For those of you not already going to a party (or just staying home) on New Year's Eve, the Bulletin has a pretty good article listing many of the parties and events you can go to. They include details, times, and prices.

Some are expensive, some are cheap/reasonable. For instance, the Deschutes Brewery's Mountain Room party is $75 per person, while the Black Horse Saloon is waiving cover charges entirely. The Riverhouse's party is $10.

They've got a ton of places listed, so check it out—you might just find the perfect soirée.

Regarding the charmingly Nietzschian title of this blog post, I refer to Deschutes Brewery's new ultra-limited reserve series beer, The Abyss—their high-alcohol Imperial stout that has just been released. In fact, it's so limited that there were only 13,000 bottles produced (all waxed-dipped 22-ounce), and you're going to have trouble finding any of them.

I should know—I checked Newport Market on Thursday, the eastside Safeway today (found and bought the one they had left), Wild Oats, called the brewery itself (they were set to have some in the afternoon sometime), and Ray's Food Place (westside). No luck. The only bottle I had found was at the east Safeway. Well, I wanted several bottles to cellar, hence the scouring around town. Finally, a guy at Ray's told me he saw about a dozen bottles at the westside Safeway (just across the street).

So we checked over there and sure enough, they have a bunch. I bought four more bottles and was very, very sorely tempted to buy more. I may do just that. Though at $5.99 a bottle, that's not gonna be cheap.

In the meantime, though, if you're looking for some of this beer (which by all accounts is fantastic), try the west Safeway.

Though I'm probably sabotaging myself by telling you. :)

As I mentioned in my Christmas lights post the other day, I'd try to snap some pictures of displays if we were out and about. So, I took two; total amateur-hour nighttime productions, but you get the idea.

This is the house at 19911 SW McClellan, on the cul-de-sac. It's much more impressive in person.

My favorite house on Harmon Blvd, next to the park and Mirror Pond. Doesn't seem as lit-up this year, but still brighter than anything else around it.

This is the category of "Everything Else" that I couldn't fit on its own, for whatever reason. Some are suggestions, some are just single-entry categories. And, I wanted to more-or-less finish this out before it got too late to shop for the holidays.

The Home Brewer

Really the only place in town that sells homebrewing and winemaking supplies. Get someone the full package with a kit, or pick up individual supplies or brewing-related items. You can also enjoy some Silver Moon Brewing beers on-premise—that's where the microbrewery is located, as well.

24 NW Greenwood Avenue
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-8331

Wild Birds Unlimited

Yes, I know this is a chain store, but I'm going with Jen's recommendation:

I know "Wild Birds Unlimited" (across from Barnes & Noble) is a chain but they seem to be very knowledgeable about the area.

Bird food, feeders, houses, accessories—everything you'd want to attract and deal with a variety of birds. It's located out at the Forum Center east of town on Highway 20.

2680 NE Hwy. 20, Ste 310
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 617-8840

Goody's

Also a bit of a franchise, although Goody's has been in downtown Bend for a long time—long enough to have become a fixture. Not only do they sell handmade chocolates and candies (including sugar-free ones), but their downtown store is also an old-fashioned ice cream store—selling cones, shakes, malts and more.

957 NW Wall Street
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 389-5185

Bend Pet Express

The local pet store alternative to the chain stores. (Quick disclaimer: my brother works for them, too.) They carry a huge variety of pet supplies—everything you could want—and even make their own dog treats. They have two locations—east and west.

East:
420 NE Windy Knolls
Bend, OR 97701
541-385-5298

West:
133 SW Century Dr
Bend, OR 97701
541-389-4620

Iron Horse

This secondhand and antique store is located in a quiet, out-of-the-way spot just south and a little west of downtown. Don't expect anything fancy—in terms of atmosphere—and that's part of its charm.

210 NW Congress St
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 382-5175

I was checking out Bi-Mart today and I saw a sign on the cash registers: Beer and wine are 10% off from Sunday the 17th through Sunday the 24th.

That means you've got three more days. And Bi-Mart is generally cheaper compared to some of the other outlets, so it's not a bad deal if you need to stock up for the holidays.

I'm almost ashamed to say that even though I'm in the computer field, I don't know much of the offerings here in town. Part of that is intangible—I wouldn't put services and repairs only here in the shopping guide; part of that is, well, I just don't need to hit those stores much, I suppose. I'll likely be updating this particular post as I go.

Connecting Point

I like Connecting Point; they carry a variety of things, from equipment all the way to full systems, software, books, and a lot of Apple stuff—iPods especially. The times I've had to pick something up in a pinch (power supply, networking router), I've gotten a good deal and had no problems.

And right now through Christmas, their iPods are $20 off—the cheapest in town!

514 NW Franklin Avenue
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 385-6757

PHD Computers

A good wholesale computer dealer that Jake has recommended to me more than once. They have a warehouse on 2nd Street and a storefront in the Forum Center on the east side; I suspect they'd rather have walk-ins at the storefront.

2680 NW Highway 20
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 382-8335

DSI Computers

Another Jake recommendation. He says,

They've been here forever and while they might be more expensive than some, they've a nice bunch of guys and they'll take care of you.

I haven't been there for years, but they are one of the area's mainstays and were always fair.

145 NE Revere Ave #A
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 382-1536

I had lunch at Ernesto's Italian today and I wanted to blog about it because they have a really good lunch deal: an all-you-can-eat buffet for $7.50.

I think it's Monday through Friday only. Each day of the week is a different special on the menu; today (Wednesday) was BBQ baby back ribs, Friday is lasagna. (I don't remember what the rest were.) In addition, there's fresh pasta (spaghetti and another) with sauces, seasonal vegetables, rice, meatloaf (today, at least—this might rotate), pizza, and a salad bar.

It's good food, too. I like Ernesto's, I think they're one of the best Italian places in town—though not everyone will agree with me. No matter. It's a good lunch deal.

1203 NE Third Street
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 389-7274

When it comes to music, there's really only two stores in town to visit for retail. Unless, of course, you're looking for musical instruments, but I really can't help you there. So, here's the Holiday Shopping Guide for music.

Boomtown

Yes, I just recommended them for toys, but music is where they're at. New and used CDs and vinyl records covering most genres I can think of. They also have DVDs and a variety of other items (like the toys). Definitely the more metropolitan-feeling of the two.

910 NW Harriman St.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-1800

Ranch Records

Bend's iconic music store that's been around for ages and ages. They offer a good selection of new and used CDs and vinyl records, as well as movies (DVDs) and posters. Pricing is similar or the same as at Boomtown, though I think they carry more used albums. Ranch Records is more "Grateful Dead" to Boomtown's metropolitan, I think.

831 NW Wall St
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 389-6116

Today's Bulletin has an article on the front page of their Community Life section about local Christmas light displays. (No link—it's behind their paywall, grrrr.) I've been thinking about doing a holiday lights post; it's usually a tradition of ours to drive around and look at the lights, and if we do that this year I'll take some pictures.

As it stands, there's a few displays that we seek out every year because they are so over the top. Without knowing (yet) if they're up this year, the addresses (roughly) are:

• Harmon Blvd., fronting Mirror Pond and Harmon Park. This is my favorite, it's so garish and tacky and colorful and bright, it sticks out like a sore thumb—none of the surrounding houses comes close.
• Summer Shade Drive. This is a good area for lights in general, but the house on the western end of Summer Shade (it makes a loop coming off of McClellan Road) is well decorated—and, defying common sense, they string lights up their tall ponderosas, some 50 or 60 feet, I'm guessing.
• 19911 SW McClellan Road. This is one listed in the Bulletin's article; it's at the cul-de-sac at the end of McClellan (just down from the Summer Shade place). The breadth and scope of this one is pretty impressive; they spread out a lot and it's worth the trip.

