What I Like About Oregon (Hood River, John Day: houses, camping, to live)

[Waterlily]

This is for those of you who live in Oregon or those who plan on moving here. What is it that you like about Oregon?

Myself I love the scenery. I enjoy being out in the forests or driving by and seeing all those Christmas types of trees.

[Cascades]

I love the variety. We've got just about everything.

The coast has dunes, sandy beaches, rocky beaches, cliffs, and lighthouses, the Valley has greenness and farmland and cities and rolling hills and valleys, we've got the Cascades with wet-snow skiing at Hood and dry-snow skiing at Bachelor, then there's Central Oregon with its high desert climate, there's Crater Lake, Southern Oregon's oaks and rolling hills and relative humidity, there's the orchards there and in Hood River, there's the John Day fossil beds, Smith Rock and the Ochocos, the Strawberry Mnts and the Blues, the Wallowas (our own version of the alps, if you will, or Jacksonhole), the deserty-landscape of eastern Oregon, the plateaus up at Warmsprings, and so on. We've got waterfalls and lakes and rivers (clean ones east of the Cascades!). We've got mild climates and somewhat harsher ones.

And there's all the random cool stuff...like the obsidian flow, the petrified forest, the various caves, the lava fields of Mackenzie Pass, the Oregon trail stuff, the Blue Bucket Mine, even a ghost town or two, gold in the Rogue, Fort Steven's...the Pacific Northwest has the best camping I've ever seen anywhere, we've got wild mountain blackberries, wildlife, Sunriver, and so on.

Basically I love the natural and historical elements of Oregon, I guess.

[seashelly]

You can't take a bad picture. Every picture you take could be on a calendar.

And don't forget about the bridges. They're works of art too.

[Waterlily]

Oh yes, we have some wonderful bridges in Oregon. It's true you can take some great photos here.
Cascade has described some interesting sights to see and there are a lot of them here in Oregon. I like to take short trips within the state just to see the natural sights. You can go up to the top of Mt.Hood and drive down to the Columbia river within about an hour. Just driving along the coast would give you a collection of photos for a calendar. It' all good stuff to see.

[Steve97415]

It's not California.

[cheekypercy]

the Hood strawberries, nice coastline

[WorkinStiff]

There's lots of lakes to put around in in my little boat & watch ospreys,eagles, ducks, bear, elk etc, while I catch trout.....Have seen two cougars, a few bobcats...antelope, Mustangs,( wild horses not cars)..Had a porcupine try to come in my tent once.....Also saw a sasquatch on one occasion.....near Chemult.......really....

[Nea1]

tillamook cheese, trees, mountains, camping.

[Clear2land]

Almost every city in Oregon is a stone through away from a river. You don't have to fish to enjoy a river. You can actually have a river in your own back yard. In Oregon, you can live on the side of a mountain nestled in tress with breathtaking views. You can meet some of the best people on the planet in Oregon. You will drive on the best roads bar none. You will eat the best ice cream in the country from Umpqua Dairy and the best soft serve vanilla from a stand at the base of Multnomah Falls. There are waterfalls all over Oregon with many along the Columbia River. Lastly, you don’t have to be a millionaire to live there.

[Deserter]

Beauty and variety. There are a huge number of gorgeous places and a variety of different kinds of scenery. California has some of that, too, but Oregon has shorter distances and less traffic between the beautiful spots, plus not so many hideous spots (LA, Riverside, San Bernardino) to drive through to get to them.

Next time I'm there I'm going to have to try some of this ice cream I keep hearing about. I love the delicious mad cow ice cream of my native England and Italian gelato is awesome. Am I going to have to join a 12 step program for the Umqua Dairy ice cream if I move there?