Whychus Creek Day Hike

Families who play together stay together. Is that a phrase? Regardless, it's true for our Wanderlust Tours family. Twice a year we close our doors and embark on a wilderness journey together. This past week we made our way through Sisters (by way of Sisters Bakery for delicious donuts) and out to Whychus Creek Trail Head. With our cameras, snacks, and naturalist spirit, we headed out into the wilderness to explore and learn. 

As we hiked the trail to the waterfall, we were reminded of the fires that had come through the area. Though it is currently green and lush, there is no mistaking the long-lasting effect of fires past. Stumps and branches were charred and fallen, and on a grey day, things seemed pretty bleak. However, a closer look revealed new growth popping up all over. Life and death coexisting and making great habitats for the woodland creatures. We continued hiking through the quiet forest, breathing in the fresh air. The end of the trail (about 2 miles) dropped us at the top of the huge waterfall. The Whychus Creek Waterfall is totally stunning. You do have to hike (slide?) down a few hundred feet to get to the bottom, but it's definitely worth it.

We continued to follow the river past the waterfall and up through the forest. The small path took us to more waterfalls, over fallen trees, into gullies, and up to ridges. A word to the wise: wear waterproof shoes or sandals. Crossing the river at one point required some in our party to remove their tennis shoes... and the water was COLD!! The view from the top of our final ridge was spectacular. We even had a mini snowball fight! There were just a few small patches of snow on the ridge. At the top we ate lunch and listened to the wind in the trees before playing a game of "lava" and using the fallen trees as bridges. It's okay if you're jealous. 

After hiking back to the van we realized that we'd gone about 6.5 miles total. Happy hearts and tired feet led us back into Bend and straight to Bend Brewing Company for an early dinner. Most of our group indulged in the Volkssekt - the "Champagne of the North." It pairs well with the fish and chips. I don't know if that's actually true, but that's what I had and I loved every single bite. We finished the night with games like golf (the card game) and drinks from our friends at The Oregon Mead and Cider Company. 

Thanks for letting us close the office for a bit! We had a great time but we missed you!!! 

Guest of the Month: Wendy Altschuler

My favorite thing about fall is the smell. I burn candles as if there is a power outage and enjoy the “pie in the oven” scents that fill the room. I also love the magic of the leaves changing color and the crisp air that somehow smells different than summer. Ahh. Can’t get enough.

As we transition to the new season and trade out flip-flops for boots and swim suits for sweaters, I find myself looking forward to things like canoeing on the river and eventually snowshoeing the Cascades. However, we visit some caves year-round! And while 45 degree AC on a hot summer day is a blessing, experiencing 45 degrees in the dead of winter is a nice reprieve from the cold.

This month Wendy and her son joined us for some underground exploration and she agreed to an interview about her journey! Enjoy!

Hometown: Chicago

Age: 38 and 10 (my son)

Have you been to Bend, OR before?

No but I'm super glad I came! 

How did you hear about Wanderlust Tours?

I first learned about the tours thorough the Sunriver Resort. 

What is one thing you learned on your tour that you didn't know before?

I learned what "lavacicles" are. The coolest part for me though was seeing my son get more brave and intrepid as the tour went on.  He started off a bit scared to be in the dark, clinging onto my arm, but by the end he was climbing around and exploring on his own. I loved when we all clicked our headlamps off and sat in total darkness and in total quiet. We are so inundated with stimulation and light pollution on a regular basis, that this 30 seconds was remarkable. Oh, and when our guide asked my son if he liked Sour Patch Kids and then proceeded to eat an ant he picked up off the ground, well, that was pretty swag! 

What is your favorite thing about fall?

When the leaves turn color and the air is crisper, and there's the threat of much colder weather to come, I really have an attitude of gratitude for the outdoors. 

Where's the next place you're hoping to travel:

 As a travel writer, I always have lots of exciting destinations in the works—next up: Redding, Morro Bay and the Highway 1 Discovery Route in California. 

Follow Wendy’s other adventures on Social Media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter 

If you have a great story about a Wanderlust Tour, email us! We’d love to hear about your trip and feature your story! Email casey@wanderlusttours.com

Animal of the Month

Happy October! We have a Pop Quiz!! Don't scroll yet!  

What is the world's fastest animal?

Do you know?? 

Most people would be able to guess that the African cheetah is the fastest animal in the world. (Hopefully you were one of them.) 

But the real question is about #2! 

Do you know the world's second fastest animal? It is also the fastest in North America... and it's a species that has been around for 20 million years. 

Do you know what it is yet??

This animal looks like a deer but is more closely related to the giraffe! 

Their eyesight is EIGHT times better than ours! 

Okay if you don't know it yet, I'll tell you. 

One of the coolest animals in central Oregon is the Pronghorn!

Photo from animalspot.net. Click the photo for more information.

They are one of the most beautiful and majestic animals in North America. They are also super fast! Their running pace is about the same as the speed limit on the Parkway though they can burst to about 65 mph. Though cheetahs and jaguars aren't chasing our Oregon Pronghorns, there are only about 1,000 left in the area. They love the wide open desert areas where they can roam and search for sagebrush, bitterbrush, wildflowers and more. 

Oregon Bitterbrush in the High Desert

Photo by vqronline. Click for more information. 

Look at the cool white stripes on their necks! Those stripes are a  beautiful and distinctive feature of the Pronghorn. While this group above may be migrating south for winter, Pronghorn Resort here in central Oregon stays open year-round! If you're looking to visit Bend soon, this is a great place to stay! 

We hope you are enjoying this change of season and change of pace. Keep an eye out for our friends the Pronghorn!