The other ones listed in the Bulletin's article are:

• 61140 Parkwood Court
• 1658 NE Matson Road
• 1671 NE Matson Road
• Sarah Drive, several around 61245
• 257 NW Outlook Vista Drive
• 20734 NE Town Drive
• 61771 Arrow Avenue
• 19196 Shoshone Road
• 19683 Platinum Way
• 22830 McGrath Road
• 2730 NE Faith Drive
• 1154 NW Redfield Circle
• 2422 NE Ravenwood Drive
• 1808 NW Duniway Court
• 2360 NE Meadow Lane
• 2432 NE Crocus Way
• 1126 SE Gatewood Place
• 64727 Sylvan Loop
• 807 NE 12th Street
• 2260 NE Meadow Lane
• 52503 Sunrise Blvd. (La Pine)
• 701 NE Mariposa Avenue (Prineville)
• 2927 NE Sugarpine Road (Prineville)
• 4990 SW Quarry Avenue (Redmond)
• 1635 NW Teak Avenue (Redmond)
• 2840 NW Lynch Road (Redmond)

I mentioned in my shopping guide post yesterday that there was a rumor that Gambit Games was closing. I called over there today and confirmed that it is, indeed, true. Unfortunately, the person I talked to didn't know the details—when the final day(s) will be, when/if things will go on sale—but I'll keep an eye on them post updates here.

Time for more Holiday Shopping Guide. It's every kids' favorite topic: Toys and games!

Leapin' Lizards

The downtown toy store that specializes in non-mass-produced fare: all their toys and games are engaging, educational, unusual, active, goofy, and any and all combinations of those. My own kids love this place. No, they're not the cheapest, but then you don't necessarily want your toys to be cheap, either. And they gift wrap for free.

953 NW Wall St.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 382-8326

D's Hobbies

Simply the best—and I think the only—full service hobby and model shop in town. Radio control, models of all kinds, rocket kits, model train gear, they carry simply everything. The paltry model section of the big stores? Forget it; D's goes way, way beyond them.

926 NW Greenwood Ave.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 389-1330

Gambit Games

Bend's one and only gaming store; they have a huge variety of board and card games (many of which you haven't heard of), and are your source for role-playing game supplies. Plus, they hold weekly role-playing tournaments (with miniatures and everything), and even have a couple of poker tables for Texas Hold'em.

(A rumor going around has it that Gambit is actually closing its doors soon, and everything is on sale. I'll follow up on this with a separate post.)

815 NW Wall St.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 330-8196

Boomtown

Although they're known primarily for music, Boomtown also has an extensive section of unusual toys and gag gifts. Punching puppets, Accoutrements action figures, metal lunchboxes, disco ball keychains... lots of fun, and a lot of good things for stocking stuffers.

910 NW Harriman St
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-1800

Pegasus Books

Yes, I mentioned Pegasus previously, but they stand out as a toy store, too—comics, sci-fi and fantasy themed toys. Which means a lot of action figures, and a good amount of McFarlane toys.

105 NW Minnesota Ave.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-4588

I just heard about Café 3456' opening up the other night, and today there's an article in the paper about it. It's the new restaurant located at the Bend Airport.

...Yes, the Bend Airport, not the Redmond Airport. That seems to be other peoples' reaction, too. Everybody seems to forget that Bend has an airport. The restaurant is on the second floor of the flight terminal out there and serves up breakfast and lunch. They also have their liquor license and serve drinks.

The chef and co-owner is Dave "The Muscle Chef" Hatfield. Just thought I'd throw that out there. He's the closest thing we have to a celebrity chef (as well as a bona fide celebrity) around these parts and plus, he's a really good chef as well.

The Bulletin lists some of the menu items with prices—which are all extremely reasonable—and the food sounds really, really good. I've never actually been to the Bend Airport (I've only ever driven by it), and I certainly never would have imagined a restaurant being located there, but I now want to head out and check it out.

Bend Municipal Airport
2nd Floor
63136 Powell Butte Highway
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 318-8989

I got a haircut today at the L & K Barber Shop downtown, and wanted to write a review of it. I mentioned it briefly in my post on the Bond Street Barber Shop months ago, and figured it was time to give it the full-fledged treatment.

Despite my affinity for the Bond Street shop (and the free beer), I think L & K is my favorite place to get a haircut. Located in the O'Kane building on Oregon Avenue, they take walk-ins and appointments. The decor is very local (belt buckles on the wall, for instance) and old-school barber shop—that's how it feels to me, anyway.

All the barbers are women (I think; there used to be one man but I haven't seen him there in a while), and I've not received a bad haircut there. They don't use electric clippers much (at least, not with me), except for fine trim—it's all scissors cut. And you get the hot cream straight razor on the neck and sideburns.

(They'll also do old fashioned straight razor shaves, but I haven't done that.)

Contrast with the Bond Street shop, which is very sports-oriented and has all men barbers; something about getting a haircut there makes me feel like I'm getting some sort of sports buzz cut. I've not received a bad haircut from them, but it's definitely a different atmosphere and it seems to take longer.

They only have four stations so if you're a walk-in, there's always a chance you could be in for a wait. But they have lots of magazines and reasonably comfortable chairs. And, overall, really good service.

107 NW Oregon Avenue
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 389-1893

More in my "Holiday Shopping Guide"! This time I'm going with alcohol (hey, write what you know, right?)—beer, wine, booze. What shopping guide would be complete without it?

Liquor store

No real recommendation here; a liquor store is a liquor store is a... well, you get the idea. I am partial to the eastside store, it's big and convenient, but I also like the one in Ray's on the westside.

Newport Avenue Market

The best selection of bottled beer that I've found around here is, by far, Newport Avenue Market. From cheap American lagers to expensive high-end Belgian ales, it's the place to go. Don't forget to check out their Thirsty Thursday beer tastings if you're in the area. And you can pick up a growler of Silver Moon Brewing beer if you want to keep it really local. (And no offense to Deschutes, but you can get theirs anywhere.)

Can't find what you're looking for? Odds are they can special order it for you—but be warned, it's by the case.

1121 NW Newport Avenue
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 382-3940

Bend Brewing Company

You can only get Bend Brewing Company beers on tap at the brewpub, but they do offer beer to go—another chance to keep it local. Keep in mind these won't last long. They're filled from the tap and aren't sealed so they'll go flat. Drink quick!

1019 NW Brooks St.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 383-1599

Maragas Winery

Currently one of two wineries in Central Oregon (Volcano Vineyards is the other, see below), Maragas not only makes wine but is also starting their own vineyard to grow their own grapes locally (up north of Terrebonne). Down at their tasting room on Colorado and Bond you can buy their signature Legal Zin, as well as glassware and accessories.

And, sign up for a membership to get discounts on wine and receive their limited edition releases (three times a year).

643 NW Colorado
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 330-0919

Vino Mercato

Not just a wine bar and bistro, Vino Mercato sells wine by the bottle as well as a variety of specialty deli goods. So not only can you find the perfect bottle of wine, but you can put it together with a variety of cheese and meats, or even a custom gift basket.

