The North Cascades is a wilderness paradise. My previous trip to the Northern Cascade Loop took us on a couple of epic hikes, with some of the best backpacking Washington State has to offer, but little did I know there is so much to the area of northern Washington State than meets the eye. I…
Portland, Oregon is a unique charmer of an American city. Yes, I am biased, because it’s been my home for two decades. But honestly, there are so many things that make Portland unique, and the nightlife is one of them. Not only does Portland rival Seattle in the local music scene (think Everclear, the Decemberists,…
When you need to take a break from the city, away from the great coffee shops, the incredible food scene or just the bustle of downtown Portland, there is a myriad of places you can get away to for a day. Portland is smack dab in the middle of what seems like everything. You could…
So what IS up with all of those islands? So many of them off the coast of Washington State (I’m talking about you, Puget Sound) and even more off the coast of British Columbia. Not to mention, the granddaddy of them all, Vancouver Island. As an explorer, I get frustrated with this. There are so…
April is Tulip time in northwestern Washington, and even though it’s too late to go now for 2019 because your friendly neighborhood blogger didn’t tell you about it until now… There’s always next year. Put it this way, it’s never too early to start planning, because Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley, Washington is a big…
I still remember the first time I saw Crater Lake. It was a late summer afternoon, and the sun hit the water just right—so blue it almost looked unreal, like someone had painted it onto the earth. I stood there, silent, completely awestruck by the depth and stillness. It wasn’t just beautiful. It was transformative….