tomsd, my husband would love that trout fishing outing - but we have 6 more nights and most of a day until we fly back to L.A. Wish there was something like that near pORTLAND the last day so we could pack it up and take it home.

bbqboy - what would be preferable about going straight to Yachats and covering Florence the next day? I had thought we'd do the dune fun, pass Heceta and see if it's worth stopping since the lighthouse is comletely covered now,and go to Yachats. The plan was to backtrack to Cape Perpetua the next day and visit whatever strikes us, and after the second night in Yachats head north. I'm totally open to alternatives.

There is a nice lighthouse on Cape Meares just west of Tillamook. Stop at the Tillamook Cheese factory for some ice cream and/or cheese.
Hope you enjoyed Bend. I didn't drive up to see the big fireworks show. What did you think of the Fairfield?

janey47--If you want to fish for trout, there are numerous lakes all around Portland that you can do that, and you don't need a guide for trout fishing at all. If you want suggestions, just let me know.

We haven't gone yet - I'll definitely report back on Fairfield Inn. I don't think we're going north of Linclon City before heading to Portland. If there's time, but it's feeling like there won't be, we'd take a ride to Cannon Beach area for a day trip.

mms - yes, i'd love some fishing suggestions. Except for having occasionally rented a pole at a pier, we're novices.

janey47--Two places that are really easy to get to (don't want to get you lost here) are Hagg Lake in Hillsboro (west of Portland) and Timothy Lake over by Mt. Hood (east of Portland). Both are like fishing in a barrel, lol. A couple other options for your Bend area for fishing would be to rent a boat at Elk Lake and take that out, or just go along the banks of the Deschutes. Another idea outside of Bend is South Twin Lake. It is outside of La Pine, but it is great for fishing. There are no motors allowed on the lake, so you can either fish from the banks or rent a rowboat. Again, it is like fishing in a barrel, lol. There is a little store there stocked with everything you need. There is also a nice trail that goes around the lake.

When are you arriving in Bend?
I will add 3 more lakes to mms's list- Cultus Lake, Crane Prarrie Reservoir and Wickiup Reservoir. The 2 reservoirs are actually part of the Deschutes River system.
The Twin Lakes (N & S) are just east of Wickiup south of the Century Drive which will bring you back to Sunriver and US97.
To make the loop, head up 14th St. in Bend past Mt. Bachelor to the Cascade Lakes Highway to Elk Lake first then Cultus which is west of the Cascade Lakes Highway.

tomfuller--I like Cultus and Wickiup too. Haven't been to Crane yet.