PUBLISHED NOV 12, 2026 · OREGON
Crater Lake Scientists Found Zero of a Newt That Lives Nowhere Else. Can It Be Saved?
Zero seen at the survey sites. Twenty-six young in Oregon Zoo care. A newt with nowhere else to go.
YOU FOUND PNW PASSPORT PORTLAND / THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
THE NORTHWEST IS WEIRD.I HAVE QUESTIONS.
Somewhere in the Northwest, somebody is doing something so wonderfully strange that I have questions. I'm Larie. I dig for the real story, talk to the people behind it, and bring back the places, food, events and oddities worth leaving the house for.
True stories. Actual places. Unreasonable curiosity.
Original reporting from Portland, Oregon · How we verify what we publish ↗︎
Choose a rabbit hole.
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.
✳ FROM THE PNW PASSPORT NEWSROOM
Good stories. Excellent questions.
Three just-published Northwest stories, plus three I hope you'll still be thinking about tomorrow. Real people, original reporting and a little unreasonable curiosity.
01 / JUST PUBLISHED
Our newest published reportingSwipe for more new stories →
PUBLISHED NOV 12, 2026 · WASHINGTON
WSU Gave a 500-Pound Grizzly a Root Canal. His Sister May Be to Blame.
The surprising veterinary story behind Adak's two-hour procedure and the WSU team who helped him return to normal life.
PUBLISHED NOV 12, 2026
Morchella Is Back in Portland. Two Best Friends Brought the Forest to Hawthorne.
Portland's award-winning wild-food restaurant returns to Hawthorne. Chefs Cameron Dunlap and David Stevenson share the friendship, foraged candy-cap dessert, and new kitchen hours behind Morchella 2.0.
02 / LARIE'S PICKS
Stories with staying powerSwipe through our handpicked stories →
KLAMATH · A RIVER COMES BACK
The Klamath's Salmon Are Coming Back. The People Who Fought for the River Aren't Calling It Finished.
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.
PORTLAND · A PERSONAL STORY
Cascada Spa, Portland - Oregon: For the First Time in a Long Time, I Didn't Want to Hide My Body
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
SALISH SEA · SCIENCE + WTF
The Salish Sea Has a Sea Spider That Can Barely Groom Itself. The Other One Removed a Hitchhiker.
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.
Go on. Send a good story to somebody.Explore all stories ↗︎
COMING UP · OREGON + WASHINGTON
Put something strange on the calendar.
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.
Swipe through our upcoming event picks →
PORTLAND · ARTSFRI NOV 13 · 4–5 PM
Portland's Misfit Toys Have Their Own Puppet Show
Davis Wohlford built a cast of handmade misfits with personalities and stories. Now those characters are getting a stage. The artist and North Pole Studio behind them make this a story worth following.
Portland, ORFree listing · confirm
Official event details ↗︎PORTLAND · WEIRDFRI–SUN NOV 13–15
A Dark Burlesque Festival Is Bringing Throb Zombie to Portland
A goth burlesque festival with horror drag headliner Throb Zombie, late-night music and a Sunday Dark Market. After Halloween, Portland apparently decided to keep going.
Portland, ORTicketed · age rules check
Official event details ↗︎PORTLAND · SCIENCESAT NOV 14 · 9–10 AM
OMSI Is Teaching Preschoolers to Investigate Sasquatch
Little scientists learn how their five senses work by investigating Oregon's most elusive celebrity. It's bilingual and hands-on, not a claim that Bigfoot finally RSVP'd.
Portland, ORTicketed · ages 3–5
Official event details ↗︎WASHINGTON · CULTURESAT NOV 14 · 10 AM–10 PM
Seattle Hmong New Year Celebrates the People Keeping Traditions Alive
Hmong families mark the harvest and the year ahead with traditional clothing, dance, food and performances across generations. A free celebration that deserves your attention.
Seattle, WAFREE · public event
Official event details ↗︎✳ THE ADVENTURE DEPARTMENT
Okay, where are we going?
Four free ways to get out of the house. Find a place, earn a stamp, let the Escape Hatch choose, or go exploring through all 120 adventures.
01 / FIND A PLACE⌖
The Passport Map
Curious Northwest stops on a map. Pick one and go see for yourself.
Open the map ↗︎ 02 / KEEP SCORE✳Collect Passport Stamps
Take a trip, earn a stamp. Twelve wonderfully strange stops await.
Get your stamps ↗︎ 03 / CAN'T DECIDE??The Escape Hatch
Tell us your mood and budget. Get a real outing minus the group-chat debate.
Find my adventure ↗︎ 04 / GO EXPLORE120The Adventure Vault
One hundred twenty ideas around Oregon and Washington. Pick your rabbit hole.
Browse the vault ↗︎THE PNW PASSPORT FIELD GUIDE COLLECTION
I did the planning. You get to have the fun.
Two complete Portland playbooks for the next time somebody asks “So, what are we doing?” Or, worse, arrives with a suitcase and expects an answer.
NEW • FIELD GUIDE NO. 02
I HAVE VISITORS. SEND HELP.
Ten genuinely odd, already-planned Portland adventures. Real WTF stories, exact routes, food stops, maps and rainy-day pivots. Your unpaid tour-director career just got easier.
46 pages · 10 missions · Digital PDF
Explore the Visitors Guide — $27
FIELD GUIDE NO. 01
WE NEEDED A DATE THAT DIDN’T SUCK.
Ten complete dates for people who are done spending their evenings negotiating restaurants. Timing, budgets, reservation notes and the odd little Portland detour.
74 pages · 10 dates · Digital PDF
Explore the Date Guide — $27
Every guide helps keep PNW Passport independently curious. No subscriptions. No planning committee.
✳ THE MONDAY DETOUR · FREE WEEKLY LETTER
Your inbox deserves a better Monday.
Five good things to do, one unexpected rabbit hole, and something I couldn't fit into the story. Straight from our Portland newsroom.
Free to read. One email a week. Unsubscribe anytime. See what you'll get.
HI. I’M LARIE.
I came to Portland to rebuild my life and accidentally built a love letter to the Pacific Northwest instead.
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.
“The more I dig around Oregon and Washington, the more I realize how many wonderful stories are sitting right under our noses.” Love, Larie ❤️
One story I still carry with me: the Portland dinner that made me feel welcome →
FOR PRESS + PARTNERS
For the places with a story worth telling.
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.