I hung out with herdfan.

[shadow puppet]

Why do old people (sorry Herd) always want to move to Arizona?

Not this old person. I hate anything desert looking. Give me the PNW's green trees and cobalt blue swimming holes any day of the week!

 

[MEJHarrison]

Not this old person. I hate anything desert looking. Give me the PNW's green trees and cobalt blue swimming holes any day of the week!

Personally I'm with you. It looks like a beautiful place to visit. But I'm super happy with Oregon. I can't imagine I'd ever want to leave.

 

[shadow puppet]

Personally I'm with you. It looks like a beautiful place to visit. But I'm super happy with Oregon. I can't imagine I'd ever want to leave.

I'm hoping to find a way to live in Oregon.

 

[MEJHarrison]

I'm hoping to find a way to live in Oregon.

It's a great place. I can go 60-90 minutes and be at the beach or the mountains. We even have our own desert. We don't have hurricanes, tornadoes, very few earthquakes, the weather is typically reasonable. Not too hot in the summer, not too cold in the winters. This is all in the Portland area of course. The cost of living isn't cheap here of course, so it's not perfect. But I'm happy to pay a little extra to not live in a sea of red. I like my blue dot just fine.

 

[shadow puppet]

It's a great place. I can go 60-90 minutes and be at the beach or the mountains. We even have our own desert. We don't have hurricanes, tornadoes, very few earthquakes, the weather is typically reasonable. Not too hot in the summer, not too cold in the winters. This is all in the Portland area of course. The cost of living isn't cheap here of course, so it's not perfect. But I'm happy to pay a little extra to not live in a sea of red. I like my blue dot just fine.

I don't mind living in a tiny home or a container house. I never in my life want this much material stuff ever again. I do want a dog though. But I need good Cardio care near by. I'm about 8.5 months since my heart surgery and still no AFib. I'm very grateful. But trying to pack up a house by myself with a stress fractured hip and debrided, exposed bone on my great left toe (Raynauds disease), is not fun.

 

[Nycturne]

Not this old person. I hate anything desert looking. Give me the PNW's green trees and cobalt blue swimming holes any day of the week!

I'm torn. The PNW is a great place for being outdoors, but as someone who also wants to photograph deep space, it's night and day being able to do it in Arizona. Better views into Sagittarius thanks to the lower latitude (lot of interesting objects near the galactic core), less turbulent air, more clear nights.

 

[Eric]

I'm hoping to find a way to live in Oregon.

I'm going to offer a different take on Oregon, as one who has spent a better part of 30 years there the rain and clouds wore me down. The entire western half has an average of 222 days of either rain or clouds per year, it got to the point that I truly hated it. However, my wife never minded and could take it or leave it so I guess it really just depends on your take. I personally enjoy more sunny days.

 

[MEJHarrison]

I'm going to offer a different take on Oregon, as one who has spent a better part of 30 years there the rain and clouds wore me down. The entire western half has an average of 222 days of either rain or clouds per year, it got to the point that I truly hated it. However, my wife never minded and could take it or leave it so I guess it really just depends on your take. I personally enjoy more sunny days.

Under direct sunlight I get a decent (I'll notice it later) sunburn in about 30 minutes. And I don't care to wear sunscreen. In my high school days doing farm work, I was always the one wearing long sleeves in August. Cloudy days are happy days in my world. I've spent my whole life avoiding the sun. So I'm just used to it.

 

[shadow puppet]

I'm going to offer a different take on Oregon, as one who has spent a better part of 30 years there the rain and clouds wore me down. The entire western half has an average of 222 days of either rain or clouds per year, it got to the point that I truly hated it. However, my wife never minded and could take it or leave it so I guess it really just depends on your take. I personally enjoy more sunny days.

I actually enjoy rain just not 300 days a year. I've been looking into Southern Oregon which doesn't seem to have as much as the Northern regions.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I'm hoping to find a way to live in Oregon.

The best way to find a way to live in Oregon is be a failed Californian.

There’s probably more native Californians in Oregon than there is in California.

 

[shadow puppet]

The best way to find a way to live in Oregon is be a failed Californian.

There’s probably more native Californians in Oregon than there is in California.

I believe you! Oregonians hate how relocated Californians have driven the costs of home buying, etc., UP. I don't blame them. I've heard if one does want to relocate, make sure you have your Oregon car plates on before leaving CA.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

A few political observations when I was in AZ.

There were virtually no political signs in Sedona, or at least not state and federal races that would be recognized by most people. I think that’s because it’s a tourist town and also known as a spiritual center. Politics wouldn’t be good for either. There might be an ordinance or understanding against it.