916 Wall St.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 385-6979

Volcano Vineyards

The other winery in Central Oregon; whereas Maragas uses grapes from both California and Oregon, Volcano only uses Oregon grapes that they personally harvest. Down at their tasting room downtown on Brooks Street, you can not only try (and buy) their own wine, but:

In addition to our own Volcano Vineyards wines, we carry wines from other small production, self-distributed Pacific Northwest producers, such as Zerba Cellars, Mystic Wines, Spindrift Cellars, Anthony Dell Cellars, Eden Vale and Medici.

930 NW Brooks St.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 617-1102

The current issue of The Source Weekly is running a holiday shopping guide of their own: the "Naughty or Nice" over-$100 gift guide. I like the "over-$100" part—pretty much the opposite of what I'm doing here, but hey, it's fun.

And with gift recommendations like a leather couch, a chainsaw, Sirius radio, and a "Maya Dream Week Tortoise Eco Tour," it's hard not to like it.

It doesn't seem to be online, though, so if you want it you'll have to pick up the dead tree version.

Shannon aka Betsy Bones of the Renegade Rollergirls wrote a review of the new Juniper Swim & Fitness Center:

juniper swim & fitness center

on sunday i decided to work on my secret plan to rule the universe and skip roller derby practice. what that meant was that i still needed to get my cardio in for the day (my goal is 4 days a week). in friday's bend bulletin there was an article on the bend park and rec's new juniper swim and fitness center which opened the new fitness area to the public last week. last time i visited jwfc i wasn't impressed. the class room for winter conditioning was small and the fitness room was the size of a hilton hotel's fitness room for travelers.

as i drove up, there seemed to be more parking and i found a spot up front. the check-in for the facility is located near the swimming pools temporarily and the cost to work out in the exercise room is $4 per trip or $5 if you're planning to take a fitness class. after walking through a maze of signs directing you which way to go, i made it to the fitness room which was 3 times as big as before with all new equipment ... treadmills, bikes, stairsteppers, elliptical, weight machine and free weights. the elliptical i used was easy to get started and i rocked out for about 35 mins to my workout mix on my ipod.

i investigated the locker rooms, of course. all new and more room as before. the best thing about the facility — the steam and sauna room. the only other gym that has a steam room in this town is athletic of bend.

for more info on jsfc, click here.

for less than i'm paying for boot camp, i can sign mr. bones and i up for $72 a month. of course, that doesn't expire until april 1.

We were at the Bend Christmas Parade yesterday, and as promised, I snapped a bunch of photos before we were frozen out. We were right on the corner of Wall and Newport, so had a good vantage point for the parade.

Click through to see...

The first in my Holiday Shopping Guide posts, covering something I'm pretty familiar with: books!

Now I really like Barnes and Noble, don't get me wrong, but that's not what this gift guide is about. So here are my picks:

The Open Book

Bend's best used book store, and my favorite too. Paperbacks are half the cover price, hardbacks and large books are priced individually. They have a huge selection and cover nearly every topic—all but computer books. (They don't deal in computer books because those are too transient.) They also sell used CDs.

You can also sell books for store credit, and use your credit when buying (up to half the price of your purchase).

The only negative I can think about is that their parking lot is small, but that's expected considering their location.

155 NE Greenwood
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-3249

Pegasus Books

Yes, it's very much a comic book shop—the comic book shop in town—and it should be the first stop for any graphic novels or comics on your list. They sell used books, toys, anime, and collectible cards, too.

It's one of the longest-running businesses in Downtown Bend right now, and I blogged the other day that Duncan (the owner) has recently started a blog. He's a good guy and knows his stuff, so definitely ask for recommendations.

105 NW Minnesota Ave.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-4588

The Book Barn

The Book Barn is the big bookstore alternative: they have mostly new books (and some used), so you should be able to find any of the newest books out right now—and what they don't have, they can order for you. They also have a great section devoted to local writers.

Right now on their website, they're advertising 20% off on selected calendars. It's a good time to do some shopping—though if you need to make a special order, I don't know what their turnaround time is for that.

135 NW Minnesota Ave.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 389-4589 or 877-389-4589

The Newport Bridge is finally open as of today! Apparently they had a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon. If it was done today and ready for a ceremony at noon, couldn't they have just opened it up in the morning and let the commuters get to where they need to go?

(Or did they do that, with the ceremony being purely symbolic?)

On an email list I'm on there was a heads-up that beer is again being served on tap at Silver Moon Brewing—at the tasting room that shares the space with the Home Brewer homebrew shop. Previously they weren't allowed to serve beer on-premise because of a construction issue, but that's apparently been resolved.

That's good news! Because that's a nice space down there for the tasting room. Stop in for a pint or two.

The Home Brewer/Silver Moon Brewing
24 NW Greenwood
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-8331

I thought it would be fun and useful to run a series of "Holiday Shopping Guide" posts as we get close to Christmas; basically my take on where to go for the best deals, stay local, stay small, and such. But then I figured, there's no way I can do all that by myself, so let's make this a collaborative effort.

So send me your suggestions—leave comments here or use the contact form. Where are the best places for holiday/gift shopping? Any type of item—food, books, clothes, whatever. The best deals, the local stores, the insider info, avoiding the big box stores (if possible) and super-spendy stuff.

I'll organize by topic and start running posts in a few days, both submitted suggestions and my own picks (I have a few).

Let's make this the definitive holiday shopping guide for Bend!

Just a quick reminder (I almost forgot!): tomorrow, Saturday the 2nd, is the Deschutes Brewery Garage Sale. It's at their Mountain Room on Simpson, from noon to 4pm. See you there!

Jen has announced on her blog the next meeting of the local web professionals usergroup on Wednesday, December 6th.

Programmers, SEO-er's, Web developers & designers in Central Oregon... This is an opportunity to network and share ideas with others in your field! This month's topic is citywide wifi. (Big thanks to Ricardo for suggesting this topic!) Frank Miller from Bendbroadband will be joining us to talk about Instanet To Go and other exciting technology coming to Bend in the near future.

Agenda:
6:00pm - Pizza and networking
6:30pm - Presentation by Bendbroadband

The meeting will be at Edge Wireless on Columbia Street. If you can attend, leave a comment on Jen's post or visit the Upcoming.org page for this event.

No, not a new blog by me (ha!), but I wanted to point to this new blog: best minimum wage job a middle aged guy ever had. For a couple of reasons. First, I know Duncan, he owns Pegasus Books and he's one of the few Bend long-timers left.

Second, because damn if this isn't going to be a really great read for Bend history and local economics. Required.

And while you're at it, check out the Bend Economy Blog. He's going through another reboot, which is kind of a shame since he had some really good posts up before. But more will come.

I'm prescient. Last week I first blogged about Wildfire Brewing starting up (from the owners of JC's Bar & Grill), and today there's an article on them in the Bulletin.

According to the Bulletin, they're planning on opening in the next two months.

“It’s sort of scary because nobody wants to take on Budweiser and Coors, which everyone drinks at the bar,” Cox said, adding that not all breweries offer lager beer. “We’re trying to tap into the lager market in Bend.”

Lager is one of the two flagship brews that brewer Cook will make at Wildfire’s new 1,600-square-foot facility in north Bend. Cook also will brew a pale ale, he said.

