For Video Tours of each Alpenglow Vacation Rentals' affordable luxury in Bend, Oregon, please choose from the following:

Widgi Creek Resort, Two Bedroom, Two and half Bathroom, 1,800 sq. ft., Sleeps 6, Private Hot Tub and Deck, WiFi, A/C, Fireplace, Patio Furniture and Gas Bar-B-Que, Located on 17th Fairway, about 15 minutes to Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort:

http://alpenglowvacationrentals.com/Widgi_Creek_Resort.php

Simple, Affordable and Economic in the heart of Trendy West Side of Bend Oregon Vacation Rentals is Lexington Cottage, One Bedroom, One Bathroom, Sleeps 4, WiFi, 20 Minutes to Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort, 3 Minutes to Downtown and Drake Park:

 http://alpenglowvacationrentals.com/NW_Lexington_Avenue.php

Mt. Bachelor Village Resort, River Wild, Spacious Three Bedroom, Two and Half Bathroom, 2,100 sq. ft., Sleeps 8, A/C, WiFi, Community Hot Tub, Community Pool, Fireplace, Wrap Around Deck with Patio Furniture and Gas Bar-B-Que, approximately 18 Minutes to Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort, 8 minutes to Downtown and Old Mill District & Shopping Center:

http://www.alpenglowvacationrentals.com/RiverWild.php

 Mt. Bachelor Village Resort, River Wild, River Views on the River Bluff, Luxurious Three Bedroom, Two and Half Bathroom, 2,100 sq. ft., Sleeps 8, Granite Counter Tops, A/C, WiFi, Community Hot Tub, Community Pool, Fireplace, Deck with River View and Patio Furniture, Gas Bar-B-Que, approximately 18 Minutes to Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort, 8 minutes to Downtown and Old Mill District & Shopping Center:

 http://www.alpenglowvacationrentals.com/Big_Eddy_River_Wild.php

 Large Bend Oregon Vacation Rental, Luxurious and Completely Accommodating in the heart of Bend, Oregon's Trendy West Side, Four Bedroom, Two and Half Bathroom, Sleeps 10, A/C, WiFi, 3,200 sq. ft., 20 minutes to Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort, walking distance to Downtown and Drake Park, 8 minutes to Old Mill District & Shopping Center:

http://www.alpenglowvacationrentals.com/Ogden_House_Bend_Oregon.php

For Rates and Reservations please call Alpenglow Vacation Rentals 541-385-7100 for Affordable Luxury Bend Oregon Vacation Rentals. 

 

 

http://alpenglowvacationrentals.com/Widgi_Creek_Resort.php

"Breathtakingly beautiful!  House is gorgeous, scenary amazing, food fabulous, etc.  Loved the trail along the river.  Had a great time at the High Desert Museum and at the Lava Cast Forest.  Great place for a family to appreciate and enjoy the outdoors!  Thanks so much!"

O'Leary Family, Long Beach, CA, June, 2008

"Wonderful house!  Very clean and equipped.  Thanking for having the maps and info in the basket.  We were able to plan our days with this info.  The pool area was very nice.  Most hiking trails we could do right from the door step.  Extremely convenient.  The Big Eddy Raft Trip we took was AWESOME!!!  La Rosa Mexican is very good -- as is all the brewery food.  Old Mill Shopping Center with the theater is also very convenient.  Thanking your for sharing your home." 

Poretti Family, Granite Bay, CA  July, 2008

"Thank you!  We loved the house and all the amenities.  We were all extremely happy here and plan to come back to this house.  We have rented many different places in Bend and this has been the best.  We are sad our 11 days here has to end -- but we will be back next summer!  Thank you!" 

Broucek Family, July, 2008, Phoenix, AZ

"Thanks very much -- we had a wonderful time.  The house is great, and the pool and tennis courts are most convenient.  We bought an innertube for floating on the Deschutes and left it in the garage -- our small contribution to the fun of future renters.  The things we liked BEST in Bend: 

Deschutes Brewery Tour; High Desert Museum; Big Eddy Whitewater Rafting; Sisters Bakery; Merenda Restaurant; Fireside Red; Breakfast at Alpenglow Cafe; Wednesday Farmers Market; Saturday Market; The Pool; Friday night at Allysons' Kitchen Wine Tasting"

Bell Family, Washington D.C., July, 2008


"What a lovely spot!  We enjoyed every minute of our stay!  The house is beautiful and comfortable - GREAT BEDS!  The deck was perfect for grilling and dining - very private.  The hike down to the River Trail and along the banks is breathtaking!  We golfed both Lost Tracks and Widgi Creek -- both excellent and scenic.  We'd add Chow, Bend Brewery, Pine Tavern (patio overlooking River) and Typhoon to the Not-To-Be-Missed list!  Thanks for a very relaxing retreat!