I picture AZ as a mostly red state but when I went to the old mining town of Jerome I was surprised to see about a dozen Harris and Democrat signs right at the main entrance road. Couldn’t be missed by anybody going there. You’d think if anywhere would be Republican it would be an old semi secluded mining town in AZ. A good memory was being at the saloon around 11AM on a Monday and there was already about a dozen old timers there. In a city that might seem sad but there it seemed like the good life.

Everybody was friendly but I met several former Californians who had no interest in going back, but it isn’t for political reasons. It was mostly because of the focus on hustling to gain wealth and assets at the expense of a meaningful life and relationships. CA is no longer a good place to be a hippy.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I believe you! Oregonians hate how relocated Californians have driven the costs of home buying, etc., UP. I don't blame them. I've heard if one does want to relocate, make sure you have your Oregon car plates on before leaving CA.

I saw a documentary on an Oregon town that was completely gentrified by former Californians and the locals were pissed. Unsurprisingly the former Californians thought they were doing the best thing ever.

Maybe that’s when the state motto changed to “We’ve heard great things about Utah.”

 

[Yoused]

I'm torn. The PNW is a great place for being outdoors, but as someone who also wants to photograph deep space, it's night and day being able to do it in Arizona. Better views into Sagittarius thanks to the lower latitude (lot of interesting objects near the galactic core), less turbulent air, more clear nights.

I was reading some complex astronomical data analysis when I glanced at the source. It was from the Bear Fight Institute, which is in Winthrop. I mean, it is not like they were using their own telescopes to study the sky, but BFE Winthrop would probably be an excellent place to do it (at least, in a broad clearing). It should be pretty dark there at night, and I believe they have more clear nights than the PNWet.

 

[Alli]

Do you think he'd let me drive it?

Not if he has half a brain.

 

[Eric]

I believe you! Oregonians hate how relocated Californians have driven the costs of home buying, etc., UP. I don't blame them. I've heard if one does want to relocate, make sure you have your Oregon car plates on before leaving CA.

What's ironic about that is how many "native" Oregonians I knew were still born in other states while accusing everyone else of being transplants. I've always laughed at that trope there.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

A spiritual location with an annoying tourist experience.

Most people were quiet and respectful for obvious reasons, but these two women I would estimate were in their early 20’s come walking up the trail loudly talking, laughing, and swearing and continued to when they entered the main area. They walk right up to the temple and one goes "millennial pose!" While posing for a picture for her friend to take. This was shortly followed by listening to a loud video on their phone. They had no respect for the purpose of the location and acted like they were the only ones there. Luckily they were only there for about 5 minutes. I guess they got their instagram moment to add to their vapid online life.

 

[Eric]

A spiritual location with an annoying tourist experience.

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Most people were quiet and respectful for obvious reasons, but these two women I would estimate were in their early 20’s come walking up the trail loudly talking, laughing, and swearing and continued to when they entered the main area. They walk right up to the temple and one goes "millennial pose!" While posing for a picture for her friend to take. This was shortly followed by listening to a loud video on their phone. They had no respect for the purpose of the location and acted like they were the only ones there. Luckily they were only there for about 5 minutes. I guess they got their instagram moment to add to their vapid online life.

Wow that's some beautiful country up there!

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Wow that's some beautiful country up there!

We chose Sedona because of its unique geology. Disney loved the location and its rumored to have inspired Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Here’s the view from one of the high end restaurants.

The photos I’ve been sharing were taken with little effort with default settings on an iPhone 11. Somebody who knows photography with a better camera or phone can get some amazing shots.

 

[Nycturne]

I was reading some complex astronomical data analysis when I glanced at the source. It was from the Bear Fight Institute, which is in Winthrop. I mean, it is not like they were using their own telescopes to study the sky, but BFE Winthrop would probably be an excellent place to do it (at least, in a broad clearing). It should be pretty dark there at night, and I believe they have more clear nights than the PNWet.

There are great dark sky sites in Washington for sure, especially in the cascades. The Oregon high desert is even better (for now).

But we don’t just have to fight the clouds, but turbulence in the air, and the fact that at these higher latitudes, some of the most interesting stuff is just too close to the horizon, or below it. Arizona has been building “dark sky communities” for a reason. I’m a little surprised that someone has caught on to the fact that dark skies are a natural resource, but a welcome surprise for sure. I’d love to be able to rent a cabin or the like down there for a week or two and bring my imaging rig, but have to figure out what we will do with the cat. We were able to get a house sitter who could take care of her medications for us, but she was done with him about 6 days in and started throwing tantrums that we hadn’t returned yet.