Cook said he’ll start making the beer within the next month and hopes to have beer ready for consumption in two months.

The Wildfire brewery will produce roughly 1,600 to 2,200 barrels of beer per year, Cox said.

Looks like I was right; initially the beer will be sold on tap at JC's. Within six months, they hope to start bottling the beer.

This is pretty cool—I'm looking forward to trying them out. Stay tuned.

Saturday, December 9th is the Bend Christmas Parade! Hard to believe it's that time of year already...

The parade starts at noon, and follows a looping course through downtown and around Drake Park and Mirror Pond; check out the parade map here. It's a fun parade, the kids will love it, but be prepared for cold! Bundle up, it's been really cold each year as long as I can remember.

I'm sure we'll go again this year, and I'll take the camera and post a bunch of pictures.

Update: I forgot that the Newport Bridge is still closed, but this KTVZ article indicates that they might be done next week, in time for the parade. We'll see. I wonder what they'll do if it's closed?

Just a few quick notes following up my Zydeco post from a few days ago. We had dinner there Saturday night and had the prime rib special. In a nutshell? The entire meal was fantastic. It's pretty much cemented in my mind as the best restaurant in Bend right now.

If you can get a special like the prime rib, go for it. Otherwise, I'd recommend either the redfish or the baby back ribs. Get a spinach salad too. And finish with almond wet cake.

Although, the pear cobbler we had the other night was incredible, too. You pretty much can't go wrong.

Don't miss Deschutes Brewery's annual "garage sale" this Saturday, December 2nd. It's taking place at their Mountain Room from 12pm until 4.

We went last year; there will be good deals on pub wear (T-shirts, hats, etc.), drinkware, accessories, and so on. It'll also be busy, so get there early.

Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room
901 SW Simpson Avenue (at the Simpson/Colorado roundabout)

A friend gave me heads-up that the owners of JC's Bar & Grill downtown are starting their own brewery—WildFire Brewing. I found confirmation on JC's MySpace page, where they say:

JC's is soon to be pouring beer from WildFire Brewing Company. This brewery was started by Jeremy and Chris and brewmaster Paul Cook.

This seems like it might coincide with their expansion into the space next door. I imagine they will primarily serve their beer on tap at JC's, but beyond that? No idea. If it were me, I would focus pretty exclusively on the brewpub model and not worry about distributing until firmly established.

It's cool that they're doing this—I'm never one to say that more beer is a bad thing—but with five other breweries in the area, I hope they're not entering into an over-saturated market. Time will tell.

From the Bulletin today is a notice that the Apricot Lane gift store downtown is closing its doors:

Downtown Bend's Apricot Lane will close its doors by the end of the year, the store's owner said Tuesday. The clothing and gift shop has been at 1001 N.W. Wall St. for three years. A Hood River women's clothing store will take over the space. Apricot Lane proprietor Bob McKinley will be retiring, he said, and hitting the ski slopes. Apricot Lane will soon have a monthlong sale of all remaining merchandise until everything is gone.

We were downtown by there today and so we stopped in; right now, everything in the store is on sale for 25% off. (I expect that number to go up as it approaches the end of the year.) It's a cute little boutique store, lots of Christmas-themed items. Worth checking out if you're looking for good deals on tchotchkes and knick-knacks.

In my rant about Outback Steakhouse the other day I suggested going to Zydeco instead, and decided they needed a full post. I wrote about them on chuggnutt almost two years ago now, and if anything, my review is even better now than it was then.

They're not cheap, but they are one of the best places in Bend for dinner right now. I have not had a bad meal—at all—and I can't recommend any one dish over another because they're all good. Seriously. The fish is excellent, the chicken good, the ribs are to die for. And the desserts?

Oh, the desserts... the almond wet cake is simply indescribable. You have to try it.

They are very kid-friendly, too. The tables are covered with paper that the kids (or the adults) can draw on with crayons. The waitstaff are all very attentive and excellent. And you can even take home their homemade dog biscuits at the end of the meal (catering to the fact that Bend is a huge dog-loving town).

The only criticism I would level at Zydeco is their location and small parking lot. They're found on south Third Street, near the Reed Market intersection and next door to Carrera Motors. The parking lot is tight and access in and out is inconvenient.

I'd recommend getting reservations if you go for dinner.

Zydeco Kitchen & Cocktails
1085 SE 3rd Street
Bend, OR 97702
(541) 312-2899

Saturday night we attended the final bout (for this year) of roller derby, featuring the local Renegade Rollergirls. Interesting experience; the crowd was bigger and louder than I would have imagined. It was at the Indoor Sports Center, but apparently they had to turn something like 300 people away at the door, so next February when it starts up again they'll be holding bouts at the Deschutes Expo Center (that's the rumor, at least).

I'm finally clear on exactly what these roller derbies are about, and how they're played and scored. The pack skates around the court, doing laps, led by the pivot from each team. (Two teams are on the court at the same time.) The pivot sets the pace for the pack. The pack is made up of six blockers, three from each team. Behind them all are the two jammers (again, one from each team); their role is that of the actual point scorers. In order to score points, they have to out-skate the pack and lap them; when they successfully pass the pack (break through or around), that team gets a point.

The gimmick, of course, is that the blockers have to try to stop the jammers from getting through... and, it seems, anything goes in doing this. Grab the jammer and pull her down, trip her, grab feet, throw an elbow, or whatever. There's a lot of falls, crashes, and fights being started, although the coach and the refs are quick to break up the fights. Each match is ten or 15 minutes long.

It was a lot more fun than I expected it to be, quite frankly, although we had VIP tickets and were able to avoid the general admission crush. VIP is the way to go; you get reserved seating in the best area, and two drink tickets. Beer and wine is served, although when I went back for our second drinks, they had completely sold out of wine (this by 8:30, doors were open by 7pm). If you don't drink beer, then you're out of luck when this happens.

Food was pretty reasonable, too; $2 for a hot dog, $3 for nachos, $1 for cookies, chips, and candy. Bottled water and pop was available, too.

Overall, the general atmosphere of the audience and everything once the matches started reminded me, of all things, of professional wrestling—there was that much intensity and mania from the audience. People would be cheering and yelling and just go nuts when a fight broke out or skaters went down. No serious injuries, though, much to the crowd's disappointment.

It looked like a lot of fun, though there's a lot of practice hours on skates to get as good as some of these girls; those jammers in particular are fast (they have to be). It's definitely a fast-paced sport once they get a match going. And confusing—I was wondering sometimes how they can keep track to keep score accurately.

And we were finally able to see Shannon in action and mixing it up. She's been bugging us for ages to come to one of these bouts and I told her when we finally did she had to kick some ass. She had a few sketchy moments but I'd say she pulled through. :)

We hadn't eaten at our local Outback Steakhouse in a couple of years, at least, so tonight we decided to try it for dinner. It's definitely not something we'll be doing again anytime soon—they've really gone downhill.

I'll start right off by saying the only truly good part of the evening was our waitress, who was great. The rest of the experience can only be described as mediocre at best, and there was some seriously shoddy service going on.

To start with, while waiting for a table, and watching the crowd grow behind us, I counted at least two tables that went unbussed the whole time we were in the lobby. One was a big six-person booth, another a four-person. They even tried to seat four people at that one, who had to stand and wait a couple of extra minutes for someone to clear the table. I'm sure there were more, too. How can you let a crowd build up and not clear tables? How can you just leave tables unbussed in general?

