Is Eastern Oregon really Oregon? (Portland, Ontario: income, land, rated)

[TribalCat]

Originally Posted by MimzyMusic

Oregon is all about the side of the state west of the Cascades, with 50 inches of rain, beavers, ferns, hippies, and everything else that it's stereotyped for.

I guess I have a different opinion since I'm more familiar with Eastern Oregon than the western part. Oregon isn't all about the rainy West. It's like California (don't shoot me, just listen) IN that there are different geographical settings, and that as a whole, they make up a wonderful state.

After spending much of my childhood in Southern California, I ended up graduating from high school in Ontario, OR, about as "east" as you can get and still be in the state. It was a great little town, and I'll always treasure that time. I'm currently back in Southern California (not by choice), but I'm hoping that someday I'll be able to get back up into the PNW...but closer to the coast

[spiritbear928]

Actually Boring is a town in Oregon and its in the Western part.

[RogueWolf]

I live in a portion of the state in which separatism was more than just an idea. However, the State of Jefferson never cam to fruition, but traces of it can be seen here and in northern California.

[Krystle]

Uh, one of the reasons I moved to Oregon is because a good half of it is desert. I lived in NM for two years and the land of enchantment really fostered an appreciation for the desert. And oh, those beautiful, amazing sunsets! But I missed the trees from my childhood. So enter OR--I can have the comfort of trees, and I'm only a hop, skip and jump away from the desert, which provides unrivaled solitude and peace. Those who have yet to experience what the desert has to offer are really missing out! So no--I don't think the state should be divided. =)

[Steve97415]

Oregon has long suffered from broad brush strokes painted by those who view the culture, climate and landscape of the Willamette Valley as the defining archetype of the entire state. "Oregon" is often conceived to be a green, rainy, politically progressive ecotopia where everyone buys their food at the local co-op and rides bicycles to get around town. At CNN's last count, 31 of Oregon's 36 counties were rather conservative "red" counties. The overwhelming majority of Oregonians, however, live in the five "blue" counties, so there is a vast discrepency between amount of territory and distribution of people. There are at least six different "Oregons" by my count: The Willamette Valley, The Coast, The Cascades, The Bunch Grass Empire, The Columbia River Valley and The State of Jefferson -- which still conceives itself to be a state unto itself...even if only a state of mind.

[goozer]

Originally Posted by jjpop

I can't think of a single square mile of land in the entire state of Oregon (or for that matter, the entire US) that I would call a "wasteland."

Steens Mountain = wasteland? No.
Wallowa Range = wasteland? No.
Rolling hills of the Columbia Plateau = wasteland? No.
Fault-block ranges and basins north/east of Lakeview = wasteland? No.
Ochoco Mountains = wasteland? No.

Agreed. I think it is pretty incredible that Oregon has vast stretches of unpopulated "high desert." There is something very peaceful and serene about it. There are also many places of understated beauty to be found in the eastern part of the state.

[NightBazaar]

I have to agree with the wide ranging diversity of Oregon's topography. Even in some of the "wastlands", there are fascinating locations to be found. The lava beds and lava caves are one example. Seeing antelope grazing or running wild is another beauty. Even places like Hole in the Ground in Central Oregon is interesting to see and think about.

Sure, Eastern Oregon is different, but so is the Willamette Valley, the Oregon Coast, Southern Oregon, and so on. Oregon is a large sized state with a lot of different features. The Willamette Valley from Eugene to Portland is only a small part of the state.

By the way, there's one small area of Oregon (can't remember the name) bordering Idaho, that uses Central Standard Time instead of Pacific Standard Time. Talk about diversity! LOL!

[Towhee]

I have been across Oregon east to west, west to east, and found beauty in all of it. Just as the area from the Jerome, Twin Falls area, to Boise, is desert, but still has lots of beauty. I miss the sagebrush scenes since I moved away, and have some on my screen saver. :-)
Spring is espacially beautiful, when all the early wild flowers are in bloom.

[Terryj]

Mimzy, your remark "I feel like proper Oregon begins at The Dalles in the north, Bend in the middle and Lakeview in the south. You can take a map of Oregon, cut off the eastern two thirds and still have a functional map." Is why Eastern Oregon often feels like the bastard step child of Oregon. Half the population of Oregon lives from Eugene to Portland in that narrow strip of land that extends from the western slope of the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean. There is much more to Oregon and the beauty is found within the eye of the beholder. there are things found in the "wasteland" of Oregon that exist nowhere else in the US or even the Northern Hemisphere. Oregon has the deepest lake in the US, Oregon has the deepest canyon in the Northern Hemisphere, Oregon has the largest exposed fault system in the Northern Hemisphere, these are just a few things you will find in this vast "wasteland". People who visit Oregon and just stay on the west side of the Cascades miss allot of what Oregon is, they get a distorted view of the state.
I was born and raised in Oregon, in my short 58 years I've been all over this state, every area has something to offer, so don't be to hasty to discount the other Oregon.

[NightBazaar]

I agree with Terryj. If a person sees Oregon with a sectional view, then yes, there are some great differences. The same thing could also be said about the entire U.S. There are vast differences from one part of the country to another. It's not all the same. In fact, it's pretty dull and monotonous if it were. But it's still all part of the same country. And the variety of Oregon is that it's all part of the same state. And that variety is part of what makes Oregon interesting.