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I need some help with Oregon region. I've been toiling with this particular story for a while now and I want to be fairly accurate with it. I've been known to write as vague as possible when it comes to the region I place my stories. I generally just put them in a fictional town in the area where I live. The thing is, I like variety too. This current one I'm writing takes place in a fictional town in Oregon. The problem is that I don't know ANYTHING about the area. Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated.
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I live in Portland, Oregon
What are your questions.
Briefly, Oregon is "about" 350 miles square. On the North is the Columbia River. Part of the East is the Snake River, and some arid semi Desert which it shares with Idaho. On the South is California and Nevada, and on the West is the Pacific Ocean. HY. 101 runs all the way down the coast, mostly along the Ocean. I-84 is the main Highway on the North. Rt. 30 goes from Portland out to Astoria.
On the West, back from the coast about 15 miles is the Coastal Range that runs around 2-3000 feet. Past that, headed East, the Willamette Valley runs from the North around half way down the state. It is more or less fertile, green farm and forest land. To the East of that is the Cascade Mountains that average 4-5000 feet high, and has Mt Hood (11,280 ft) and South Mt Jefferson, the three Sisters, Mt Washington, Crater Lake and Mt. Mcloughlin. The whole state is so pretty, it will knock your eyes out.
East of the Cascades, taking up around half the state is high, arid semi desert where they grow lots of wheat, wind farms, cattle, some sheep, and coyotes.
The people out here are pretty friendly. Out in the East, many carry guns but likely none will shoot you unless you do something really awful.
That's it in a nutshell. If you need more, just say so.
Gwen
Don’t forget the Falls
Columbia River and Dungeness Crabs. Yum.
US-101 Hugs The Coast...
...but I-5 is the one that connects most of the major cities and towns: from south to north, Ashland, Medford, Grants Pass, Roseburg. Eugene/Springfield, Corvallis (more or less), Salem (the capital), and Portland (with its suburbs, including Vancouver WA across the river). It's all freeway, where the Oregon part of 101 is mostly two-lane scenic highway.
Eric
Quirky highway sign in Oregon
Twenty odd years ago I was driving southeast of Portland area nearly ran off the road when I saw a certain exit sign because I was laughing so hard. the highway sign people listed the town of Boring above Oregon City. Truth in advertising perhaps? Here is a link to the sign: https://www.flickr.com/photos/artoftherifle/8884907828
Great Sign
I see your hilarious sign and had a great laugh. Now I feel its my turn. This one is from Buffalo, NY:
My favorite cemetary name
What a wonderfully ironic name. In Westchester County, just north of New York City, you will find the Gate Of Heaven Cemetary in the Hamlet of Valhalla, Mt. Pleasant township, New York
I grew up in Oregon and still live there.
I grew up in Portland Oregon and lived there and in it's suburbs until about 2 years ago when I retired and moved to a small town in the foothills of the Coast Range in Columbia County.
Things you need to know about Oregon:
Hunting and fishing are big across the state. Politically Oregon is fairly liberal. Portland elected Sam Adams mayor a few years back. Sam Adams is openly gay. A small town near Salem, Silverton, elected an openly transgender mayor. The state overall is pretty trans tolerant. That's not to say there aren't pockets of transphobia. But that doesn't get much support.
I've only once had anyone react badly and that was only one employee at a women's clothing secondhand store refuse me use of the fitting room because I was dress male wanting to try on before I bought. That was during a time when I wanted to test the waters and simply flaunt the fact that I was male and buying women's clothes for myself. Part of my coming out process. I had been to that same shop before and the owner had no problem with it. I stopped by a Sears store on my way home from work one day to buy a roll around tool box. I was wearing a company uniform. As is my wont to do, I cruised the women's department on my way to the tool section. Walking through, I spotted a dress that just called my name. I took it to the cashier and asked if there was someplace I could try it on. She motioned to the women's fitting rooms behind her and said, "The fitting rooms are right there," without blinking an eye.
Check my blog entries for accounts of my exploits as a trans-person in Oregon. You'll see that Oregon is a great place for a trans-person to live.
Most of my stories take place in Oregon even if I don't say so in the story. A good example would be "My Cousin's Clothes." In that story I have the protagonist and his/her mother drive down the Oregon coast. I mention town, restaurants and a motel that actually exist.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Oh ree gun
We're Oregonians NOT Oregonders. We're pretty LGBT friendly. The majority of our counties are 'red' but our population concentrations (Portland and Eugene) carry enough oomph to make our votes blue. It is legal to have an indoor firing range in Portland. Here, we can get our birth certificates changed to match our genders and don't have to legally change gender to change our licenses.
It rains a lot, though not as much as up in Washington. It helps drive agriculture and the Oregon State University (Beavers (black and orange (in Corvallis) ) ) is super agricultural and have a timber program. We love nature and parks and stuff and are into recycling and environmental stuff. We also legalized marijuana for anyone over 18.
OSU's rivals are the University of Oregon (ducks (green and yellow(in Eugene) )) UofO is subsidized by Nike and they are super into sports.
Oregon Health & Science University is a medical school hospital thing. They totally used to kick ass at everything but there was a scandal some years ago that resulted in the loss of the Cardiology department or something. Anyway, they are up on the hill with the VA Hospital. They are both trans friendly incidentally.
Mt Hood is beautiful but as i understand it, it is overdue for an eruption. Clackamas county has an amazing (to me) library and many Oregonians resent Californians moving north because it increases the number of 'blues' (politically), increases the population, reduces farmland as more fertile land is converted to housing, increases property prices, blah blah blah.
Oh, and the Grand Ronde Indian tribe (they own Spirit Mountain Casino) just bought the Blue Heron paper factory that was used as a lot as a set for the show Grimm. It sits on Willamette Falls which is like the second largest by volume waterfall in the US? And we have Crater Lake.
Anything else or in particular?