Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Beauty in the Landscape.

I grew up in a small town in Southern Oregon. 

Southern Oregon, and especially the town that I grew up in, can feel like another planet. It's kind of hard to explain unless you've been there, but everything is different. I mean, not only do you deal with all the issues of any small town in the world (everybody knows everybody else and all their business), but in this case, you also have a town that is widely considered one of the best hippie towns in the U.S., while paradoxically also being extremely rich, extremely non-diverse, and a place where it is common for the "hippies" to wear $100 gaucho pants, and grab their longboard that they ride around town out of the back of their Escalade. It is so weird, because this is a dynamic that exists only in my home-town, and not at all even 12 miles down the road. It is b-to-the-iz-are (I couldn't resist). Anyway, from the time that I was about a freshman in high school, there was an almost universal rumbling across all kids my age that basically went 'I cant wait to get out of here.' 

So, I moved to Tacoma for college, well Parkland, but close enough. I thought that I would love the city. I thought that I was made for the city. And this is probably going to sound super naieve, but the number one thing I remember about my first week in college (other than my fabulous roommate & next door neighbor), was the fact that in the city, you couldn't see the stars at night. Not like you do in Southern Oregon, anyway. I hated it. So, due to a mix of my family, in-state tuition, and Justin all being located in Southern Oregon, I moved back. I'm not in hippie-ville USA anymore, but back nonetheless. 

Since coming back, I could more easily see what so many people love about Southern Oregon--we really are fortunate here to be within a few hours drive of the ocean, ski resorts, amazing natural lakes, breath-taking mountains, and the high desert. But it's so easy to get busy. It's so easy to forget that we have things right in our backyard that people travel here to see.

I was blessed to recently be asked by a dentist's office to take some landscape photos for display. It was truly *so nice* to get out and do something a little different. To get in the car and enjoy these places with our little family. I wish now that we would've bitten the bullet and gone to Crater Lake because it has been YEARS, but now it's closed and that's a story for another day. I had a blast. And I think (I hope!) that I delivered.

So anyway... here's a small taste of Southern Oregon:
Landscape (1) Landscape (2) Landscape (3) Landscape (4) Landscape (6) Landscape (7) Landscape (8) Landscape (9) Landscape (10) Landscape (11) Landscape (12) Landscape (13) Landscape (14)

11 comments:

  1. these are soooo pretty! the grapes, the house, that little whispy thingy! haha! awesome.

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  2. What a gorgeous spot! I love all of your pictures. They are really wonderful.

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  3. These are really beautiful photos!! I love love love Southern Oregon- I grew up in Olympia, WA (not far from Tacoma!) and used to go to a family ranch in Northern CA every year. Southern Oregon reminds me of a combination of the PNW and Northern CA. My sister lived in Ashland for a couple of years (is this the town you are referencing? It's a pretty hippy/rich town) and I loved going there to visit. I definitely miss the west coast- I took it for granted until we moved far, far away. There's just nothing quite like it!

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  4. These photos are so great. I've never been to Oregon, but I lived in southern California when I was little and it's my life's ambition to get back to the northwest. Fingers crossed, there's a pretty good shot we can end up near Seattle next time!

    Anyway. I love these pictures, they really are AMAZING.

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  5. Beautiful pictures! I love waterfalls. Now can you teach me to take pictures this crisp and vibrant?

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  6. Beautiful! And now I miss home :'(

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  7. You've inspired me to add Southern Oregon to my "must" see list! Gorgeous pictures!

    I just found your blog and I'm enjoying it so far :) I added it to my bookmarks so I can check back often... Thank you for sharing!

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  8. Absolutely gorgeous! Wow.

    Did I ever tell you that my brother-in-law lives in Florence, OR right now? He went to school in Corvalis, too. No clue where those towns are compared to you now or back then but his pictures are always SO pretty. We intend to visit him someday and now I want to see sites like you've posted too. ;)

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  9. Gorgeous photos (as always). Oregon is on my "to see" list - my husband swears it is one of the most gorgeous states. I'm from a very small town too, but no where near this beautiful.

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  10. Those photos are breathtaking! My favorite has to be the fifth one down—those clouds are so doggone majestic and dimensional. I love my home state, but Oregon is tremendously beautiful. I felt so close to the clouds when I was in Portland, but it was a different sort of close from the closeness I'd experienced in places like Colorado. Thank you for sharing these pics! ^_^

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