bad it didn't last longer.

 

[uberguy]

Wow, lot of Bend hating going on, or maybe nostalgia.

Granted, the tourist season is a huge contrast of crowds in city or places like Sun River. It's not too hard to avoid that (them). Sep-May it's practically ghost town again, at least generally uncrowded and uncomplicated. Nobody likes Cali transplants, but they're all over the NW now, from Ashland to Seattle.

Politically, the 2nd Congressional district is the largest in Oregon represented by conservatives Greg Walden, and in-state, Knute Buehler plus Mike McLane. The county remains moderately conservative.

Oregon, like Cali and WA are hopeless wrt US Senators, not the fault of Central OR or Bendites. Practically nowhere is like it was in the 1970s or whenever - the world is overcrowded, but Bend is ok in my book. We're in between Bend and La Pine - which just got it's first stop-light, still a small community of fewer than 2,000. IMO, it's 100% better than anywhere west of the mountains, San Diego to Seattle.

 

[EPS]

Wow, lot of Bend hating going on, or maybe nostalgia.

Granted, the tourist season is a huge contrast of crowds in city or places like Sun River. It's not too hard to avoid that (them). Sep-May it's practically ghost town again, at least generally uncrowded and uncomplicated. Nobody likes Cali transplants, but they're all over the NW now, from Ashland to Seattle.

Politically, the 2nd Congressional district is the largest in Oregon represented by conservatives Greg Walden, and in-state, Knute Buehler plus Mike McLane. The county remains moderately conservative.

Oregon, like Cali and WA are hopeless wrt US Senators, not the fault of Central OR or Bendites. Practically nowhere is like it was in the 1970s or whenever - the world is overcrowded, but Bend is ok in my book. We're in between Bend and La Pine - which just got it's first stop-light, still a small community of fewer than 2,000. IMO, it's 100% better than anywhere west of the mountains, San Diego to Seattle.

I wouldn't say bend hating just sad to see it grow into a big city a yuppie town or what ever it's coming to your town too you can't stop it OR CAN YOU MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

[Ruger Rich]

Things change, that's life. Bend and a lot of central Oregon did as well.

 

[jim97701]

A friend once told me that back in the 1960s, Bend had one or two stop signs. It was a name they put on the map to keep the area from looking empty. I asked around and other older Oregonians say it's a fair description. My question to those of you who saw Bend back then, is that true?

Yes its true, My grand parents had a BFE shack (cabin) out on 3 acres on the little Deschutes years ago. we used to go shoot and hunt from the property but now it's a no shooting zone ($500 fine). we used to float the river in inner tubes and walk back and do it again (now all private property) there is a property 2 parcels down from us now (Grand parents dead, Parents own it now) with a big house for sale for a mere $799,000. Our family's cabin is now prob. considered an eyesore!!. was a paltry $3,000 or less in the day but talk of selling it for $100,000, SUCKS to see the good old days go away. As for Bend proper, VERY unrecognizable from the early days, sooooo sad.

 

[jim97701]

I used to drive through bend all the time always stop at Jake's truck stop to fuel and eat and sleep best chicken fried steak dinner on the road it's been growing and going down hill for years I'm sorry to say

Jakes is long gone, at least the truck stop on Hwy 97, They now have a small place off of Hwy 20, just a funky restaurant now.

 

[EPS]

Jakes is long gone, at least the truck stop on Hwy 97, They now have a small place off of Hwy 20, just a funky restaurant now.

That's too bad like I said I haven't been down 97 for years but Jake's truck stop was a cool stop they had good food and lots of pictures of different Hollywood stars and music stars that had been there and different stuff that had passed through bend like heavy haul trucks carrying stuff that needed trucks with 60 80 or even 100 wheels HEHEH sad to hear it's gone

 

[EPS]

I spent a lot of hours in the upstairs driver only TV ROOM at Jake's lol even I even met a fat girl there once that travel with me for awhile mmmmmm long haul truck driver lol those days are gone along with Jake's

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

A friend once told me that back in the 1960s, Bend had one or two stop signs. It was a name they put on the map to keep the area from looking empty. I asked around and other older Oregonians say it's a fair description. My question to those of you who saw Bend back then, is that true?

Yep. I even have a picture of me in the Deschutes River at the old Cove Palisades park which is now under a couple of hundred feet of water. There was one drive in hamburger place near Bend with a dining area that had the restrooms on the outside of the building. There was a door that said restrooms and when you opened it the only thing you saw was a tree about 10 feet away. It was kind funny, the actual restrooms were on the side of the building like old gas stations. I don't think it was planned that way, it just happened to end up that way.

 

[Ruger Rich]

"They" ruined it.

I watched it start downhill in the late '90s, and the last time I was there about 4 years ago I said never again.
At least not on purpose anyway.
They can have it. I might wave on the way through, but not if I can help it.
It's the next Eugene, sans college.

OSU is building a 4 year campus there now

 

[Argonaut]

OSU is building a 4 year campus there now

I saw an interview with the Dalai Lama a few months ago. He was asked what the biggest problem was in the world........he didn't even think a second before his response......"education" the things that are and are not being taught are not useful to humans. I read some of his writing years ago and found him very in tune with practical conservative values.....

 

[teflon6string]

My family has vacationed every summer in Sunriver from its beginning, everyone sharing a big condo with spouses/squeezes/kids/friends, etc. Coming and going from various locations over the span of a couple weeks.

Aside from a foray into the outlet stores for the girls and Walmart for the guys (when they used to actually stock .22 ammo), we've mostly done outdoor things around Bend rather than in town itself - biking, hiking, whitewater rafting, mountains, fishing, kayaking, swimming, camping, disc golf, waterfalls, etc., etc.

I don't remember what decade they finally made the 97 bypass, but that became a fine way to avoid wasting 30-45 minutes slogging through downtown in traffic - and hating mankind. To me, a day IN Bend is like a day in Beaverton.