And when I did see someone cleaning tables, they were really slow. They could have been moving people in much quicker.

Once we got our table, the waiting went on. Waiting on drinks, waiting on food. The table didn't have silverware or napkins. So yes, while the waitress was otherwise great, there was a lot of waiting on her, and/or the food.

And, the food... prepared technically well enough, but the quality of food in general was really poor. The prime rib I ordered was literally—literally—one quarter to one third fat, all in one greasy lobe. And it was the thinnest cut of prime rib I've ever had, anywhere. Used to be the cut was a good one and a half, two inches thick. Tonight? Three-quarters, tops. My wife's filet looked more like a tougher sirloin, and it was a bit overcooked.

What's really disappointing is that Outback's steaks used to be some of the best in town.

So overall, we spent way too much time there, ate sub-par food, and walked out talking about what a poor experience we had. Even better—I overheard the two guys behind us saying, "Well that was a fiasco!" or something similar.

Avoid Outback Steakhouse. If you're in that area of town for dinner, go to Zydeco instead.

There's an article here that details plans for the new Oxford Hotel that's going to be built downtown, next to the parking garage and across the street from the Fire Hall. There's also a Bulletin blurb here that I missed last week. Long story short, the hotel will have 56 rooms, be seven stories high and will open in fall 2008.

The longer article is a bit of a puff piece, highlighting how The Oxford will be set apart from current Bend hotels:

"The Oxford Hotel will reflect, and we think enhance, the existing downtown environment." Designed by Bend's GGL Architecture, The Oxford Hotel will distinguish itself from existing Central Oregon lodging properties with larger than average rooms, luxurious finishes reflecting the region, and personal services including a complimentary full breakfast service. And then there's the location. "The Oxford Hotel will be in the middle of everything," Baney said. "Restaurants, live music, the Tower Theater - you name it, you can walk to it."

"From the minute a guest steps out of their car, they'll know that they're going to have a different kind of experience at The Oxford."

The unique experience continues inside the hotel with full bell service, another Bend hotel first. And when guests enter their rooms, they'll notice a luxurious feeling of space. The Oxford Hotel's guest rooms average about 500 square feet, more than a third larger than standard hotel rooms, and rooms on the upper floors will also have private decks. Guest rooms are not only larger, they are also more richly appointed than those in most of the region's other hotels.

Plus, there will be two 2000 square foot lease spaces that they plan to fill "with restaurant and retail operations that compliment the aesthetic of the hotel."

What I find most interesting, however, is that there's absolutely no mention of the parking garage that the hotel will be sharing a wall with. What this means is that there won't be any rooms with views—every room will have to face Minnesota street and the Fire Hall. I mean, have you seen how narrow that lot is? Reality check!

By and large, I think this will be a good thing for downtown; the only other large-scale options are the Phoenix Inn (right across the street, ironically) and McMenamins. It'll be interesting to watch how this develops.

The radio station 92.7 FM that I blogged about is live and playing some decent music. They're still in survey mode and link to a massive 1000-song questionnaire for people to fill out.

My previous post is also generating a bunch of comments; amusingly, a bunch of those people seem to think that I'm somehow affiliated with the radio station. Sorry, folks, no such luck. Here's the comment I posted in response:

While I like getting lots of comments here for this, I'd like to remind everybody that this site (Hack Bend) is just a blog and the ACTUAL radio station site is linked in the post: http://www.927fmradio.com/

I don't actually have anything to do with the station, nor do I influence what music they play. ;)

I listened to a bit of the new station today in the car and so far I like what I hear. My wife, also. What does everybody else think?

Somewhat recently I heard a rumor (on the radio, maybe) that the Newport Avenue bridge would be finished and open again by Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is now barely a week and half away, does anyone know if this is true or not? Sure would be nice...

Update: Oh for god's sake... I should read local news before I post something. KTVZ has a short article about it:

The project, begun last spring, was supposed to be completed a week ago, but a number of issues have delayed the project - and any more snow, like that seen Sunday, could bring more delays....

If all goes smoothly from here on, the new span over the Deschutes River should be completed by Thanksgiving, or soon thereafter, to the relief of Westside motorists and merchants, both of whom have been struggling with detours for months.

Looking for something to do tonight? The Renegade Rollergirls have a family-friendly carnival/skate party going on at the Indoor Sports Center. Technically, they're calling it "A Bad Ass Carnival" (see the poster image below), but I have it on good authority (from Shannon herself) that it'll be good for kids.

The best part is that it's free (though to skate it'll cost you $5, and $1 for skate rental). It's also a food drive, so bring canned food if you can. The time is from 6 until 10pm. Food and drink vendors will be there too.

Click to view full size

Picked up our tickets today for the November 18th (Saturday) Renegade Rollergirls match. Yep, it's that time again! Located at the Indoor Sports Center, doors open at 7pm and the action starts at 8.

I'll be there for sure this time. The VIP tickets are only $12, but they go quick, I think—get 'em while they're hot!

From the comments: Devin Barber writes:

Ty Barnett will be performing Nov. 8th at Jokers Bar & Grill. He was on Last Comic Standing and Jay Leno invited him to sit on the couch when he did the Tonight Show. I know this because I'll be opening for him that night. Be there, it will be a gut busting night.

That's next Wednesday; sorry, no mention of cost or times, though. If I find out, I'll post them.

From the comments: Joshua posted on my "Haunted Bend" entry about the new Central Oregon Paranormal Society:

Hey everyone! Thought I'd throw in my two cents since I've just opened Central Oregon's first (that I know of) paranormal research society. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of haunting activity around these parts.

If anyone knows anything about a really active haunting, please let me know! :-)

I thought it would be an interesting link. Currently they are taking applications for membership and looking for hauntings to investigate.

Coming up this Sunday and Monday, November 5th and 6th, is the Cascade Winds Symphonic Band free Fall Concerts. They're being held at the Tower Theatre, at 2pm on Sunday and at 7:30pm on Monday. And did I mention they are free? The details are here.

All concerts will be at the Tower Theatre in Bend, Oregon. As the Cascade Winds and the Tower Theatre support a FOODRAISER for NeighborImpact (formerly COCAAN) you are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item.

FREE Tickets available from any Cascade Winds member, the Tower Theatre Box Office, or call Yoleen: 389-2035

Printable Flyers: We've made a couple easy-to-print flyers for you if you'd like to hang them on your fridge or place of business (both files require the Acrobat Reader):

• Simple Black and White PDF Flyer (small and quick download)
  
• Fancy, Full-color, Larger Download Flyer (3 MB Download)

Jake is a member of the band, too, and always has a good time playing, and makes it sound like a blast. Get your tickets quick, because they filled up fast last time.

Via Utterly Boring (Jake).

I'm lifting this from my "Haunted Bend" post on my other blog from last year... thought it'd be fun to run here. So, just in time for Halloween, it's a list of places that are allegedly haunted here in Bend (most of these are pulled from the Shadowlands Haunted Place Index for Oregon):

• The Deschutes County Historical Society building (the old Reid School): Supposedly the ghost of George Brosterhous, who died there in 1914, haunts the place.
• The McCann House: The subject of the only ghost story for Bend found in Ghosts and Strange Critters of Washington and Oregon. According to the Shadowlands site, "there have been a few families that have lived there that have either died or something tragic has happened to them due to living in the cursed house." I don't know about cursed; the book simply mentions that sometimes figures are seen in the upper story windows, and gives a short history of it. Listed as the "Congress House" on the Shadowlands site because the house itself is on Congress Avenue.
  
