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Articles by K.M. Collins
Christmas Day & Family Photo Ops
Holiday outings that also make great backdrops By K.M. Collins To celebrate an adventurous Christmas, imagine standing at the top of a winter wonderland waterfall or on a snowy volcano with your loved ones. In this modern, millennial-ruled holiday corner of the calendar, you'd better have an Instagram-worthy family photo to push around on all your channels or you might just fall off the self-importance social media radar forever. If you're vain and you know it, clap your hands.
Growing with Intention
Turning a tragic community loss into a benefit for the Kefa Project By K.M. Collins On October 1, 2021, Bend local, extreme outdoor athlete and kayaker, Alex Vincent Kollar, passed away. Alex is survived by his mother, Ruthanne Adams, his father, James Kollar, his Soul's Connection Life Partner, Kim Benrath, and was preceded in death by his brother Philip Hunter Kollar.
If You're New Here: Get Your Climb on in Central Oregon This Fall
Read on to get five ideas for getting started with Central Oregon's climbing community By K.M. Collins Are you new to town and looking for some vertical rock wall-ups? Jugs, crimps, lay backs, and sit starts, oh my! Central Oregon is chalk-full of indoor and outdoor bouldering, sport and traditional climbing.
My Dog is My Child Syndrome
Six ways to know if you've been infected By K.M. Collins Note: I write this article in jest. I don't currently have a pet because my landlord won't allow it... but I surprised myself on a recent river multi-day when I couldn't help adopting two river dogs and actually was joyful when they were wet and dirty parading around my raft in circles for most of the trip. Animals make us happy. That's the bottom line.
Skunky Beer for Boarders
Memoirs of an OG snowboard culture and the beer it birthed in Bend By K.M. Collins Raw. Hop-forward. And built for pow-days. That's what compilation wintertime masterpiece Skunk Ape India Red Ale is all about. Locally crafted by hometown hero Boneyard Beer and the Pacific Northwest's pinnacle of snowboard companies, Lib Tech, out of Washington, the frothy thriller was born in Bend in 2011.
Customs Check
Locally based Pili Hunters forged its way in the West and continues to invent new flavors By K.M. Collins Many good entrepreneurial stories begin with something rebellious. This is true for how the original pili nut company came to fruition, too. Jason Thomas, owner and founder of Pili Hunters, the first sprouted pili nut company in the U.S., divulged, "I literally snuck $100 worth of pili nuts back through customs in my backpack and started a company.
La Niña Benedictions
Pray for snow, well in advance of ski season, because it looks like a wet one could be ahead By K.M. Collins As the summer engulfs Oregon like a tableside service flambé in a fine dining restaurant, rumors of our precipitous savior, La Niña, are circulating. While a good portion of modern Central Oregonians are agnostic or atheist in most facets of their life, when it comes to outdoor sports, those same heathens are happy to pray for snow.
Best Bar and Best Restaurant in Sunriver 2021
Sunriver Brewing Company is a locally owned business that's been committed to providing the highest quality craft products since Independence Day 2012. They are a proud grassroots and community focused enterprise that maintains a great love and respect for the mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and the foundation of their business—their staff. Courtesy Sunriver Brewing Why do patrons love their pub locations in Bend, Sunriver and Eugene?
Best Senior Living Facility 2021
Touchmark at Mount Bachelor Village By K.M. Collins Offering its high desert hospitality for 40 years, Touchmark's senior living community helps folks embrace all the possibilities available to Bendites in their golden years, seeking adventure and otherwise. With views of the Deschutes River from comfortable private and spacious cottages and apartment lodge homes, Touchmark at Mount Bachelor Village offers residents access to the active lifestyle they love.
Up In Flames
While wildfires devour parched landscapes this summer, frontline Oregon health care workers are feeling another kind of burn By K.M. Collins Conjure a memory of Central Oregon deep summer triple-digit heat thick with hazy smoke and humidity. Now imagine you're working a 12-hour shift in the designated outdoor COVID tent where you aren't allowed to keep a water bottle with you and full Personal Protective Equipment is required at all times—aka sticky plastic full-body garb.
