Tumalo is a small community located about 10 miles north-west of Bend in central Oregon. The town lies mainly on the north side of highway 20 and along the west side of the Deschutes river. Because Tumalo is not an incorporated town it is hard to say how many people live in town. The entire area is mainly a bedroom community for Bend, with lots of houses scattered around the area on 1-10 acre lots. The town has a few businesses, but the economy is not dependent on those businesses. Most of the people in the area are either retired or work in Bend or Redmond.
This entire area is noted for being one of the fastest growing places in the United States. Bend has also been recently accorded the honor(?) of having the highest cost of living in Oregon.
The Bend area is located immediately to the east of the Cascade mountains and at the edge of the high desert of central Oregon. The climate here is relatively dry, with moderately cold winters and summers that occasionally get near 100 degrees but are usually somewhat cooler. The area is largely volcanic - OK, entirely volcanic - so all the ground is underlayed with lava rock and there are various outcroppings of red and black lava rock throughout. The vegetation is mostly of the high desert variety, with sagebrush being one of the more significant plants. Juniper trees also cover much of the landscape.
Because Tumalo is immediately at the edge of the Cascade Mountains there are dozens of lakes, streams and camping areas within easy driving distance. The Mt. Bachelor ski area is slightly to the south.
For those who want to make sure they get things right, the first syllable of Tumalo is pronounced Tum, as in tummy.
This is a satellite picture of Tumalo, taken about 1993, but not too much has changed since then. The Church, Fellowship Hall and Parsonage are circled in red.