One of my FAVORITE things about my job is the travel. Admittedly, I travel a lot more than most pet photographers I know – but it’s only about 50% pet related {I do manage to do a few weddings a year and sometimes *gasp* I go places for fun!?} BUT in the case of this little adventure, I found myself truckin’ on down to Bend, Oregon for a “pet-friendly travel” article.
When I think Oregon, I think Portland… which is about 3 hours from my front door. I’ve traveled to Astoria on the Oregon coast, as well as all the way straight through Oregon on down to California, and in all of those mental maps of the “Beaver” state {yes, seriously I didn’t make that up} I never think of it as very far away. And yet, on hour 5 of my drive…. I thought I’d never get there!
What I failed to fully comprehend, is that Bend is near smack-dab in the center of the state. Flanked by National Forest and to the north, by Mt. Hood – this place is wayyyy out there! Luckily, the drive is downright lovely and I had my favorite road-trip companion… Olivia the great.
We were headed to SunRiver Resort, a pet-friendly destination I was excited to visit, especially after learning that it is a sister property to one of my favorites here in Washington, Suncadia.
Just as the clock had ticked past hour 8 of our journey, we pulled into the thin desert-pine lined entrance to SunRiver – both of us excited to stretch and sniff the high-desert air.
* * *
SunRiver is a massive place – smash-full of activities, attractions and sheer natural beauty. Golf, horse-back riding, kayaking, pool lounging, bike riding, hiking and trailblazing are only a few of the long list of outdoor activities SunRiver affords its guests. We had the opportunity to hit the spa for a massage and a soak in the super-cool “sunset ceiling” hot tub {yeah, the walls change color like the sun is setting – Sooooo cool} and the options for dining are plenty.
The dogs enjoyed the communal green space out in front of our second-story room – during Olivia’s morning walk we met an airedale, a dachshund, a basset – our boxer-friend Scout and schnoodle-friend Ziggy and several eager kids. During the day, Olivia enjoyed sprawling in the sun on our private balcony to watch the busy yard below.
Even MORE exciting that SunRiver itself, was the other reason I was in Bend, OR – and that was to meet and photograph miss Mimi Ausland – the young {like 13 yrs. young} founder of FreeKibble.com
But you’ll get to read about that in the next post… For now, enjoy some SunRiver moments!!
{This would have been MUCH better with a tripod. We were actually laying on a green on the golf course staring at the stars – I was a wee-bit tipsy, and totally unprepared}
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