Wednesday September 17th, 2025 - Fall trip to oregon - Days 5 and 6, Eugene then Central Oregon - 4 mile hike with 200 feet elevation gain

Our 2nd day with my Dad was fun.  We had dinner the first night at the Old Spaghetti Factory which, as usual, was adequate food but served in a great environment.  They are now in what used to he the venerable Oregon Electric Station restaurant downtown near the 5th Street Public Market.  The Spaghetti Factory better be a LOT busier than it was when we went because their dining room(s) are huge at this location.  On the 2nd night we went to Red Robin which isn't very groundbreaking either but it's someplace we always used to go to as a family and has been very popular in Eugene for years.  That 2nd night in Eugene ended fairly early so we could rest up and get an early start the next day heading over to Central Oregon.

Wednesday we got on the road a little before 8 am.  We had a basic breakfast and a short, somewhat underwhelming and buggy walk along the Leaburg Canal.  I did not know until just now that the entire Leaburg dam is being decommissioned which helped explain why the canal was so low on water.  


 

The rest of the trip to Sisters Oregon was beautiful and literally nobody was in front or behind us within eyesight for almost all of the 80 miles.  Traveling even a little off-season pays big dividends in avoiding crowds.  We wandered around Sisters for an hour and bought some gifts from a cute store and a ready to bake pie from Sisters Bakery which we'll have tomorrow.


 After briefly checking in very early at our hotel, we headed to my Mom and step-father's house in Redmond.  We had lunch in Redmond at a soup and salad place that was very good then headed into Bend for a hike at Sylvan Park.  This is the same park I came to with my mom last time I was in Oregon.  It's someplace we really loved when I was growing up and it's definitely worth going back to over and over.  While a 4 mile hike with modest elevation gain wouldn't really register as an accomplishment, for my mother's age and physical condition, it was a challenging walk.  For us it was quite warm (~82F) and some of it was in direct sun so that made a modest speed walk with my mom seem pretty reasonable.


 



Dinner was at the Olive Garden in Bend, someplace my mother likes but doesn't get to go to very often.  Since she was totally wiped from her walk with us, I suggested that Brian and I head straight back to our hotel rather than trying to play games at their house in Redmond or whatever.  Tomorrow starts with breakfast at their house and beyond that I don't know what else.

 

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