• The O'Kane Building: There's "ghostly smoke, weird lights, footsteps, and voices," and occasionally a voice that calls out orders in the restaurant.
• Old Mt. View Hospital: I'm not sure where this is, the site says it's now an apartment building next to Drake Park. Floor creaks have been reporting, like someone's walking around.
• The Old Smoke Stacks (Old Mill District): Teenagers would sneak in there at night to see if the place was haunted.
• The Pilot Butte Cemetery: Reports of ghostly blue orbs floating around.
• The Lara House Bed and Breakfast: Located on Congress Avenue, like the Congress House.
• The Downing Hotel building (current site of The Grove): Historically this was a brothel. Haunted by a woman?

Any others I'm unaware of?

The Bulletin surprises me today and publishes a really good happy hour guide. Almost all of what they cover is in Bend, but they also hit a few in Redmond, Sisters, Madras, Prineville, and Sunriver. They don't just cover who has happy hours (and they admit it's not a complete list, either), but they make sure to list what days and hours they take place, and the prices of drinks and food on special.

Oh yeah, the Bend listings are divided by "upscale" and "casual" dining. At first I thought they had omitted a bunch of places but no, just read farther down.

There's apparently a new radio station starting here soon, 92.7 FM, and it looks like they're soliciting listener input on what kind of radio station they should be:

We're about to sign on a new radio signal in Bend at 92.7 on FM.
Does anything frustrate you about radio?
We want our station to be part of the solution rather than the problem.

They're inviting visitors to fill out a survey online—with questions along the lines of whether you'd prefer talk radio or music, what kind of music you'd like to hear, what stations you listen to already, etc. So this could be your chance to help hack the radio... so to speak.

Need costumes and stuff for Halloween in a pinch? Check out the Halloween Headquarters, located in the Factory Outlets next to Nike. This close to the end of the month, they're probably getting limited on the costume selection, but they're still quite impressive.

That's also the location of "The Haunt," a haunted house/interactive mystery which sounds interesting. The only thing I can find about it online comes from The Peak radio station's website:

...benefiting the Oregon Athletic & Educational Association. Join us, if you dare, and help solve the Mystery of Juniper Hollow. Open October 19-21 and 26-31 nightly at 7pm. Admission is $9. The Haunt is located next to Nike at the Bend Factory Stores (61334 S. Hwy. 97 in Bend) and is not recommended for young children.

Another place to check out is Party & Cards, on south 3rd Street next to the Grocery Outlet and Rite Aid. I can't vouch for their selection, but I heard their ad for Halloween on the radio.

Any other good places—besides the box stores?

Shannon sends along this tip: "cheapest gas in town is at Hertz on Hwy 20 ... $2.56." Cool... I didn't know Hertz sold gas. (Or do they only sell to customers?)

It's also worth pointing to the Bend page on the Oregon Gas Prices site. According to that (it's driven by user-submitted prices, and isn't completely comprehensive), the (next) lowest price in Bend is $2.61 at the Space Age up north of town. That's about the cheapest place I know, too.

A few weeks ago at the Bend Fall Festival, I picked up the "premier issue" of a small zine/chapbook from a local non-profit arts group: Artists Local 101. The zine is named "Guerilla." It was one of those weird little finds that make you scratch your head. (Plus, it was free.)

The zine is full of black-and-white photos of artwork by the group (presumably), and events they're associated with. It's clever and a fun idea; I haven't seen a bonafide zine in ages. Based on the wording on the back ("Enjoy the premier issue for FREE"), I'm not sure if they will charge for future issues... though it seems that would defeat the purpose, so who knows.

As to this Artists Local 101 group... I can't find any website for them other than a few references online. From this booklet, though:

Who are we? A 501C3 non-profit. A group of hardworking contemporary artists. An on-going 'barrel of monkeys' reverence for the local art scene.

Artists Local 101, continuing our mission of instigating and exhibiting contemporary/outsider arts in your community.

To find out more contact art101@bendcable.com or call 541-350-2159. 

It's roller derby time again, Saturday, October 21st, put on by the Renegade Rollergirls. This month it's Halloween-themed—"Fight of the Skating Dead."

It's at the Indoor Sports Center in northeast Bend, with doors opening at 7pm and the action starting at 8. Cost of admission is $6 for general, $12 for VIP (which gives you premium seating and two drink tickets). You can get tickets at Oxygen Tattoo.

You can check out the Renegade Rollergirls MySpace page here. And here's the Bulletin blurb.

Following up on my last Trader Joe's post, my wife found out the following information yesterday (she was at Trader Joe's in the valley): the Bend store is slated to open third quarter of 2007. There's been some holdup with the lease: some sort of snafu or conflict. So that means—ideally—this time next year they should be open for business.

I heard on the radio on my way to work this morning that Newport Avenue Market is having a Friday the 13th sale—"reverse the karma" or something goofy like that. Anyway, everything in the store is 13% off today.

Of course, I bought beer there yesterday. Go figure. :)

I can't help but notice (from downtown) that it's really hazy from smoke this morning... you can see the smoky haze on the butte(s), and the air is a bit brown on the horizon. Smells strong, too. Since it seems a bit late for field burning, and I don't know of any forest fires, did everybody wake up this morning and decide to fire up their woodstoves?

Ah, here's the source: Worried residents told: Smoke just planned burn. A 200-acre controlled burn near LaPine. KTVZ and Barney come through!

Thursday—tomorrow—is the opening night of the BendFilm festival, which runs this weekend with movies all over town. No, really—at the Tower Theatre, McMenamins theater, the Old Mill, and Banter.

I'm sorry to say I have no idea where "Banter" is, though.

(It would appear to be the Bend-LaPine Education Center, across from the Library.)

I have to say, I just don't go ga-ga over BendFilm like other people here do. I think having a local film festival is a good thing, generally, and it's good for the economy and downtown, etc. etc. And I admire what they've managed to build in the past three years. But since I'm really not a movie buff, it's not something I've gotten interested in.

Anyone want to send me reviews for this year's films? I'll post them here in their entirety.

Just a reminder that the "Web Professionals User Group" inaugural meeting is tonight, starting at 6 at Edge Wireless. I'll be there. Check out Jen's post here and the Upcoming.org page for it here for details.

Images from KTVZ

Friday afternoon I noticed the sidewalks had been stenciled up for the upcoming BendFilm event (more on that later); all over downtown, the BendFilm logo and the phrase "what is it to you?" have been painted in white "chalk paint" (according to the Z21 report). All over. My first thought was, did they have permits for this?

It's generated a bit of controversy; you can watch KTVZ's online video report here, where they touch on it a bit, plus raise the interesting question, who's going to clean it all up? And then there are a couple of craigslist postings criticizing the graffiti: here, here, and here. Rebuttal here.

Personally, I think the paint-stencilling-graffiti is pretty clever; it's definitely generating attention. I just wonder about the cleanup and responsibility, though. Will it wear off on its own, weathered by rain or whatever? Or will it need to be cleaned up manually—and by whom and at what cost?