Best Plumber 2021
Severson Plumbing & Mechanical By K.M. Collins Severson Plumbing & Mechanical has been serving Central Oregon since 1977. Founders and owners Dave and Elaine Severson believe their values and consistency are among the reasons they've been so successful. Their son, Jason, is also part of the business and developed Severson Fire Protection under the same roof.
Best Mani/Pedi 2021
Have you been looking for the best spot to pamper yourself? The best spot to clean up those outdoor-sports dirty cuticles and nails? Look no further than Crescent Nails. Conveniently located on Simpson Avenue, stop in after you break a nail (or two) during your downhill mountain bike session at Bachelor or while you're getting a bike tune up at Pine Mountain Sports.
Best Ski and Snowboard Shop 2021
Since 1976—for 45 years—Powder House Ski & Snowboard has been Central Oregon's premier ski and snow sports store. As an original ski shop in Bend, the friendly and knowledgeable staff is dedicated to providing excellent customer service. It's their goal to assist with buying decisions by sharing local insider and athlete information and perspectives critical to gear decision making (and to increase your fun on the mountain).
What's Up with Bend's Whitewater Waves
If you're new here, or just looking for ways to ride the waves, here's what to know right now By K.M. Collins If you're a kayaker, some pretty exciting new initiatives are happening in the Bend Whitewater Park these days. Here's a quick rundown of what's offered every day at the park for kayakers, followed by a listing of meetups, courtesy Adam Eno, the park's newest wave shaper.
Farthest Read: Reading the Source, from Kuwait
One former Bend resident tunes in on the regular from his National Guard posting in the Middle East By K.M. Collins Ever wonder how far the Source Weekly readership has traveled? As a freelance writer for the Source, I silently inquire to myself about this often—and I have one fun data point to reference: former Bend resident and colleague, Christopher Browning.
River Democracy
How 4,700 miles of Oregon waterways got nominated for Wild and Scenic River designation By K.M. Collins Rivers are a big economic engine that float our entire state. During the last session of Congress, more of Oregon's rivers were given Wild and Scenic designation—meaning more protection for these precious waterways. Riding that tide, now Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) is going to bat to further increase protected mileage with the River Democracy Act—and he's doing it grassroots style, from the ground up.
High Desert Horror Story
Getting that 'Bend starter kit' of outdoor equipment is tougher this year, with gear shortages happening locally and nationally By K.M. Collins What's more traumatic to a Bendite? Ravaged and empty shelves where toilet paper once was, or not knowing when you'll receive that new piece of recreation equipment you ordered months ago? Resounding concern is mounting for outdoor-related retail items that seem to be condemned to backorder purgatory.
Boaters' Lament
Low river flows abound—a bummer for recreationalists and ecology alike By K.M. Collins As soon as we left the bank, sharky rocks were biting at our oars on every side. A scrape here, a drag there. With each contact to a textured slice of iceberg granite, the 30-year worn hyperline on my royal blue Momentum raft, "Wonder Woman," stuck. Rock dodging at its finest. Ground truthing 1,000 cubic feet per second on the North Fork John Day was way more difficult than I'd imagined.
Diving into Multi-Day Inflatable Paddleboarding
Spending a night—or many—with your boat, your gear and a gaggle of stars By K.M. Collins Have you ever dreamt about paddling out to a distant shoreline or island and spending the night? If you have, then this article is for you! In a water wonderland like Central Oregon, where there's a secret lake around every corner, if you haven't slept out under the stars after a day of paddling, you haven't lived.
Gear Up
If You're New Here: Tips to prep for summer in Bend By K.M. Collins If you're a Central Oregon local and an archetypal Bendite, you're probably already starting to plot a course to maximize your outdoor Disneyland experience this summer. Breweries, rivers and trails, oh my. For those who still need some direction, below are some gear tips from a tried-and-true decade-deep professional recreation and lady of high desert leisure.
