Willamette Valley or Rogue Valley? (Eugene, Medford: allergy, living in, stats)

[Hawk J]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

It was 83 here in Tucson, which is hotter than I want. Headed home tomorrow. Love the saguaro desert, but I miss the green of home.

I have a friend who lives outside of Tucson, south.

One of my beloved daughters & family lives in Peoria. They hug the A/C all summer...'''Another relative lives in Surprise.

When i was in my 20's the heat didn't bother me. I don't care for it anymore, at my more adult age....

[Harpaint]

Rogue Valley Hospital isn't as great as they pretend to be. I worked there for 5 years and they were frequently short staffed. And yes, the Redneck element is annoying.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by therese marie

If you decide to do Southern Oregon, Jacksonville and Grants Pass was our favorite there.. But the topography is different once you go further south from Cottage Grove.. The trees seemed less impressive.. Not the magnificent tall ones you see further North..

I'm curious why you say the trees south specifically of Cottage Grove seem less impressive? Maybe I'm missing something, but I drive between Drain and Eugene, about once a month, and I would have to say the trees north of Cottage Grove are not particularly remarkable. North of Cottage Grove is mostly in the valley and is mostly wide open fields. Lucky if the trees are 10 feet tall in that area. South of Cottage Grove has 100 foot tall Fir trees on both sides of the road, except for clear cut areas.

[therese marie]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

I'm curious why you say the trees south specifically of Cottage Grove seem less impressive? Maybe I'm missing something, but I drive between Drain and Eugene, about once a month, and I would have to say the trees north of Cottage Grove are not particularly remarkable. North of Cottage Grove is mostly in the valley and is mostly wide open fields. Lucky if the trees are 10 feet tall in that area. South of Cottage Grove has 100 foot tall Fir trees on both sides of the road, except for clear cut areas.

I am just referring to the area near the I5 driving North and South and our impression.
Your probably right.. There are a lot of farms and valleys too in the Willamette Valley..
Our impression was that the closer south we went on the I5, coming to Grants Pass, the trees in the distance on the mountains seems more sparse and reminded us more of California mountains..( near Medford)
My son used to live in Medford.. He felt the same way..
But the drive near Canyonville took my breath away..and we LOVED Drain area too..
Jacksonville and Rouge Valley in were our favorite areas in Southern OR since it felt more nestled in the trees..

The reason we are moving it to be surrounded by trees and forest.. I just felt less of that in Southern OR

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by therese marie

I am just referring to the area near the I5 driving North and South and our impression.
Your probably right.. There are a lot of farms and valleys too in the Willamette Valley..
Our impression was that the closer south we went on the I5, coming to Grants Pass, the trees in the distance on the mountains seems more sparse and reminded us more of California mountains..( near Medford)
My son used to live in Medford.. He felt the same way..
But the drive near Canyonville took my breath away..and we LOVED Drain area too..
Jacksonville and Rouge Valley in were our favorite areas in Southern OR since it felt more nestled in the trees..

The reason we are moving it to be surrounded by trees and forest.. I just felt less of that in Southern OR

Southern Oregon has had more forest fires than we have had further north. You might just be seeing some of that growth in process of returning.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by therese marie

I am just referring to the area near the I5 driving North and South and our impression.
Your probably right.. There are a lot of farms and valleys too in the Willamette Valley..
Our impression was that the closer south we went on the I5, coming to Grants Pass, the trees in the distance on the mountains seems more sparse and reminded us more of California mountains..( near Medford)
My son used to live in Medford.. He felt the same way..
But the drive near Canyonville took my breath away..and we LOVED Drain area too..
Jacksonville and Rouge Valley in were our favorite areas in Southern OR since it felt more nestled in the trees..

The reason we are moving it to be surrounded by trees and forest.. I just felt less of that in Southern OR

I was born in Oregon, have been all over the state, and have the exact same impression of the areas surrounding the I-5 corridor.

[Hawk J]

On I-5 from Sexton Summit to Canyonville you will see forests of beautiful fir trees...

[therese marie]

Originally Posted by Hawk J

On I-5 from Sexton Summit to Canyonville you will see forests of beautiful fir trees...

I was going to say that the area off the I5 near Canyonville took my breath away.. I took SO many photos while my husband was driving .. beautiful area there ♥

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Hawk J

On I-5 from Sexton Summit to Canyonville you will see forests of beautiful fir trees...

Yeah, that's my impression too. South of Sexton Mountain the forest starts getting a little patchy. South of Gold Hill the Fir trees pretty much disappear, and the landscape completely changes. But I would say that the area from Cottage Grove to Grants Pass, has pretty nice forests, except for the clear cuts and developed areas.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymtOgyh7kYY

[PNW-type-gal]

That is because you go from hilly forest to valley floor. Is that really surprising?

The trees are just as large and dense in the Cascades to the east and the hills in the Applegate to the west. The eastern side of the Rogue Valley is dry and rolling, with a lot of oak trees, similar to the Northern California valleys, which gradually climbs into the forested Cascades. The western side is much wetter and is still fairly forested. The difference is yearly rain from west to east is substantial (16" on the east side, closer to 20" on the west side).

It always amazes me that a lot of people only know what they see from the freeway driving through and then decide the entire area is just like the freeway.