It's been awhile since it was officially announced that Trader Joe's would be coming to Bend, and I have yet to hear anything more about it. Here's what we know for sure:

• It will be in the Cascade Village Shopping Center
• The new building will replace an existing vacant building adjacent to Food4Less
• It's to be a 13,000 square foot building

What we don't know is more tantalizing. I found a comment here that says "a manager at a Portland area store told us that the store would open in Q1 2007 'if there are no hangups with the permits.'" And I personally remember a conversation with a Trader Joe's employee who confided that the reason (up to that point) that TJ's wasn't in Bend was because members of the (City or County?) Council had financial stakes in Wild Oats, which would be a big competitor... all hearsay, of course.

Another bit I remember hearing was that it would take two years for TJ's to open a store here once they got rolling, largely because they would have to build a distribution center as well. Still hearsay.

I filled out the contact form on the Trader Joe's website asking about the Bend location. No reply yet, but I'll post it when and if I get one. Has anyone else heard anything new?

Update: Got some more dirt here.

I got this in email yesterday...

The Nature of Words, Central Oregon's Premier Literary Event, will take place November 2 through 5, 2006 in Bend, Oregon. Highlights of the weekend include readings by eight nationally acclaimed authors and poets at the Tower Theatre, two days of writing workshops held at the Oregon State University/Cascades Campus, and a sit-down dinner and panel discussion at the High Desert Museum. An open mike for regional writers, with the visiting authors in the audience, is the concluding event of the weekend.

Anyone with questions can contact us at 541.385.7025, via email at info@thenatureofwords.org, or the website http://www.thenatureofwords.org/

You can follow the links on their website for buying tickets... in short, though, readings are $12, workshops are $45, and the reception and dinner is $65 and $85 (for different tables). The workshops are generally limited to 15 participants, so you'd better buy your tickets early.

Yeah, it's festival season. While not quite the Central Oregon pumpkin patch, the Original Pumpkin Festival is coming up on Saturday, October 21st, from 10am until 4pm. Here's the blurb from KTVZ:

Come out to Tillicum Ranch and pick out your perfect pumpkin, go on a hayride or pony ride, pet the farm animals, enjoy the treats and live entertainment, visit the spooky barn, take home seasonal crafts, search the ranch for treasures in the scavenger hunt, and participate in the many other fun activities. This event is designed specifically for families with young children. High Desert Museum brings out their creepy creatures and Bend Science Station launches rocket ghosts. This Pumpkin Festival is no sleepy hollow.
$9 for an all day pass (includes pumpkin) or .50 cents per activity tickets.

Directions: 18144 Couch Market Road. Take Hwy 20 six miles west toward Sisters, turn left on Couch Market Road and follow the orange signs.

The High Desert Museum angle sounds cool; they'll probably have reptiles on hand for the "creepy creatures."

Yes, Bend has festivals for each season, and this weekend it's the Bend Fall Festival. Taking place October 7th and 8th, it "promises a fabulous array of music, art, food, and fun" in Downtown Bend.

And yes, that means they're closing the main streets downtown to fill them up with two music stages, artists selling their wares, and the food court. Also look for Fall-themed contests (pumpkin carving, pie baking, pumpkin painting) and a kids area replete with pony rides, apple bobbing, an inflatable "playground" and more.

I don't see hours listed on their website, but I'd imagine 10am or so until evening.

So yeah. The Fall Festival. At this point I'm waiting for Bend to start having monthly festivals... NovemberFest, AprilFest, etc.

If you're looking for a fun excursion with the kids (or even without), you might want to check out the Central Oregon Pumpkin Company's pumpkin patch throughout the month of October. We went yesterday (the 1st) and it was a good outing that we enjoyed quite a bit.

Located near Terrebonne and Smith Rock (north of Redmond), they offer not only a vast pumpkin patch from which you can select the perfect pumpkin to purchase, but also have a giant corn maze, a harvest market, hay and wagon rides, a pumpkin cannon (no kidding), weekend pony rides, and more. Their hours are noon until 6pm during the week, and 9am until 6pm weekends. There's no charge to get in and check things out, though everything else will cost you.

We had a good time, and picked out our pumpkins (25 cents a pound, we ended up with nearly 60 pounds of pumpkins which came out to $14.50). Want to see pictures? Click on through...

More...

This Saturday, the 7th, is the Friends of the Bend Library Fall Book Sale. They have "Thousands of books of all kinds for sale: fiction, nonfiction, travel books, children's books. Music CD’s and free books too!" It's taking place at the Library Administration Building (507 NW Wall Street, just down from the main library building) from 10am until 4pm.

These are usually pretty good sales; the quality of books you'll find at one depends on both how soon you get there and what you're looking for. So get there early! And the deals are unbeatable, too. I'll definitely try to make it.

Bend Brewing Company has won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival this year! The winners at the GABF were announced yesterday, and in Category 39, American-Style India Pale Ale, Bend Brewing took the gold for their HopHead Imperial IPA. Awesome! That's a huge honor in the world of beer; Bend Brewing beat out 93 other contenders for this medal.

I believe that HopHead was one of the first (if not the first) beers that they bottled for general release (being a brewpub, they only serve on-premise). It's currently on tap right now, too, so now is as good a time as any to visit the brewery—they're located at 1019 NW Brooks Street downtown, just half a block down from the Pine Tavern restaurant.

Sometime soon I hope to write a more in-depth post about them. For right now, congrats!

The Bend Area Transit system has been running for a few days now, and I thought I'd do a bit of a round-up and see how things are shaking out. My post from earlier this month has garnered a fair number of comments, with some valid criticisms:

• Southeast Bend is completely unrepresented
• Route 11 (the Northwest Crossing/westside route) only runs limited hours
• Buses don't run at night

I'm pretty sure most of these issues will be resolved once a lot of the kinks and bugs are worked out of the system. Plus, remember they only have six buses, I believe it is; they might be a bit stretched thin right now as it is.

Their website is much improved, too, with PDFs of the full system map and the route maps/schedules for each route. These are scalable high-res quality PDFs, which is nice.

BAT in the news: OregonLive, KTVZ. Nearly 1000 people rode that first day (and it's free this first week, through the 3rd). That seems pretty good to me; hopefully that kind of number will hold up when they start charging fares.

Personally, I'm still really glad to see the buses driving around town, and even seeing the bus stops with signs is cool. The nearest bus stop to my house is about a mile away, and I've been figuring it would take me about 20 minutes to walk to it. That's actually not a huge deal, but I've been thinking about when winter comes; that becomes a whole different walk. So we'll see.

Jake has a post of local (to Bend) telephone prefixes. Good resource. And he says, "When I lived in Bend growing up, I knew if the phone number didn't start with 38-something (382, 385, 388, 389, and then 383 came along later) or 593, it was a long-distance call." I remember, too, when it was just 382, 388 and 389; people would regularly write phone numbers with only the third digit of the prefix (e.g., 9-0123).

Of course, only having to dial four digits is a little before my time; even though the "38" part was assumed, you still had to dial the full seven digits. And yes, calling Redmond (which was only 548, and later, 923), was long distance.

Saturday, September 30th, you can get in to the High Desert Museum for free—if you bring a Museum Day card from Smithsonian Magazine. Fortunately all you have to do is visit the Smithsonian Magazine site and print out the card at no cost.

Cards are good for two people.