Lindberg Family, Naples, FL & Bend, OR, August, 2008

"Great house for a family Thanksgiving.  We enjoyed unseasonably good weather and had lovely walks along the local trails.  Kudos to Victoria for ironing out some initial issues.  She is very attentive and responsible and the owners are luck to have her managing their property.  Kudos also to the housekeeper who had the house perfectly ready and spotless for us."

Kenny Family, Thanksgiving, 2008


Want to enjoy the relaxation that Alpenglow Vacation Rentals offers?  Book with us now by calling 541-385-7100 or go to our website at:
http://www.AlpenglowVacationRentals.com

Below is excerpts of an article written by Bill Fink for the San Francisco Chronicle featuring Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort and Bend, Oregon:


(11-23) 04:00 PST Bend , Ore. -- During the spring I spent the weekend with a nearly 50-year-old bachelor, balding on top, who was hiding out in the wilds of Central Oregon.

A day on the slopes at Mount Bachelor.McMenamins Old St. Francis School, seen here, and Deschutes...Deschutes Brewery is a popular place to gather in Bend.
It seemed like a long way to go, but I heard this old guy is still full of fun. As I bounced through ice and gravel on the final approach, I watched the setting sun reflecting off the bare white peak of my host, the venerable Mount Bachelor.

Founded in 1948 as Bachelor Butte, it is a major-league mountain with only minor-league fame. After a weekend experiencing its celebrated snow, great slopes and the festive nearby town of Bend, I'd have to say this great white uncle deserves more attention.

Standing aloof and apart from the nearby Three Sisters Mountains, Bachelor is a Fuji-like conical volcano with a 9,000-foot summit poking above the tree line. Although located in central Oregon, Mount Bachelor is quite accessible from the Bay Area. A two-hour flight (if you don't mind turboprops) connects San Francisco International Airport to Redmond, Ore., a 20-minute drive from Bend.

It's not your typical ski resort. Upon arrival, I drove from town to check out the Mount Bachelor mountain village and apres-ski scene. I didn't see a single car on the 30-minute drive, which I took as a good sign - everybody must still be up there partying. However, the parking lot was completely empty when I arrived at 5 p.m. Were environmentally conscious locals just taking the bus? No. As I discovered, aside from an early closing patio bar, there is no on-mountain apres scene, no on-mountain lodging, and just one small shop. And that's how skiers here like it - the purist ski setting, without a faux European prefab village pasted on a formerly pristine hill.
Modern offerings

But Mount Bachelor is no backwoods outpost. It has updated rental facilities, ski schools, 10 lifts, more than 70 runs and several elaborate terrain parks. All types of folks visit the mountain, from boarders to families, bunny-hill learners and veterans who recall the good ol' days of tow ropes and plank skis. Mount Bachelor's slopes cover more than 3,600 acres of every variety of ski run, dropping more than 3,300 feet from peak to parking lot.

On my first day of skiing, I enjoyed Chamber of Commerce weather, with blue skies, fresh powder and crisp, windless 30-degree temperatures. On the back side of the mountain, I couldn't see any other skiers, but I could hear their hoots of happiness as they cruised through hidden glades on either side of me.

I sat back on my skis, cruising through the feather-light powder like I was riding a people-mover at the airport, but with a much better view. Mount Bachelor stands in the high desert region of Central Oregon, with the low humidity giving skiers the benefit of lighter fluffy snow.

In a single day, I skied through long groomer runs, hucked myself off some vertigo-inspiring summit cornices and navigated blindly through off-piste terrain, (earning myself a long traverse back to the lift).

Mount Bachelor's lack of fame meant that I never had to wait in a lift line, and had few human obstacles.

This season there will be even more space in which to play: full 360-degree mountain access for skiers and riders, opening up extensive terrain on the back of the mountain, with fall lines that will take you back to the front-side lifts without hiking. The " 'round the world grooming" will offer linked corduroy trails for intermediate skiers on all parts of the mountain.

From the summit, I enjoyed a panoramic vista of the three snowcapped Sisters and rolling forest-covered hills topped with jagged gray rock faces. Someone on the ski patrol pointed out the distant peaks of Mount Shasta in California and Mount Adams in Washington. Locals laughed at me as I raved about the conditions. "It's like this every day here," they told me - with a wink.

