[Walt Tomsic]

Fred,

thanks for taking the initiative. I have two places in mind for places to stay. One is a Best Western Motel located about three miles out of Bend proper on the road to Mt. Bachelor... a nice quiet spot with forest on three sides and adjacent hiking trails... nice pool and hot tub... should be in the $80/night range (I'll confirm).

The other option is to go with Sun River vacation cabin rentals that will accomodate two to three couples. By the time you divide the cost, it would be about the same as the motel. Both the motel and Sun River are great jumping off points for loop cruises. Sun River is a world class resort, 15 miles south of Bend with all kinds of shopping, dining and recreational options.

The down sides to Sun River are that it's crowded with tourists at that time of year and the rental units would be scattered in different locations around the resort. Also, booking places might be a bit more complicated than the motel what with pairing couples up and the possibility that people might have to cancel thus affecting the rate others would have to pay. Given that, I'd recommend the motel. It's also less of a hassel to get to (and back from) our place and the BBQ. We can always include a stop at Sun River on a loop drive.

What say you... shall we just go with the motel?

Walt