MY TANGERINE DREAMS: Bend, Oregon- The Place Where I Live

I love where I live.

Smith Rock State Park

I grew up here in Bend, Oregon. My parents moved us here from the San Francisco Bay Area when I was 5 and my brother was 3 1/2. They wanted us to grow up in the country where the population was low and the people were kind. I moved back to San Francisco to attend school after I graduated High School and lived there for 15 years. Then I had my family and when it was time for them to start school I knew I didn't want them growing up in the city either. So my ex-husband (we were still married then) and I moved back to my home town to raise the girls.

The View from Pilot Butte

It isn't as small as it used to be- the population is now 80,000 compared to 14,000 when I moved here as a child. Most of the people are kind. It is a family community. The city shuts down after 8pm during the week. And on the weekends it shuts down around 10 unless you are out for a night of brewery and bar hopping downtown. It is an amazing place to raise children. And it is only 20 minutes to the ski resort of Mt. Bachelor- the best skiing and snow boarding in the west. It suits the outdoor lover in all seasons....hiking, kayaking, horse back riding, fishing, boating, biking, white water rafting, skiing-both water and snow, sunny days, cool nights. I can't say enough about how happy I am to live here and I hope I never have to leave.

I thought you would enjoy some pictures of Bend

so you could see just how beautiful it is here......

The first four pictures are my neighborhood- The Old Mill District. Literally, a hop, skip and a few jumps from my house.