When rambling into a new town, I often check websites to see what I shouldn't miss. Bend, Oregon definitely had some uniqueness offered. We believe we picked the two best!

I don't know about your family but we were BIG FANS of Blockbuster Video Rental Stores. As a matter of fact, at one point Steve checked our account and we had spent over $4,000 at our local Temecula location (Did I mention we have never owned cable TV?).
When I saw that the World's Last Blockbuster was in Bend, oh man, we had to go. What a trip down Memory Lane.
Cleverly, the store sells its own made-in-Oregon merch, with T-shirts, hoodies, and foam trucker hats all printed with the almost-extinct chain's torn ticket logo. It also offers laminated replicas of its once-ubiquitous membership cards, and a bumper sticker that says "I SURVIVED ALONG WITH THE LAST BLOCKBUSTER" in already distressed capital letters.

It's been just over a year since the World's Last Blockbuster became, you know, exactly that. After the Blockbuster stores in Alaska locked their doors, and the one in Perth, Australia collected its last late fee and turned its lights off, the 20-year-old Bend, Oregon location became the only Blockbuster left on the planet.
And we were there... if only we still had a working DVD player!
The second attraction we chose to explore was Located on the northwest edge of town. The Riley Ranch Nature Reserve is 184 acres featuring 35 acres of canyon floor along the Deschutes River and a 30-acre band of rimrock cliffs. This mostly rugged terrain offers a near-to-home nature experience.
This beautiful park has an interesting history. It all began during a fishing expedition with friends in 1893. Mr. Ovid William Brockett Riley at the young age of 18 years travelled by horse and wagon from Portland into Deschutes country with aspirations of catching a big Dolly Varden. After several more trips to the area, Riley finally homesteaded in 1896 at age 21, and lived here for nearly forty years, growing rye hay and herding cattle.
Appearing relatively untouched in some places, the land features open meadows, juniper and pine forests, unique lava flows, cliffs and the river’s rocky canyon. The park is host to many native plant species, migratory birds and wildlife. Every now and then, there is information to be learned, as well.


There are 1.57 miles of soft-surface trail above the canyon and 1.25 miles of rugged trail running on The Canyon Loop.

Bend surprised and delighted. The road trip continues to be a success. Onward!