Why did Portland send sandwiches by rowboat? Who put giant trolls in Washington's forests? And why does an Oregon coast town have a Kraken? I'm Larie. I follow the people behind the stories, check the facts, and bring back places you can actually go see.
True stories. Actual places. Unreasonable curiosity.
Here for dinner, a day trip, a little wonder or an actual plan for Saturday? Pick a door. I'll show you what I've found.
We recently moved to Portland from New York, and though we occasionally crave the kind of attentive dining that city does so well, we’ve outgrown the white-tablecloth hush and performative service. What we want now — and rarely find — is that golden middle: a place that makes you feel cared for without asking you to pretend you’re not still a person in shoes. Terra Mae is that place.
Real upcoming dates, not last month's festival wearing a fake mustache. Events are sorted by their start date; check the organizer before making the drive.
Ornaments inspired by celebrations from around the world, including Krampus and La Befana. Artists were given size and price limits. Their imaginations apparently received no such memo.
Historic houses, paranormal speakers and night investigations in buildings old enough to have stories. You don't have to believe in ghosts to love the history of a room.
More than 50 events, gallery receptions, art demos and live performances. An entire coastal town has decided November weather is an artistic medium.
A wall of more than 200 locally collected fungi, experts who can tell them apart, and optional identification hikes. Never eat a mystery mushroom because somebody on the internet said it looked friendly.
Science Saturday turns a museum full of undersea history into a place to code bots and solve mazes. The word 'homework' is not invited.
A river coming back to life. A bat with a movie-star name. A tiny theater hiding in a shop window. And the day a spa changed how I saw myself. Come for the weird. Stay for the people.
After four Klamath dams came down, Chinook returned quickly. Yurok Fisheries Director Barry McCovey told us what he noticed first, what surprised his team, and what the river still needs.
I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to shrink into spaces that weren’t built for women like me — not just physically, but emotionally. I’ve stood in dressing rooms avoiding mirrors. I’ve untagged photos. I’ve chosen the towel instead of the pool. And I’ve told myself, si
UBC scientists described two extraordinary little sea spiders. We asked researcher Cormac Toler-Scott how they found them, what they eat, and why one species spends its life on another animal.
A giant metal flower that waits for sunshine? I asked sculptor Ben Dye how Solar Bloom works and found a story about patience, weather and clever engineering.
Downtown Portland's empty storefronts are becoming free light-up works of art. We asked Nightlab what is really installed and where to find a miniature drive-in theater after dark.
Oregon’s pallid bat Ryan GosWING won the BLM’s 2026 Bat Beauty Contest. We asked the agency where he lives, what he eats, and why those magnificent ears matter.
Michael Apruzzese photographed hundreds of the city's most private piles of batteries, keys and mysterious cords. His book Junk is a strange, funny portrait of being human.
Washington's South Beach has a wonderfully old-fashioned winter treasure hunt: genuine Japanese glass fishing floats, surf, and a lot of very patient beachcombers.
A small Oregon coast town turned a winter walk into a mushroom treasure hunt. The prize is made by an artist, and the real reward might be getting out the door.
I grew up in Hawai‘i, spent years in New York, and came to Portland looking for a place to start again. I found people who could make a meal feel like a welcome, a festival that pulled strangers together, and local customs that made me laugh before I understood them.
I'm Larie Pidgeon. PNW Passport is my independent little newsroom. Sometimes I come back with a story that makes you laugh. Sometimes it sits with you for a while. And whenever there's somewhere you can go yourself, I try to give you the address and the practical details, too.
Somebody in the group chat has said “I'm easy” for the fourth time. Fine. Tell the Escape Hatch your mood, budget, available time and region. It will give you a real place, a reason to go and the details we have checked. Open the adventure picker → · Browse all 120 places →
The adventure picker is loading. Open the full version →
A strange festival, a neighborhood market, a reason to meet your friends somewhere other than the same bar. Browse our handpicked events by date and place, then check the organizer's latest details before you leave.
I love a spontaneous night. I do not love standing in the rain while everyone debates the next stop. Our Portland Date Guide has ten complete outings, with the order, timing, budget notes, reservation guidance and rain backups figured out.
You bring the person. I'll bring the plan.
I'm Larie. I report, write, shoot and build useful stories for readers who save them, send them and make plans around them. If your destination, restaurant or brand has something worth investigating, here's how we can work together.
