Bend bound

We are in a dispersed camping area just off Oregon 31, in the Deschutes National Forest (map). A forest road leads off from here and we've seen a number of log and chip trucks heading into or out of the forest.

This is a well-used area, and it was listed in our Day's End guide, even though it technically does not meet the rules for dispersed camping, which normally require you to be at least ¼ mile from a paved road. There is room here for a good number of rigs, but we had the place to ourselves last night. It's a bit too accessible for our tastes, with the result being that there is plenty of trash strewn about, including a television set. But for an overnight stop we decided we could overlook that detail.

We had briefly contemplated spending more than a night here, and we walked half a mile down the dirt forest road to see if there was a better spot. But in the end we decided to just make it an overnight, which is a good thing because we have become increasingly worried about George, who has been a bit lethargic and not herself lately. This morning we decided to hightail it into Bend this afternoon, and we got her a 4:30 appointment with a vet there.

We need to do laundry, too, so we will clear out here in just a few minutes so we have time for the laundromat before the vet. Tonight we will most likely end up at the Bend Elks Lodge for $15, if we don't come across something free on the way. We'll also make a stop at the UPS store, since one of the slide projectors sold yesterday and we need to ship it.

Depending on how things go at the vet, I may try to get Odyssey's tires rotated while we are in town. The drivers are starting to look asymmetric and need to be flopped, and I'll have them flop the steers, too, if they will fit on their balance machine. There are three Les Schwab stores in town, and I would bet some other commercial tire shops as well.