Road Trip Review: SLC to Bend

Working a night shift is a dangerous thing. The pace slows down in the wee hours and you have to distract yourself with something to stay awake. My something is frequently Google Maps and it was this playing on Google Maps that birthed our road trip:

SLC -> Bend -> Portland -> Seattle -> Missoula -> Yellowstone -> SLC

Stage I - SLC -> Bend

We booked it to Boise (actually Nampa) and crashed in a hostel. The next day we hustled to Bend. It was really an uneventful drive, but should you ever find yourself in Burley, Idaho, stop at Burger Ace. Tasty burgers, deliciously over-salted fries, and SADDLES!!! to sit on instead of the usual booth bench.


We arrived in Bend just in time for a tour & tasting at Deschutes Brewery. We then sobered up, grabbed a quick bite and then headed for Tumalo Falls. The falls were beautiful, the trail was littered with more waterfalls, but we still don't know how far we hiked. According to the signs along the trail, we hiked between 5.9 and 57.2 miles.



We overnighted along the Great Cascades Highway at what was probably a legal campsite....probably. After a quick coffee stop the next morning, we headed for Portland.