Rain Check
Will La Niña's failure to deliver bolster wildfire season? By K.M. Collins During a July 2017 multi-day river trip on the Lower Deschutes River, around the Olive Grove Camp, a thick haze started rolling in. That was day two. By the time we reached the takeout on day three, the crew was choking on particulate matter. This was pre-COVID and we opted to wear then-rare masks. On the evening drive back home, wildfires were raging Mad-Max style along the highway.
Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day
If You're New Here: How to float like a local this summer By K.M. Collins Can you believe it's almost that time of year again—when you can slip into the Deschutes River on an inner tube and float downstream like Central Oregon royalty #livingyourbestlife?! Although a few more storm systems are blowing the last of this year's pow up at the mountain, down in town, the weather's been almost float-worthy.
Sheroes: Healing with Acupuncture and Herbs
The busy athletes of Bend get support in optimizing athletic performance and health with local 'shero' Ileana Bourland By K.M. Collins Lying on the table at Heal Grow Thrive Medicine, looking up at the familiar origami crane mobile in each treatment room, I'm immediately set at ease. As a mediocre athlete trying to get to the bottom of chronic neck and back pain, licensed acupuncturist Ileana Bourland was recommended to me by a local yogi.
Secret Garden
Where desert dwellers can get a green fix, right in the heart of Bend By K.M. Collins As spring rears its temperamental head via finicky post-equinox, high-desert indecision, green thumbs are beginning to feel an irresistible itch. At first glance, newcomers to Bend might think cultivating in nutrient-poor volcanic soils, amid the shortest summer a Californian has ever seen, is all in vain.
Town and Country
With interior design, there's a "farm chic" black hole versus a multiverse of design game changers By K.M. Collins Rustic reclaimed wood or industrial super modern? French country or boho beach? With so many out-of-towners descending on Bend, it can be hard to answer the question: Do national home design trends play in the high desert? How long can we tap the farm-chic look before there's nothing left?
Doggy Paddle
How to train a furry first mate to master the paddleboard By K.M. Collins When learning new sports, jumping right in can be the best method—trial by fire, as it were. Such is the case with training fur babies to passenger aboard paddleboards. My first furry mate was an Aussie and German shepherd mix. Mic had a low center of gravity with short legs and a thick torso—which are advantages on a paddle board. Disadvantages were his reluctance around water and independent spirit.
One Person, One Dog, One Backyard Iditarod
A how-to on skijoring with your favorite pup By K.M. Collins According to the Pacific Sled Dog & Skijor Association, Skijoring is a winter sport where a person on skis is pulled by a horse, a dog (or dogs) or a motor vehicle. It is derived from the Norwegian word skikjøring, meaning ski driving. Dog skijoring, specifically, is a sport in which a dog (or dogs) assist a cross-country skier. The skier provides power with skis and poles, and the dog adds additional power through pulling.
Instapets!
It seems like everyone has an Instagram account these days—even some popular Central Oregon Pets By K.M. Collins With so much in the media to doomscroll over, how about a little "gleefreshing" clickbait? What could be more soothing than social media posts featuring cute, cuddly PNW animals? Here are the latest picks for the best local insta animal finds...
Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
Blissful Spoon offers sweetness without all the guilt—plus tapas and wine in its new location By K.M. Collins Those seeking tasty morsels of sweetness while adhering to a gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, paleo, keto, Whole30, low sodium and low-sugar diet will find a cornucopia of offerings to their liking at Bend's Blissful Spoon.
Post Fires, a Broken Pacific Crest Trail
Will the PCT's Lionshead wildfire scars affect spring traffic? By K.M. Collins It's been a little over one week since the start of the official Pacific Crest Trail hiking season on March 1, and according to Scott Wilkinson of the PCT Alliance, only approximately 75% of the normal number of long-distance permits have gone out.
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! Nope, It's a Shero!
Kerry Sheehan is a TikTok sensation with a ski obsession By K.M. Collins Shero definition, via Webster's Dictionary: A woman admired or idealized for her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities; a heroine. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, Kerry Sheehan, Mt. Bachelor ski instructor and nanny, has seen exponential progress in her Woodward park skills this season.
