people there don't want to immunize their schoolkids...33% un-immunized.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=11992076&ch=4226723&src=news 

But they have a hell of a Shakespeare festival.

I wonder what percent of the parents are immunized..?? they probably want their foreskins back too....

(Ashland is closest 'go-have-fun' town to me--great Shakespeare, some of the best in US)

how big of a town is it? Sounded more like a commune or something...... and what kind of fun is Big Chief into?

Shakespeare damn good for Catch great White Belly Salmon !

I have a Quantum.....

Hey Chief I lived in Bend for 3 years. Amazingly beautiful state.

We Oregonians used to have signs that said "Don't Californicate Oregon." And, we meant it. Heathens!

Oregon is a pretty decent place to live. I own some acreage outside of Grants Pass and plan on retiring there someday. . .

Big Chief and I will have powwow, smoke some cigars, drink some firewater and talk about the wonders of Oregon (to include small portions of Northern Cali - especially around the Smith River area).

#5 Drafter,

I'd guess Ashland at about 13,000 people. Medford, Oregon (southern Oregon's biggest town) is just a few minutes away.

Ashland has a rather near-extreme liberal overtone. I don't go for that, when I go--there are good restaurants there, with chef's who are better than I, that and a very good friend lives there.

And what Chiefburg says in #9 is true--Oregon is pretty cool. As a Californian, I hate to give the Oregonians anything, but surely the coastal drive north from the Cal-Ore border is possibly the most spectacular in the US.

And Chiefburg is right--we will pow-wow, drink beer, smoke cigars and I will feed him and his family...soon, I hope!

#9, 11 Ahem. What, does the forest stop at Oregon?

Take the PCH all the way up to Never Never Land (Washington) some day. Stunning scenery all the way up. The when you get to the top, hang a right, take the road (104?) over to Port Townsend. Take the PT-Keystone ferry and you're on Whidbey Island, where I live. My main office is just a few miles up from the ferry, in the Ebey Preserve area of the island.

And we have plenty of trees, mountains, etc. Oh, and that little puddle called the Puget Sound.

Sheesh!

I can't get into Washington--I haven't a green card!

Pac - You forgot the part about the rain forest. . .

I lived in Tacoma and traveled bi-weekly to WI. All kidding aside, it seemed like it was raining sideways virtually every time I came up there.

Yes, the entire PNW is beautiful. I've traveled 101 (and 1) from west of Olympia all the way to San Ysidro and it's an awesome drive.

But, you forget that there's this big, round, hot thing is the sky called the sun. Folks from WI fear it - even hide in their houses - when it comes to visit. I like it in Washington, I just don't want to spend that much time in the rain forest any longer. . .

Chiefburg--you've driven right by my house...

'...Yes, the entire PNW is beautiful. I've traveled 101 (and 1) from west of Olympia all the way to San Ysidro and it's an awesome drive...'

#14 "I lived in Tacoma..." I'm very sorry. Spent three years during law school living in that armpit (wanted to be close to school, so I lived in the Hilltop area...sucks, big time).

We do get some nasty storms here, especially in November, but Dec-Feb are usually fair game, too. We had snow for a third time this season just Monday, and that's rare (although like snow around here usually, this didn't stick around long). It's been sunny and mid 40's today, also not rare for this time of the year.

Something has to help create all that greenery. Rain in the lousy months, sun--usually in good amounts--July-Sept. Last Summer? Not good. Hardly any motorcycle time for me.

When did you live in Tacoma? I was there 1985-88.

Nothing more beautiful than the north coast of Cal. Millie and I spent the spring of 72 in Orick. We got over 30" of rain; wet but beautiful.

Anyone wants to see a real temperate rain forest on the mainland, I'd recommend the Hoh Rainforest on the West side of the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. Average rainfall is 12-14 feet, and moss grows in sheets hanging from trees, while large trees and broad ferns sprout from the forest floor. It's really quite stunning. Great hiking in there, too, especially in the Staircase area (I once hiked into the Flapjack Lakes--sorry, no Waffle Lakes--early in the season, and one was a beautiful emerald green, while the other, in the shadow of finger peaks, was still completely frozen over). Best time for dry weather is August and September.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoh_Rain_Forest 

http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/temperate-rain-forest.htm 

Oh, and you're not that far from the beaches, so you can see and do a lot in just a few days.

BTW, Google for images. It's really quite something. And if you go, you may see deer and/or elk in the lowlands (deer actually pretty much everywhere, but both like the rivers and creeks for water), rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. Go up into the mountains and you may also see black bear and mountain goats. Oh, and lots of marmots.

18 - Thanks for the hot tip! Add that one to the list.