Sure enough, I woke the next day to near white-out conditions, with the Summit Chair closed due to wind. With some of the heaviest snowfall in the West, Mount Bachelor has its share of stormy days.

On the slopes, the wind whipped ice pellets like sandpaper across my face. I was able to seek out some sheltered slopes with tree coverage blocking out the worst of the wind, giving me the benefit of private slopes, as most sensible people had fled to the lodges for hot chocolate.

After turning into a skiing snowman, I left to warm myself in Bend. Experiencing the town is much like navigating Mount Bachelor - it contains a combination of new additions and carefully planned facilities, but with alternate paths that are decidedly un-groomed. The town itself is like three different versions of a 50-year old bachelor: the down-and-outer, the plastic surgery makeover and the freewheeling eccentric.

Different feels

The "Old Mill" part of town has the feel of the remade, just-divorced-and-bought-a-Corvette bachelor. Old lumber mills have been refurbished into high-end malls with martini bars, clothing boutiques and fancy restaurants, surrounded by million-dollar homes in subdivisions that sprawl like moss over the green hills. Movie theaters and activity shops cater to the bachelor's nieces and nephews, while paved paths along the river remove much of the risk of wandering. It's a pleasant area, but has a plastic feel of a movie set.

Then there's the down-and-out bachelor of Bend living across the tracks on the Third Street corridor of cut-rate motels, mini-malls and fast-food joints. It has the feel of the South Lake Tahoe strip before the recent improvement. On the plus side, the area offers cheaper options for visitors, with rental shops and supermarkets.

The freewheeling eccentric bachelor version of Bend is what draws visitors. The historic downtown contains an eclectic assortment of dive bars, high-end bistros, a theater company, a couple of art galleries, a bar in a former Catholic school, a fancy restaurant with a tree growing in the middle of it - and some women on the streets in fur coats, while others sported leather, tattoos and piercings.

I saw signs on bars and hotels welcoming both spring breakers and environmental scientists, and book stores sporting peace signs, while next door a bartender regaled patrons with the story of the extended street brawl the night before.

The best way to experience downtown Bend is through its microbreweries. Bend is justly famous for its homebrews, sporting at least seven brewpubs and a distillery all within stumbling distance of one another. The competition is fierce between them, with loyal patrons and bartenders telling me of the ill effects of daring to drink the allegedly polluted brew of their competitors.
Friendly locals

At Deschutes Brewery, I gave up on the 40-minute wait for a table to sit at the bar, ordering, appropriately enough, a Bachelor Bitter beer. But I couldn't remain sour for long, as friendly locals and tourists alike pulled me into their conversations about the town, the hill and the lousy beers down the street.

So as Mount Bachelor commemorates its 50th birthday this season, visitors and residents alike will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate the quirky old guy, both on the slopes and around town. While opinion may vary on the merits of traditional versus new, groomed versus making your own tracks, luxury versus budget, the old bachelor is easing very nicely into middle age.

Five cool things about Mount Bachelor and Bend

1. Dec. 19 is Mount Bachelor's official 50th birthday. Show up for some cake. Festive events are scheduled during the whole season.

2. Bachelor averages more than 370 inches of snow per year, most of it the light, fluffy Rocky Mountain variety. In the 2007-08 season it received 565 inches of snow - more than 47 feet.

3. Bend has seven breweries. Don't like beer? No problem. Visit Bend Distillery for locally produced spirits served in martinis all across town.

4. Skiers' tip: For the best conditions, follow the sun around the mountain. Start with the Sunrise lift on the east side, and travel across the cone of Mount Bachelor with the sun. Finish the day in the long intermediate groomer runs on the west side.

5. New for 2008: 360-degree mountain access - you can traverse the entire circumference of the snow-covered volcano. Newly graded lower slopes enable skiers to return to the front-side lifts. The back side is recommended for advanced skiers only.

If you go

GETTING THERE

United has direct flights from SFO to Redmond for a bit less than $400, taking about two hours. Flights to Portland are a bit cheaper and more plentiful. From Portland, it's a three-hour (very scenic) drive to Bend. From Bend, it's a 20- to 30-minute drive to Mount Bachelor.


Bill Fink last wrote for Travel about Albania. To comment, visit sfgate.com/travel and follow the links.

