Anybody up in Southwest Oregon?

[AverageJoe90]

I'll be staying in Grants Pass for about a week and a half, starting on the 25th.
I've been there before, and I know a few of the local sights, like the Rogue River boat tours, and this really neat drugstore that sells the best milkshakes I've ever had(they are frickin' awesome!), but I'd like to know more(and a little about local politics on the side), especially if there's any fellow DUers up there.

[movonne]

1. I live on the SW coast of Or. and find the politics much

like what is going on all over the country...the rural areas are The very conservative and tea party...the large cities are liberal...when I moved up here from california 23 years ago I was surprised that this small town was so repug...I blamed that on Rush and his radio program...at that time all you could get on the radio was religion, Rush and cowboy music...over the year it is changing a little more liberal as people from california and other liberal areas moved here.. The coast of Oregon is beautiful and hope you take a trip up the coast..

[tapermaker]

2. I live in northern oregon

but have worked and played extensivly in that area . You might want to take a day trip on the redwood hwy to northern califaornia redwood forests. beautiful drive and some really nice stands of redwoods . I like to stop at the boarder and buy some elk and buffalo jerky from a stand along side the hwy. Visit jed smith state park for the trees and there is a small antiques shop just down the road ifg your into that .have fun

[RogueBandit]

3. From Medford

I live about 35 minutes south on Interstate 5 from Grants Pass. Medford Oregon is conservative but not quite as conservative as Grants Pass area.

Ashland is another 20 minutes south from Medford and it is very liberal, a college town hosting Southern Oregon University. It has a very nice though gentrified downtown area. A world class Shakespearean theater company is in Ashland so if you like plays it's a great place to visit.

Medford is about 75,000 and Ashland is around 20,000 population.

I agree that the Redwoods is an awesome trip, and not very far from Grants Pass ... just a short day trip. The coast is not much further from the Redwoods and traveling north up the coast there are wonderful vistas of the ocean. Through the Redwoods, up the coast a bit and back to Grants Pass is a great day trip.

If you like caves there is the Oregon Caves National Monument near Grants Pass, also on the way to the Redwoods. Big, big, big caves.

And my favorite, though it would not be a short journey from Grants Pass, is Crater Lake. I believe Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the USA. Beautiful to say the least.

Where are you coming from AverageJoe90?

[AverageJoe90]

4. I'll be coming from Portland via D/FW Int'l.

[davidpdx]

7. I'm from the Rogue Valley as well

Grew up in Medford and Grants Pass (mostly the latter) and live in South Korea. My wife is Korean and she has been to Oregon twice. On the first trip we went down into Northern California saw the Redwoods and up into the southern coast she enjoyed it. At the end of the trip we went to Crater Lake. She also got to see Portland, central and eastern Oregon all in one trip. Traveled through Christmas Valley where there is literally nothing.

[AverageJoe90]

5. Leaving home in about an hour and a half.

Wish me a safe trip, fellas! =)

[Old Codger]

6. Something to do

On sat. is visit the Grants Pass Growers Market, really nice market.

The Outdoors Growers' Market is open every Saturday morning, mid-March until Thanksgiving, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the corner of 4th and ‘F’ in downtown Grants Pass..

I second the idea of heading down the Redwood Highway and visiting the redwoods, well worth the drive also along the way are the Oregon Caves.
http://www.nps.gov/orca/index.htm they are pretty decent also.