I live on the high desert. Even deserts get some participation, but not regularly and not as much as other places. When people think of Oregon, they think of rain. And in Oregon's main valley, the Willamette, it does rain. A lot. But the reason it rains there and not where I live is exemplified by this photo, best viewed full sized by clicking on the pic. The Cascade mountain range stops most storm systems from moving into the high desert. The area on the other side of Mt. Jefferson, in the center of the photo, had high rainfall yesterday. We didn't have any. The mountains stop the storms. Madras, OR, January 15, 2006.