Living in the Bend area, it would be no problem for me to  get room rates at several hotels.   I have already spoke with the Visit Bend Office, (Welcome Center), who has offered to help with the accommodations.  To get the best rates, I would need to know a firm date, the # of rooms, amenities, and any special needs.  I was going to wait until the finale "Vote" before doing anymore leg work.  Anyone with specific questions or concerns, please  PM me and I will answer as soon as I can.  I think RADARB8's  suggestion to stay in  Sisters is a great idea, and is a fantastic tourist town.   I do think the room  rates  will  be more expensive than in Bend, especially in the summer months.   I will check it out.  The same goes with the offer from the High Desert Corvette Club.  They will need to know the date & number of members planning to participate.  Time wise, the  drive to and around  Crater Lake would be very close to our drive around Lake Tahoe, (time wise).  I would highly recommend the McKenzie Highway 242,  for a drive also, if it is open.   It is just west of Sisters.  Curves, rainforest, lava fields.. Anyone who has driven it will know why.  Or even the Cascade  Lakes Highway, 372.  You drive up to Mt Bachelor and past 6-8 lakes.     I would suggest members  go to  www.visitbend.com  to checkout the area.  They can also  request information on the Bend area be mailed to them.  Any questions, just drop me a line.   Hope this helps,  mike

I will through my 2 cents worth in. If we drive to Crater Lake we should stay in Bend. Its a bit of a drive and most of it is straight roads from what I remember. Cascade hwy loop has lots of great scenery and has some twisties. McKenzie hwy is real twisty with lots of great scenery. I had a few white knuckle drives on that road. During my college days I use to drive it in the dark and fog when traveling between OSU and the ski slopes. I haven't been to Sisters in 20 some years so I don't have much to say about staying their. I am usually in the Bend area every few years but stay in Sunriver. Have stayed at the Holiday Inn on the north end of town a few times. It is fairly new and clean.

Corvettes on the High Desert (COHD)

(Formerly known as Deschutes River Run)

July 16-17, 2010                                  

Sponsored by High Desert Corvettes

and Gary Gruner Chevrolet

This year’s charity will again be Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch where abused children and neglected horses come together to heal.

Mark your calendar now for this year’s event which will include the following highlights amidst the spectacular picturesque Sisters country:

Friday Night: Registration w/Beer/Wine Tasting, Finger Food, Valve Cover Races

Saturday Morn:  Show & Shine, Vendors, Music, Food

Saturday Afternoon:  Walking Poker Run Downtown Sisters, Optional Cruise

Saturday Eve:  Banquet at Aspen Lakes Golf Club w/Awards/Raffle Prizes

COME EARLY….ENJOY….STAY LATE – Attached is a write-up on things to do in Sisters Country and the surrounding areas.

Registration Forms will be emailed to you in early January 2010 and will also be available at that time on our website, highdesertcorvettes.com.  Due to space restrictions, registration will be limited to the first 100 cars.

CORVETTES ON THE HIGH DESERT EVENT

JULY 16, 17, 2010

COME EARLY……STAY LATE

With so much to do in and around “Sisters Country,” why not extend your trip to include a few more days of sightseeing.  View the Central Oregon area from the Dee Wright Observatory (take scenic Hwy 242 west of Sisters). From this viewpoint you can see most surrounding mountains, as well as the lava flows that formed the area so long ago.

Tour scenic Camp Sherman (10 miles west of Sisters) where you may visit the Camp Sherman store for a wonderful deli lunch, tour the fish hatchery, and view the “head of the Metolius” the spot where the Metolius River begins, bubbling up out of the ground, all in the shadow of Black Butte.

There are many challenging and scenic golf courses throughout Central Oregon. Golf at Black Butte Ranch and Aspen Lakes Golf Course.

Fish or rent a boat and float around Suttle Lake (16 miles west of Sisters) looking out on Mt. Washington.  Or just take a stroll around the lake.  It’s one of the most soul-satisfying spots.

For quilters among you Corvetters, Sisters is the home of the “Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show” hosted by the Stitchn’ Post, a must visit.

For your hiking pleasure, Sisters Trails (sisterstrails.com) are a mix of constructed single-track trails and networks of forest roads. 

Beyond “Sisters Country”, take a guided river rafting experience down the rapids of either the Deschutes or McKenzie Rivers (suncountrytours.com).

Enjoy viewing water falls – Just a short drive west from Sisters on Hwy 20 to Santiam Junction. Then head west on Hwy 126 for 5.2 miles and follow signs into Sahalie Falls and Koosah Falls parking lot.  Or, use the internet to find many beautiful waterfalls in Central Oregon.

Take a day trip starting with breakfast on the deck of coyote Creek Café in Sisters followed by a drive on the beautiful and scenic “Old McKenzie Highway” (Hwy. 242), a fun drive for all corvettes.

View Smith Rock, a majestic rock outcropping with many hiking trails) in the Redmond area, picking up a huckleberry ice cream cone on the way to the park where you can view people from around the world testing their rock climbing skills.

Take the Mt. Bachelor Summer Sightseeing Chair Lift Rides (800-829-2442) taking in the sights of Three Sisters Peaks, Broken Top and Cascade Lakes.

Contact the Crooked River Dinner Train (541-678-3230) which offers a variety of dining events while riding the train.

Visit the Newberry National Volcanic Monument south of Bend. A 55,000-acre area of lakes, lava flows.  See Lava Lands Visitor Center, Lava Butte Cinder Cone, Lava Cast Forest, and Lava River Cave (Oregon’s longest intact lava Tube).

=============COME EARLY====ENJOY====STAY LATE=============