A contender for one of the coolest towns around, we took a day off the rock and went to check out the nearby town of Bend after a relaxing leisurely start to the day…

Plenty of shops and cafes to browse to start us off..

And a short stroll from ‘downtown’ and you’re by a beautiful river.

We went for burgers in a cafe that Anna had recommended and ate outside in the full sunshine in t-shirts! A real treat for November.

After lunch we went to check out the river surfing area. It’s an amazing surf and kayak spot with waves of various sizes that can be controlled remotely. An amazing resource!

There were no surfers to watch, and we didn’t have our gear with us, so wandered on, under a huge rainbow for a bit of shopping…

They say that everything is bigger in America and on the whole, that’s pretty much true! If I drank this much coffee, (especially through the straw?!), I’d not be able to sleep for a week!

Once we’d exhausted ourselves exploring between shops and picking up a few bargains (Clare won the best value prize after getting a down jacket for £13!!! – even the guy on the till couldn’t believe the price, but decided it was somehow correct!).

A final walk from the shops and along the river trail was enough to finish a fine day out in beautiful Bend.

Then a final drive along the highway soon had us home in time for dinner.