Oregon offers the traveler such a wealth of exceptional vacation destinations that the central part of the state is sometimes overlooked, which is definitely a big mistake!

But if your group has made plans to tour the Central Oregon area, you’ll surely want to make an en route sightseeing stop at the Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint on U.S. 97 a few miles north of Redmond.

However, if you are coming from the south, your previous destination will likely have been magnificent Crater Lake National Park. Although a wide variety of quality accommodations can be found in the Bend area, I am particularly fond of the group-friendly Shilo Inn Suites.  In fact, during my most recent visit here earlier this summer, I took the accompanying photo directly from the patio of my room, with the feathered friends shown only a few feet away.

newberry-2View of Deschutes River and feathered friends from my room at the Shilo Inn Suites Hotel