Above: The White Stag sign in Old Town Portland, Oregon

The great secret of the Oregon and Washington coast is that in the summer, they’re quite sunny. Portland and Seattle receive little to no rain for months. Indeed, the region around Portland became so dry this past summer that wildfires broke out, damaging treasured landscapes along the picturesque Columbia River Gorge. During our road trip, we had planned on hiking in that very area, but our stay coincided with the worst of the fires.

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