<VV> Ory-gun and Arid-zona

[Chris & Bill Strickland]

 > It is funny how stereotypes stick to a place.

I think that is why we have the word "stereotypes"

 > Arizona has more pine trees than Oregon

Yep, but I'll bet that Oregon has more Douglas Firs

 > where the population is - also where the jobs are.

funny how that works

Good comments, Seth -- for the geographically disinclined, one needs 
note that eastern Oregon, where I was raised, is only partly semi-arid. 
On a Corvair related theme, I have a photo /slide of our old 95 van on 
the top of Steen Mountain (in eastern Oregon) in July in the snow, about 
1975 -- the trip to Oklahoma was aborted when we decided Chris was 
feeling poorly because she was pregnant, so we toured around in the 
eastern part of the state -- Hat Point, Halfway, Malhuer, Jordon Valley, 
Plush, Paisley, Klamath Falls, had a great time with the old van, the 
scenery, and a lovely wife.

Anyway, what is called the Oregon Desert is mostly the title of a book 
about same -- y'all should read it -- very little desert, just a name 
for a region of low rainfall, few jobs with today's timber policies, and 
a few people. But it is not all that way, just like that 'other' state 
being mentioned -- eastern Oregon is home of the Wallowas and the Blues, 
exceedingly picturesque mountain ranges in the northern part of eastern 
Oregon, the Wallowa-Whitman Nation Forest with four wilderness areas:   
Eagle Cap 
<http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/w-w/recreation/wilderness/ecwild.shtml>, Hells 
Canyon 
<http://www.fs.fed.us/hellscanyon/things_to_see_and_do/hells_canyon_wilderness/index.shtml>, 
Monument Rock 
<http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/w-w/recreation/wilderness/mrwild.shtml>, and 
North Fork John Day 
<http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/w-w/recreation/wilderness/nfjdwild.shtml> 
Wildernesses, none of which qualify as desert.

When folks traveled west (remember The Oregon Trail) from Missouri, they 
were looking for farm land  (not ski areas) to settle, so most came to 
the fertile western valleys of the state.  And there we have stayed.

Sure makes me wonder why folks went to Fee-nix, which seems more like an 
LA suburb. My daughter is there, but her boyfriend's ex has a young 
daughter, and he's her father figure, and went there in the first place 
because of work.

Okay, ya got about a nickel's worth of what would be a five dollar tour 
if'n I wasn't a wastin' bandwidth here.

Bill Strickland
Native Oregonian