The PNW Way. I stayed for a little while in Tigard, just south of Portland. A day trip took me to the Oregon Coast and an incredible hiking trail. It would be the last real hike I would take as I made my way to Seattle, by way of Mt Saint Helens, and encountered smoke.
The west coast was on fire, much like Colorado, and the smoke was heavy. At one point, the air quality in Seattle was the worst in the world.
But then it was time to find the answer to the question that had been plaguing me the entire trip so far: would Canada let me in to drive to Alaska? I made my way up to Anacortes where a childhood dream was realized and I saw Orcas in the wild. Then further through the smoke to Sumas, the Canadian border.
Denied!
I sulked for a while and then made my way east to Idaho. After more sulking, and a lot more smoke, I made my way back west to Seattle for a flight to Alaska.
