Farewell Bend, Ore.

1/12 scale model of a timber mill 
2010 (c) Lauren Dillard

It was supposed to be named "Farewell Bend," Ore. However, when the postal service was adopting the formal name, "Farewell Bend" was taken. So, it got shortened to Bend and the small, centrally located, city began. 

In the late 1800s, Bend was rich in timber. The government at that time divided up the land and gave it away to anyone who was willing to travel to the west side of the continent. A visit to the High Desert Museum impartially explained the relationship between Native Americans and those who moved on in to settle the Oregon Territory. 

I found myself thinking about living without borders. To be American is to desire a picket fence and a piece of property large enough to have a bonfire and an adequate home. To be Native is to live off of the land, be raised by a village and be outnumbered by the trees around you. The extended family relationship of Native Americans and the traditional Native lifestyle reminded me of reading I had done about Indian culture -- the subcontinent, not the other reference for Native Americans. It's all about hierarchy, relationships and familial structure. In other words, the individual is not as important as the whole. This is true in traditional Native culture as well. In both Native and Indian cultures, whole families live off of their respective chunk of land or flat in a high rise. 

Tumalo Falls | Bend, Ore. 
2010 (c) Lauren Dillard

However, as Americans we embrace the individual. We want our own space. I want a two bedroom apartment to myself. And four days with Anthony in a hotel room was almost too much for me. 


On a hike to Tumalo Falls, I experienced that timber firsthand. This abundant resource was available for the taking. It was free money. Where people are scarce and trees are plentiful, India is the opposite. People are the resource.


Farewell Bend so vibrantly lives its own history. It is Wild West and Farwest in the truest sense of both of those words, but the industries have shifted and changed since the land was initially pillaged and plundered. Mill Street (home to the two competing saw mills of the early 19th century) was paved in 1921, well after rail lines were installed to bring workers, supplies and take lumber out to places where they could be sold. 

It's clear that money steers development. Rail lines were laid before main street was paved. Rail meant more money. Pavement meant spending money to cut down dust and mud. Paving fiber optic highways to India is a business decision. However, 41.6 percent of Indians live under the poverty line, according to The World Bank. 

Mirror Pond | Bend, Ore. 2010 (c) Lauren Dillard

Compare and contrast aside, I had a wonderful vacation with Anthony and I was really glad to take a few days away from the I-5 corridor. We stayed at McMenamin's Old St. Francis School hotel and visited the High Desert Museum, hiked to Tumalo Falls along Tumalo Creek, visited and took gorgeous pictures of Mirror Pond and Farewell Bend Park. We toured the Deschutes Brewery Mothership and I had a pint of Bend Brewing Co. Vanilla Porter from a nitro tap that was absolutely fantastic (though my turkey melt was subpar). 


Thank you, bear, for a fantastic vacation, a lot of great meals and beers, a few angry moments and a whole lot of laughs. It was a rare treat to spend a few uninterrupted days away from the city and my work e-mail with you. I hope that we have many more vacations ahead of us. I'm trying not to buy into American, individualistic ideals, but someday I hope we have a firepit to drink Mirror Pond Ale around with our friends and family. Perhaps we can also skip out on a few holidays :)