Getting soaked...and having a great time!
The much-anticipated official opening of Bend’s new whitewater
and “safe passage” park on the Deschutes River brought out water sports
participants and spectators the weekend of September 19 and 20.
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| Fun for young and old |
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| Spectator friendly |
Financed mostly with funds from a $20 million voter
approved bond issue and volunteer donations, the water sports facility emerged
after removal of the old Colorado Street
dam.
Many decades back the dam slowed waters of the
Deschutes to essentially create a large pond that stored logs for the massive timber mills
that then were the backbone of the regional economy.
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| For the experts |
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| New multi-sports facility to open in November |
Also funded by the
bond issue is the city’s new multi-sports complex along Simpson Avenue, only a
few blocks south of the water park. It’s scheduled to open in November with the
centerpiece winter ice rink for skating lessons, family skating and organized
hockey leagues.
