Social Econ Blog

Lest people get the impression from the previous post about the Wonder Bur that Grants Pass, OR is a sad and unpleasant place, let me post a bit more because it is really a very nice place.

Here are the two standard images of GP -- the "It's the Climate" sign (which for those interested was one of 4 signs that boosters hung downtown in the early 20th century touting the various virtues of Grants Pass the others, if I remember the research for my 8th grade history paper had to do with timber and agriculture) :



... and Caveman Bridge over the Rogue River (I like this photo because it captures another of GP's great features -- the sunsets)



The main thing I love about Grants Pass is being outside. The climate is amazing. We have 4 distinct seasons. People in New England often dismiss places like California by complaining that they lack seasons. Grants Pass has 4 seasons, but it lacks the extremes of Boston. The average LOW temp in January is 33 and the HIGH is 47, and the rain Oregon is "famous" for falls much more on the coast and the Willamette Valley -- Southern Oregon has twice as many clear days and 2/3s the rainy days of Portland. Further, while it can get hot in the summer, there is very little humidity and it cools off substantially overnight. So one tends to want to be outside in Southern Oregon.

The nice climate meshes well with the stunning beauty and recreational opportunities. When I am home (and it is not December during which the weather is pretty dismal -- heavy rain or fog seem to dominate when I am home at Christmas time), I want to be outside playing golf ...


(note to the parents -- I know you don't really deal with this stuff anymore, but would it be that hard to get some better photos of Dutcher Creek posted online?)

... or rafting or hiking along the Rogue (although there has been less rafting since my brother destroyed our raft on the rocks in this photo; way to go bro' -- in his defense it is an extremely tricky rapid) ...


100_2582.JPG
Originally uploaded by Irv Wiswall.

100_2614.JPG
Originally uploaded by Irv Wiswall.

... or heading the short distance through the Redwood Forest ...


Jedediah Smith Redwood Forest 004
Originally uploaded by Tmaupin.

... to the Oregon Coast.


Dimensions
Originally uploaded by HD .

(The photographer who took this last photo is quite good. I highly recommend clicking this link and looking at the slide show of his Souther Oregon pictures. He really captures the diverse landscape of Southern Oregon beautifully (and he doesn't even include any photos of Southern Oregon's most famous landmark Crater Lake).)

Anyhow, as should be fairly apparent by now, Grants Pass, and Oregon more generally, rule! If you've never been, you should go. If you've already been, you should go again.