Portland is the southernmost major city in the Pacific Northwest, and, driving northward from Sacramento, it’s the next major slice of civilization you’ll find on the West coast. Although, I should clarify that Portland is not actually coastal. It is a “port city” because it sits at the convergence of two major rivers that are connected to the Pacific Ocean: the Willamette and Columbia rivers. It’s about a 1.5 hour drive to the Pacific coast, which leads me to another thing that I want to highlight about Portland: it’s proximity to nature. This is a common theme among cities in the Pacific Northwest—including Seattle and Vancouver. All of these places are great gateways to some incredible natural beauty. And Portland is no exception. With Portland as your “home base,” you can (for example) do day trips to 1) surf, 2) snowboard, 3) hike, 4) rock climb, and 5) sail on 5 back-to-back days. For the “outdoorsy” among us, it’s a great place to be.
Avatar Grove is well-named; it really does feel like something out of Avatar. Or maybe Jurassic Park. It is a tangled, mossy labyrinth of ancient, knotted trees rising out of an infinite carpet of prehistoric-looking ferns. Each tree branch is draped with moss, similar to the way Spanish Moss hangs from every tree in Savannah—but in a green, lush, distinctly Pacific Northwest kind of way. Every little detail of this place was fascinating and photogenic. From the mossy, leafy forest floor, to the canopy high above our heads, every inch felt like its own world.
I’ll start with a quick introduction to Bainbridge Island. The first thing I should probably tell you about Bainbridge is that it’s not just some tourist haven—it’s actually a commuter suburb of Seattle. Lots of people live here! In fact, there are more islands out here than just Bainbridge, and many of them fall into this same category. Bainbridge alone has a population of about 25,000. I actually had a friend in college who grew up here, which now makes me jealous.