East Side Promenade
A bike route through the Larkspur neighborhood offers hidden adventure By K.M. Collins From my front door on NE Lotus Drive, adjacent to Pilot Butte, there's a paved bikeable foot path that tracks all the way to Reed Market Road, straight through the heart of the Larkspur neighborhood—no stop lights and very few street crossings. Its two variations are known as Larkspur and Coyner Trails, however, I informally refer to the network as the Eastside Promenade (Prom).
Borderlands: Adventures Between Orchard & Mountain View
From desirable close-in locations and parks to views and food carts, life is good on the east side By K.M. Collins On the boundary flanking two east side Bend neighborhoods lies a myriad of all-ages playgrounds—and more importantly, post activity food. With a mix of mid-century homes circling Pilot Butte and newer construction stretching out east, the two neighborhoods still offer some of the most affordable homes in the city.
Sisters: Great Views, Awesome People
An active and creative community with plenty of charm to be found By K.M. Collins For those looking for a quieter life than Bend affords, Sisters' small-town charm combined with its cultural wealth make it an amazing place to live. Home to the Sisters Folk Fest and the Sisters Quilt Show, the town attracts creatives, retirees, cowpokes and those looking to escape city life for something far more serene. An itinerary for a typical Saturday shows just how attractive the town can be.
Couch Country
Experience the thrill from your sofa with these lesser-known outdoor films and videos By K.M. Collins Do you need a recovery day from your extreme winter sports habits [err addictions]? Are you exhausted from playing chicken with reckless drivers on the icy slip-n-slide that constitutes Cascade Lakes Highway this time of year? Have you decided enough is enough with the if-then-else flowchart required to secure a Mt. Bachelor parking pass?
Forging the West
Celebrating Oregon's Black pioneers and modern trail blazers By K.M. Collins Though often omitted from history books, African American people had feet on the ground side by side with early explorers of the Oregon Territory—from Markus Lopius, a "servant" on the Lady Washington in 1788 with Robert Gray, to York, a slave on the Lewis and Clark expedition, to Moses Harris, a free black mountain man and legend in the fur trade and later a sought-after wagon train guide.
Coming in Hot: The Return to School for Bend-La Pine Students
Pilots and passengers crash-land in the classroom, with continued COVID detours By K.M. Collins Two weeks into the highly anticipated Central Oregon school reopening (for younger grades) and many are assessing the merits of education exclusively through virtual WebEx lessons versus a part-time classroom experience. Students in grades K-3 in Bend-La Pine Schools returned Jan. 25, with grades 4 and 5 going two days a week starting a week later. Starting Feb.
Let's Get Out There!
Winter Activity Roundup 2021 By K.M. Collins If you live in Central Oregon, you know that winter is not a time for hibernating, but a time for getting out in the glistening snowy wonderland. As we jump into the full swing of winter amidst pandemic restrictions, you may be wondering what activities are still on offer for kids in Bend and beyond. Brian Becker Little shredders at Mt. B. SNOW SPORTS Mt. Bachelor It just wouldn't be winter in Bend without a few trips to the mountain.
Fine Tuning My Love
A Shred Betty fairy tale, in honor of the upcoming V-Day By K.M. Collins Shred Betty, as defined by urbandictionary.com: A cool female snowboarder of exceptional ability. K.M. Collins I love my snowboard... and my split board—but getting together with a lady shred crew is what life is all about. Roses are red, violets are blue, free refills stacked in the white room, fresh and new. Chocolates are dark, filling is creamy, set back my bindings for turns totally dreamy.
Pandemadating: Love is a Battlefield
Reports from the trenches of those seeking love in the time of coronavirus By K.M. Collins [Note: Names of those quoted have been changed to protect the identities and privacy of innocent humans seeking love.] The gap between those coupled up going into COVID and those not is as vast as a battlefield, casualties piled high on the latter side. What's a single lone-star cowpoke to do?
Out in the Cold
Must-know resources for winter health & safety By K.M. Collins Praying for snow or worrying about your New Year's diet is all unicorns and rainbows—until you consider that some high desert households are dealing with other extreme adulting needs this season. Think Maslow's Hierarchy. From paying the bills and managing mental well-being to dealing with inclement weather, present societal circumstances—and the usual seasonal affective disorder—are making things extra tough this year.
