Years ago, or so the story goes, the blue regions of Oregon formed a question mark. The reliably democratic portions of the state began on the coast near Astoria, curved east to Portland and then extended down the i5 corridor to more or less Eugene. Ashland was the dot at the base of the question mark. Today the blue zones are more an exclamation point, but Ashland is still the dot.

I mention this because traveling outside of Ashland can be quite a shock.