This article appeared on page E - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle



http://www.AlpenglowVacationRentals.com

Alpenglow Vacation Rentals is pleased to announce that Bend, Oregon was featured in the Travel & Leisure Magazine in their article "America's Best Small Ski Towns".  The following is an excerpt of that article:

Travel & Leisure Magazine, December 2008; America's Best Small Ski Towns

Bend, Oregon

Lying on the dry side of the Cascades, Bend has the best of all worlds: it’s well-watered by the Deschutes River but avoids the coastal drizzle; bluebird skies are the norm. Come wintertime, that means plenty of snow atop nearby Mount Bachelor—and plenty of sunshine. Factor in 2 million acres of adjacent national forest, and it’s no wonder Bend consistently ranks as one of America’s favorite multisport adventure towns. Fortunately, though the city has quadrupled in population over the past 20 years (an estimated 70,000 people live here now), its 1920’s core—a district of Craftsman and other kit-built bungalows abutting a gorgeous riverfront park—remains charmingly intact.

In Town:

Bend’s growth has led to a flourishing culinary scene: an impressive number of talented chefs are among the new arrivals. “It’s phenomenal how many restaurants there are for a city this size,” says Gavin McMichael, chef-owner of Blacksmith (dinner for two $140). McMichael, who worked in the kitchen of Southwest cuisine pioneer Stephen Pyles before moving to Bend in 2001, adds Mexican influences to a foundation of American frontier-style cooking: his “rancher’s rib eye” is marinated for 24 hours in a barbecue rub and served with a wild-mushroom–pinto-bean ragoût. For breakfast, McMichael heads to the Sparrow Bakery (breakfast for two $25), a tiny café with a passionate following for its smoked-sea-salt bagels and its trademark “ocean rolls” (like a cinnamon roll, but with a cardamom kick). This being Oregon, the locals are also mad about beer; no fewer than five brewpubs serve up an innumerable variety of local drafts. Some of the most creative ones flow at McMenamin’s Old St. Francis (doubles from $104), a former parochial school reimagined as a quirky pub and a movie theater offering at-your-seat drinks and dinner service. The 19 rooms and four cottages at the attached hotel are personalized with photos, memorabilia, and even student artwork from the building’s previous incarnation.

On the Slopes:

Of course, around here you don’t want to stay indoors too long. Nearly 3,700 acres of terrain surround the treeless, conical summit of Mount Bachelor (lift ticket $55). You can also trek over to the nearby Oregon Trail of Dreams (one-hour trips $75), where musher Jerry Scdoris leads daily dog-sledding excursions.

America's Best Small Ski Towns

Alpenglow Vacation Rentals says "Thank You!" to Travel & Leisure Magazine for recognizing that Bend is an incredible place to visit! 

Come and stay in one of our beautiful affordable luxury vacation rentals while you come to visit one of America's Best Small Ski Towns!

http://www.AlpenglowVacationRentals.com

Our homes are located 18 minutes from Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort in RiverWild in Mt. Bachelor Village Resort!

Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort has skiing and snowboarding with runs ranging from bunny slopes to black diamond.  Our famous mountain offers freestyle parks, rails, jumps and a half-pipe.  Groomed trails for cross-country and skate skiing, snow shoeing, a snow blast tubing park, dog sled rides and snowmobiling are all waiting for your favorite winter sport and adventures.  Rentals for all equipment needed and lessons are available at the mountain as well as in town.

Be sure to check our Activities page for links to local rentals available and their rates.
http://www.AlpenglowVacationRentals.com

Alpenglow Vacation Rentals is proud to announce that we accept MasterCard & Visa, Wiring, both international and domestic, and personal checks as forms of payment for the reservation and rental of vacation rentals in Bend, Oregon, Sisters, Oregon and Puerto Vallarta, Punta Esmeralda Resort.

Be sure to check out our website at http://www.AlpenglowVacationRentals.com for more information on this announcement! 

Alpenglow Vacation Rentals also provides services for our resident snow-birds.  Services offered for your property while you are away for the winter or vacation:

• Ensuring your property is secure and safe on a weekly basis (or more often if desired)
• Windows and doors are locked/secure
• Check for dripping faucets
• Thermostat check
• Mail pick up
• Winterization, snow removal, etc.
• Water plants
• Odd small jobs

Call for rates and more information at 541-385-7100.

We want our homeowners to be confident that there is always someone looking out for their homes and families' best interests.  We will provide our homeowners the best possible service with the personal attention to detail needed to guarantee your home will never be overlooked.

http://www.AlpenglowVacationRentals.com

Alpenglow Vacation Rentals became members of Central Oregon Visitors Association today.  Look for our listing on their website at www.visitcentraloregon.com in their Vacation Homes/Lodging section.

http://www.AlpenglowVacationRentals.com