Under the Full Moon

We absolutely love our guests! Each month, we feature one reader who has come on a recent tour with Wanderlust. Justine and her husband Henry joined us for Bonfire Snowshoe Tour last month. We asked her to share a little about their trip.

Hometown:
We roadtripped from Los Angeles, but we're both originally from the east coast (New York and Pennsylvania).

Age: 32

Favorite spring time activity:
Rock climbing outside in Los Angeles before it gets too hot!

Have you been to Bend, OR before?
No, this was our first time. We planned our 9-day camper van roadtrip specifically with Bend, OR as a destination.

What tour did you join and what made you want to do it?
We did the moonlight snowshoe tour which ended up being upgraded to the bonfire snowshoe tour (which was awesome). We're always looking for fun, adventure-y things to do when we vacation - we've rock climbed in Acadia, ME, ziplined in Hawaii and hiked a glacier in Alaska - snowshoeing on Mt. Bachelor seemed like a perfect "only in Bend" activity, especially because we've never been snowshoeing!

The tour was just strenuous enough. It felt amazing to be breaking trails in fresh snow and be in the woods at night. I felt honored to be standing on 8 feet of snowpack with trees that were hundreds of years old. Our guides Courtney & Nick were amazing - they were full of information about Bend's natural history, rock climbing, kayaking and hiking. They made our tour fun, interesting and totally worth the money. (The hazelnut vodka and hot chocolate didn't hurt either).

What else did you do in Bend while you were here?
Not enough! Because of our tight roadtrip schedule, we had about 48 hrs in Bend. We camped at Tumalo State Park for 2 nights in our Escape camper van. We stopped in at REI in the Old Mill District (the REI is actually inside an old lumber mill building) for some Smith Rock climbing beta. We sampled beers and ate dinner at the Deschutes Brewery and Public House on Bond Street (love the Black Butte Porter so much). And we ate breakfast and fell in love with the scones at McKay Cottage (thanks to Wanderlust tour guide Courtney for that tip!).

Any recommendations for visitors coming to Bend in the spring?
What I mentioned above is all awesome. Extra plug for climbing or hiking at Smith Rock - that place is gorgeous. I would definitely recommend people sign up for any Wanderlust tour that catches their eye. I know I would love to come back and kayak the Deschutes River.

Follow more of Justine's adventures! 
Instagram: @jtaormino21
Blog: allowingmyself.com

Exploring the Concrete Jungle

On the second Tuesday of each month we share a segment on our blog we call "What we do when we're not on tour." This week, we invite you to journey with Jared on his recent trip to "The Concrete Jungle." 

I recently adventured to San Francisco for the first time to meet up with some friends from college. I made it to the city late on Friday with just enough time to catch the last two periods of the Bruins game and head to bed. On the following day, after a wonderful breakfast outside in the sun, we started our first day by renting bikes and traveling to Golden Gate Park. We were stunned by the beauty and wildness of the park. After biking around for a while, we decided to visit the Japanese Tea Garden.

The natural beauty and serenity of the garden was amazing. It was very pleasant walking between the perfectly manicured trees and flowers while taking in the beautiful aroma of all the flowers. While exploring the gardens, we discovered that we were at the site where a gentleman named Makoto Hagiwara first introduced the fortune cookie to America in 1914, which I thought was pretty neat. After spending quite a bit of time in the gardens we decided to move on and explore more of the park. The next stop we made was at Stow Lake. We spent a fair bit of time walking around the lake and up Strawberry Hill for an overview of the city. On the way down we went by a wonderful waterfall by the name of Huntington Falls.

We spent some more time biking before we went to the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. This garden is 55 acres of stunning vegetation that boasts over 8,000 species from all over the world. I truly enjoyed the Ancient Plant Garden and the Garden of Fragrance. I am always an advocated for taking time in nature to slow down and smell the flowers, and this was the perfect place to do it. When we had seen everything we decided it was time for food. After dinner we decided to head to Cellarmaker Brewing Company’s tasting room. Of the many beers we sampled I would have to say the Double Comfy Pants IPA was my favorite.

Our next day started off by meeting up with some old friends and coworkers from Maine. We then went over to the Muir Woods National Monument where we decided to hike the Dipsea Trail.

It was a stunning hike that was split between a gorgeous coastal ridgeline and beautiful redwood trees. Upon completion of the hike we ended at Stinson Beach. The weather at the Stinson Beach was about 55 degrees and windy, but that wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying a nice swim in the Pacific Ocean.

On the final morning of the journey, we had just enough time to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. It was not only a stunning view, but it was also fascinating learning about the process of building the bridge. I really enjoyed experimenting with some of the hands on exhibits they had in order to help fully understand the physics behind the design of the bridge, as well as reading all of the interpretive signage available.

Take Me to the River

This just in! We are canoeing and kayaking on the Deschutes River starting tomorrow! We can't wait to take you out. With these beautiful days coming our way, it's time to enjoy the sunshine with a relaxing paddle on the water. Here at Wanderlust, we all agree that the best way to spend the day is by snowshoeing (or skiing, snowboarding, etc.) at Mt. Bachelor and spending the afternoon on the river. There's just a small window in Bend's weather where this is possible and we HIGHLY recommend it to all adventure seekers. Our half-day Deschutes River canoe and kayak tours are offered daily at 9 AM and 1:30 PM until the Cascade Lakes are accessible. Half-day Cascade Lakes canoe tours will then be offered daily summer through fall.

In other Bend news... Spring Fest is coming up this weekend held at Northwest Crossing! You really don't want to miss this event! Music, food, beer, goodies... Find the schedule below or check out the site. It's guaranteed fun! 

Friday April 8th

5:30pm | ¡Chiringa!
7:30pm | Redwood Son
9:15pm | Larry and His Flask

Saturday April 9th

11:00am | Quarterflash
1:00pm | Corner Gospel Explosion + Friends and Guests
3:00pm | Belly Full of Bob
5:00pm | Dirty Revival
7:00pm | Precious Byrd
9:15pm | Shook Twins

Sunday April 10th

11:00am | Five Pint Mary
1:00pm | Rust on the Rails
3:00pm | Mbrascatu

Hope you're enjoying these early days of spring! We sure are! Want to find out more about what's going on in Bend this time of year? Visit Bend has all the answers.