We’re Paige and Mason. The Bend Banner is our way of keeping tabs on this wild, beautiful place we call home. To the mornings that start with coffee and mountain air, the trails that somehow always lead to a brewery, and the kind of small-town stories that remind you why you chose to live here in the first place.

The Little Things of Bend

Paige's best friend from college, Kailee, had heard about Bend for years. She finally made it out for a summer weekend.

The first morning, she stepped outside nice and early. She texted Paige: It is so quiet here. And the air is so cold. I forgot peace like this exists.

That is the thing about June mornings in Bend. The days get warm, sometimes very hot, but before ten in the morning, the high desert reminds you where you are. Most of us stop noticing it. Kailee noticed it immediately.

We did not plan anything complicated. We just did what we actually do here.

We walked Drake Park. We grabbed lunch at The Dominican after our walk around downtown. We stopped by Alpenglow Park(The splash zone is perfect on a hot day) with the kids and let them run until they had nothing left.

And we drove out to Tumalo to hit The Bite.

If you have only ever done the food truck lots inside Bend, The Bite is worth the five-minute drive just to feel the difference. It is a little more tucked away, a little more unhurried. Less polished, more local. The kind of spot where you show up, look around, and think: how did this end up out here, and why does it feel so right? It has a completely different energy than the lots in town, and that is exactly what makes it worth the trip.

In the warm afternoon, we grabbed cocktails and a cheeseboard at San Simon and stayed longer than we planned. We always do.

But here is the thing about watching someone experience Bend for the first time. They notice the stuff you have stopped seeing.

She noticed the roundabouts. Bend puts real art in its roundabouts. Commissioned sculptures and installations sitting at intersections all over town.

She noticed that by three in the afternoon, something shifts. The town quietly decides the workday is over. Patios fill up. People who clearly just came off a trail show up in hiking boots with a cold pint, and nobody thinks twice about it. It is not a policy. It is just what Bend does.

She noticed that nobody is ever just sitting inside. The parks have people in them. The river trail is busy. The farmers market is packed. The trailhead parking lot was already full at seven in the morning. She kept asking: where does everyone come from?

She went home on Sunday and texted Paige an hour after she landed. “I love it there.”

We hear that a lot. We never get tired of it.

Wolves in Bend

Nine wolves call Deschutes County home right now. Next time you're out on the trail, maybe keep your eyes open a little wider. Two points I thought were super interesting:

Oregon never reintroduced wolves. They just... came back on their own.
When most of us were kids, there wasn't a single wolf in Oregon. Today, there are 200+.

This Week’s Conditions
☀️ Sunrise: 5:21 am
🌅 Sunset: 8:50 pm
High Temp: 86°F
Local Cafe of the Week: Cafe de Chutes
Local Sports of the Week: Bend Elks

🐾Bend’s Best Good Boys & Good Girls 🐾

🐶 Halo – 1 year, Retriever Mix

This one-year-old lab mix is ready to find her forever family. Great with other dogs, she'd also make an awesome hiking buddy, and she and her foster mom have enjoyed exploring all the trails in Bend.

🐶 Walter – 4 years, German Shepherd Mix
Walter is a smart and silly dude who will fall in love with you. Clever and smart, Walter is picking up training quickly.

🐱 Oceana – 6 months - Mix
This pup is shy but has been very friendly with everyone. She’s been super sweet and will need some socialization to help her get more acclimated.

If you’re fostering a dog, reach out. We’d love to help get them adopted.

Summer Quarterly Mailer

There is something about this time of year here. The moment you realize you have lived here for years and still have not done half the things on your summer list.

The Summer Mailer is our attempt to bottle that feeling and put it in your mailbox.

Inside you might find a Bend Summer Bucket List written by people who actually live here, a Summer Almanac, food and drink recipes, and some of our favorite local food and drink partners thrown in for good measure.

It’s something worth keeping on your kitchen counter all summer.

Reserve Your Mailer