Posts from October 2022

What's in the October, 2022 Newsletter?

• The Brakes Have Been Hit with Bend Home Sales

• Fun Facts You May Not Know About Halloween

• Horrifying Design Trends 2022

• The Journey to Buy a Home

Lots of Sun and Exposure on Little Belknap Crater Hike

Wear a hat and have good shoes if you decide to hike to Little Belknap Crater. With little shade, summertime temperatures can be high, so a fall hike is recommended. This was the second time we hiked to Little Belknap, so we knew what to expect.  We took this hike on October 15, 2022, the last day for the required 2022 Central Cascades Wilderness Permits and we saw a total of 10 other people the entire time. It was a beautiful fall day with temperatures reaching the 60's, and despite some haze from the Cedar Creek fire which has been burning in the Willamette National Forest since early August, the views were good.  After taking in the sights from the top of Little Belknap, we elected to continue on the Pacific Crest Trail to see if we could reach George Lake near Mt. Washington, a place we have never been.

As we hiked past Little Belknap and the end of the acres of lava rock, we entered the forest and enjoyed the trees and fall foliage before, to our surprise, we were back trekking through lava rock interspersed with dead trees, the result of the 2017 Milli Fire. However, there were signs of new life with young trees and plants and even chipmunks and ground squirrels.  Once we reached the end of the lava, the PCT turned left and the trail continued around the flanks of Mt. Washington. However, we had already hiked over 5 miles. Knowing we still had to hike out, we turned around and returned the way we came; we will have to find George Lake another day. All in all we traveled over 10.5 miles with 2000 feet of elevation gain mostly over difficult hiking conditions with the loose rock. 

We are always on the lookout for the next great culinary creation in Bend, Oregon and today we stopped by a winning location. Papi Chulo's in the Box Factory has a simple menu packed with flavor that we are eager to try again. Even from our first bites of a simple chips and guac appetizer, we knew this was a flavor experience Bend has been needing.

We absolutely had to try the birria items on the menu this time around as we both love the their taste.

The birria burrito is packed with stand alone flavor. The meat is perfectly seasoned and slow cooked; it just melts in your mouth. The simple addition of cheese, onion, and cilantro do a great job of complimenting the meat without taking over the show. This burrito when dunked, and I mean DUNK it, in the birria soup is ju...

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The Brakes Are On With Bend Real Estate Sales

Ask any real estate agent across the country about the current state of the market, they will tell you things have changed dramatically since earlier in the year.  Ask a Bend Premier Real Estate Broker about the local market, they will tell you that it is as if the brakes have been hit stopping a jet plane. The fed's increase in interest rates is being done to curtail inflation.  When it comes to the housing industry, this tightening is working. Bend home sales are falling, days on market are rising, yet home prices are still up. Mortgage interest rates are now approaching 7% for a 30 year fixed, a figure which hasn't been seen since 2002. Each percentage increase in interest rates reduces homebuyer's buying power by 10-12%. As the number of pending...

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