A collection of the best Pacific Northwest travel stories featured in The Statesider US Travel Newsletter: Idaho | Oregon | Washington
Also see: Alaska, California, Mountain West
Idaho Travel Stories
River Adventure: Rafting Idaho’s desert river named for lost Hawaiians is an adventure — and a link to the state’s past. Dove Henry, Idaho Statesman
Oregon Travel Stories
Oregon Treasure: Was “The Goonies” based on a true story? Rumors of a treasure from a Spanish galleon shipwrecked on the Oregon coast have persisted for centuries. One woman has made it her mission to track down the truth — not for gold, but for poetry. Leah Sottile, The Atavist
Will Travel for Ice Cream: Is this America’s most dangerous food trail? The crowdsourced Oregon Ice Cream Trail
Riverhood: The Klamath River now has the legal rights of a person. Anna V. Smith, High Country News
Dude, Where’s My Car: Great places for your stoner road trip. (Wait, isn’t everywhere amazing when you’re high?) Don’t drive while baked, kids. Also: Bring snacks. Meghan O’Dea, Willamette Week
Geek Road Trip: Is your ride nicknamed “Car Car Blinks”? Yousa wanna read about this Star Wars–themed road trip. Rob Owen, Seattle Times
Redwood Empire: Want to go to Grunkle Stan’s Mystery Shack? A trip with Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch in search of strange tourist traps. Mike Gencarelli, Media Mikes
Art Crawl: The Oregon Coast has always been an ace road trip for nature, now it’s got a new theme: Art. Sarah Hutchins, PDX Monthly
Washington Travel Stories
Mt. Rainier: The man with the record for the fastest climb of Mount Everest traded his native Nepal for Washington. Now visitors can get a taste of Nepal at the restaurant he and his wife run (plus huckleberry pie, because pie). Naomi Tomky, Cowboys & Indians
Seattle Weird: The northwest city has a long history of weird. Paul Dorpat made it his job to document said weirdness. Katie Wilson, Crosscut
Geek Road Trip: Is your ride nicknamed “Car Car Blinks”? Yousa wanna read about this Star Wars–themed road trip. Rob Owen, Seattle Times
Pet Road Trip: Road-tripping with your dog: it’s a thing, and it’s fun. Stefanie Loh, Seattle Times
Hygiene Department: Who pooped in the park? Is social media leading to a parkland poo-splosion? Terry Wood, Seattle Times
The Craziest Scoop: Nettles. Fiddlehead ferns. Pine nuts. Ash. These outdoorsy Pacific Northwest ice cream flavors are getting wild. Jackie Varriano, Seattle Times
On the Waterfront: In Seattle and other waterfront cities, engineers are devising new ways to encourage marine biodiversity. Tyee Bridge, Hakai Magazine
Outdoorsy & Asian: When Washington outdoorsman Christopher Chalaka looked for a group of like-minded outdoorsy Asian-Pacific Islanders, his search came up empty. So Chakala started Outdoor Asian, now with three active chapters and growing. Manola Secaira, Crosscut
Mochi Madness: Pam Mandel attended a traditional Japanese New Year’s mochi pounding on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Bainbridge was home to a thriving Japanese farming community until the Japanese Exclusion Act of 1942. Pam Mandel, Nerd’s Eye View