Where's the White Gold?
La Niña offers the rarest and most prized of all Central Oregon commodities: snow. So far, it's been a "bland year." By K.M. Collins Occurring every few years, La Niña is defined by stronger trade winds which cause water in the Pacific Ocean near the equator to be a few degrees colder than usual. This shift in temperature affects weather all over the world. While La Niña can wreak havoc on global farming commodities, she's a double-edged sword in the stone.
A Penny for Her Thoughts
Local financial advisor shares nearly 25 years of investing insights to explain 2020 volatility and help Bendites maximize 2021 futures By K.M. Collins Did 2020 take you to the cleaners? Don't go it alone recovering in 2021. For a highlight reel of 2020 and to help you get your savings train back on the tracks in 2021, local Registered Principal and Registered Investment Advisor Representative Linda Zivney, with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., has some insights to offer.
Mental Health Tips from the Pros
Low-cost hacks for improving mood and well-being—no matter your therapy budget By K.M. Collins Finding a coven of wellness practitioners is key to making it through trying times (need I say the word… COVID). But if signing up for therapy (or finding a therapist) is beyond your scope, these are some health tips that are helping myself and my she-wolf pack make it through the wilderness of winter seasonal affective disorder, political upheaval and beyond.
In Solidarity
Healing Justice Collective forms, raises seed funds for BIPOC community restoration By K.M. Collins —An adaptation, by the Central Oregon Healing Justice Collective, of the popular Buddhist Metta loving-kindness prayer Courtesy Jessica Amascual Judith Sadora and Jessica Amascual, two founding members of the Healing Justice Collective. “May I be loved. May all Black, Indigenous and people of color be loved. May all gay, lesbian and trans folks be loved. May all disabled people be loved.
Steep and Cheap
Hoodoo can be a wild card— but for this hometown mountain, 2020 has still been a good year By K.M. Collins With 2020's opening day following Thanksgiving, the earliest seen in 11 years, Hoodoo Ski Area has broken sales records across the board—and it's only December. "This time last year, we didn't open until the middle of January," said Marketing Director Leif Williams, noting that mid-December as a more typical opening.
Gone But Not Forgotten: Locals Remember Sunriver Kayaker
An online celebration of life for Blaine Davis, who died while kayaking last month By K.M. Collins From the 100+ posts on the remembrance page for local kayaker Blaine Davis, it's clear that he was a beloved member of the outdoors and wider Central Oregon community. The page, Blaine Davis Remembrance, includes hundreds of photos and comments and notes from the many lives and communities he touched as far away as New Zealand. Twenty-year-old Davis of Sunriver died during a kayaking accident on Nov.
Digital Foot Traffic
Central Oregon outdoor retailers offer the brands and the online purchasing that locals are looking for By K.M. Collins In an ever-expanding digital shopping universe, Amazon is the black hole swallowing local retailers' market shares. In a 2017 Retail Dive article, Neil Stern noted that from 2006 to 2017, Amazon saw nearly 2000% growth in market value. How can smaller retail planets without the gravitational pull of Amazon supernovas maintain autonomy?
Timber! Holiday Tree Options Abound in Central Oregon
Hike to get your tree—or enjoy a host of other options By K.M. Collins click to enlarge Courtesy Old Mill District Seeking some holiday feels? Soon the Tree of Joy will illuminate the Old Mill. The custom of erecting and decorating a tree in celebration of winter holidays evolved from Germany in the 1500s. In addition to trees, some early European celebrants constructed Christmas pyramids of wood, evergreen boughs and candles—especially where trees were scarce.
Winter + Whitewater
Books to inspire your love for all things river and ocean—no matter what the winter weather might bring By K.M. Collins As the warm autumn winds wind down in the high desert, many are shifting from choice summer outdoor activities to favorite cold-weather ones. After the paddlers roll up the rafts and tuck them in for a long winter's rest, this reading list can serve as a winter holdover.
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