This arid country immediately east of the Oregon's Cascade Range boasts 300 days of sunshine a year in its tourist brochures. Whether that is true or not we'll leave to the climatologists. What is certain is the scarcity of rainfall, about 8-12 inches per year, with generally low humidity. Even when it is stormy and cloudy in this region, it is not the blank endless gray characteristic of the long sunless periods in Western Oregon. Misplaced desert rats like this photographer will want to buy some land in this region and just go dry out their spirits now and then. They'll have their choice between urbane, pricey living in the great city of Bend, or life in the smaller cities like Redmond, Prineville, Sisters, or Madras. And in between and beyond the cities, there are still huge expanses of ranch lands, juniper scrub lands, rimrock lands, and piney mountain uplands. The image below is from a sparsely populated area south of Prineville. I title it "Moonrise-Canyonland," and it is for sale, see bottom of page. ille, Oregon. Prineville, Crooked River, Prineville Reservoir