In addition, according to KTVZ,

to nationally acclaimed wildlife and living history programs and exhibitions, visitors to the High Desert Museum on Saturday can enjoy Totally Touchable Tales Day — fun fish tales inside the U.S. Forest Service inflatable salmon, wildlife tales from renowned storyteller and author Susan Strauss at 11 am and 1 pm, and more fun activities.

For more information, call the High Desert Museum at (541) 382-4754.

Simone sends along this email:

YOU'RE INVITED to join Larry & Bryon for their 100th Morning Show Celebration tomorrow morning [Tuesday, September 26] from 6-9am LIVE on location at DiLusso Bakery Cafe in downtown Bend. Stop by for a cup of coffee, try the Larry & Bryon Blend and stick around for prize giveaways every 20 minutes!

DiLusso Bakery Cafe
744 NW Bond St in downtown Bend

For those who don't know, these guys are from The Peak 104.1 radio station. What I'm curious about, though, is whether the coffee is free or not? That, and I totally think they should make a Hack Bend blend of coffee.

On Tuesday, September 26, the Deschutes Brewery is hosting their launch party for the new seasonals of Hop Trip and Jubelale at their Mountain Room. It runs from 6pm to 8pm, and only costs $10 to get in; this "gets you appetizers, door prizes, and of course, samples of Jubelale and Hop Trip".

Ten bucks seems like a sweet deal for this, and the Mountain Room is a pretty neat place. It's located at their main brewery, just off Colorado at 901 SW Simpson Avenue—right at the first roundabout on Colorado after crossing the river (heading west).

Now this just looks hedonistically delicious: McMenamins is hosting their Scotch & Cigar Tasting this Friday night (September 22).

In this long-running and popular event, we pair together a couple of life's finer pleasures — good scotches from Ardbeg and Glenmorangie along with fat cigars. We'll also provide our guests with an assortment of hearty appetizers. See you there!

Glenmorangie 10 Years Old
Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish
Glenmorangie Sherry Wood Finish
Ardbeg

It starts at 6pm, costs $35 (not cheap, but not super expensive, either) and they say reservations are required, so you'd better call 382-5174 for them.

Oktoberfest is upon us!

Sunday, September 24th, McMenamins Old St. Francis School has their all-day Oktoberfest celebration:

Come out for live music, McMenamins Oktoberfest Ale, food & drink specials, belly dancing and more! Wander about the entire property, beer and bratwurst in hand, to check out the fun.

It's free (well, except for the beer and food you'll have to buy), and live music will start at 3pm. The music will be by the Moon Mountain Ramblers, Coyo & The Gypsy Fire Belly Dancers, and Mark Ransom & The Mostest.

Then, Saturday, September 30th is the 2nd Annual Bend Oktoberfest, in downtown Bend. It runs from noon to 10pm, and will occupy Oregon Avenue—between Bond and Wall only, I think, but I might be wrong on that. Cost is $3.

There will be seasonal beers from all five breweries in town (Deschutes, Bend Brewing, Cascade Lakes, Silver Moon and McMenamins), and food provided by Merenda and the Blacksmith Restaurant. Also, they advertise:

• Oktoberfest Girls Competition
• Live Bavarian Music
• Traditional German food
• Beer Stein Challenge
• Hammerschlagen Contests
• Puppet Shows & a Kinderland area for the kids

I'll bet it's going to be fun. Chilly too, probably, so bring a jacket.

I saw a flyer for this at Pizza Mondo today (Pizza Mondo, of course, rates its own blog entry, sometime in the near future): the Bend Roots Music Festival 2006. It's a "music festival in Bend for the musicians in Bend."

Bend Roots promotes musical community in the high desert creating opportunities for performance, workshops and extemporaneous jamming.

This year's event will be held Saturday, September 23rd on Bend's west side at 14th and Galveston by the flaming phoenix roundabout.

There will be two outdoor stages: one at Parrilla Grill and one at the Victorian Café.

Admission is free.

This sounds pretty cool. The music starts at 10am, and they say it'll go to 9:45pm and "absolutely no later!!" Check out the list of local musicians on their page; seems like a pretty eclectic spread.

Yes, I was bound to blog about this sooner or later here: The Shire. We all know The Shire around here, correct? The Hobbit-themed real estate development? Right. It's hitting the news outside of the area, finally.

I first blogged about it here over a year ago. I called it "some kind of crazy." I mean really, who builds Hobbit holes? (Okay, utility sheds, but still.) If I were to live there, I would fully wear period clothing and a long sword strapped to my belt. Hey, "some kind of crazy" requires crazy living.

Anyway, the other day Boing Boing ran an item on it, based on this article from the Oregonian. In the geek world, when it hits Boing Boing, it's the Big Time.

Today Shannon points to the Pop Candy blog and the Best Week Ever which have both picked up the story. The tone in both is mocking.

Okay, I think that's it. Did I miss anybody? I imagine there will more links; perhaps we need a ShireWatch or something.

I just find this whole thing rather weird. I mean, right here among resort destination ranches with celebrity-designed golf courses and multimillion dollar homes, we have... a medieval village inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien?

Sad to say, I haven't visited it yet. Would anyone who has like to post a report?

Holy crap! It's finally happening! According to KTVZ, Bend's new transit system is starting at the end of the month!

The City of Bend is launching its new transit system at the end of September. After years of planning, the city is making the vision of a public transit service into a reality.

The city's new Bend Area Transit (BAT) service will begin passenger routes Wednesday, September 27. Riders will ride free during BAT's inaugural week - September 27 through October 3....

Fares to ride BAT are: $1.00 per trip with multi-ride passes available for purchase. An unlimited day pass is $2.00. Senior/Disabled rates are $.50 per trip with an unlimited day pass for $1.00....

Route maps and schedules are available at City Hall, located at 710 NW Wall Street or the Public Works Building at 575 NE 15th Street.

They have a website here. So far there's only a couple of PDFs on there.

This is huge. I think I'm heading down to pick up a route map and schedule tomorrow, to check things out. (The first PDF on their site has a small version.) Does anyone have any more information on these? Are they regular buses, or small ones like the Dial-a-Ride bus? Will they have bicycle racks?

Yeah, I'm excited; I can't believe it's finally happening!

Update: Bend Area Transit, a few days in

I promised Shannon I'd blog this for her: the latest "Renegade Rollergirls" roller derby is coming up Saturday, September 16 at the Central Oregon Indoor Sports Center. $6 tickets. Click through on the image for the full flyer and info.

And no, I'm not displaying the full image here because I really don't want a big bloody knee on the front page of my site. :)

Jen has posted a notice for a web developer (and programmer/coder and designer) user group meeting to kick off on Wednesday, October 11 (and crossposted here on craigslist).

This is an opportunity to network and share ideas with others in your field! This kick-off meeting is intended as a meet-and-greet, and to find out what topics are of interest to attendees in Central Oregon.

The meeting will be held at Edge Wireless Corporate Headquarters, 650 SW Columbia Street. Pizza and sodas will be provided.

This is something I've been interested in for awhile, and I know Jen and Jake have blogged about this before. Looks like it's finally on.

Excellent! I'll try to be there myself.

The results for monkeyinabox's Real Best of Bend 2006 are up! Classic... I'm thinking about making a link in the sidebar for this.

2. Best Roundabout To Drive In Circles:
Winner:the "SEX" roundabout
Runner Up: Chicken with the butt on fire.

Makes you proud to be a Bendite, with landmarks such as these.

8. Best Milkshake:
Winne