Yes please give a lot of details along the lines that my old friend Tom laid out for you. These will help quantify what you can use. A portable is a good and relatively inexpensive way to get started. You do have some challenges ahead of you - the Olympic range and the Cascades are not going to be your friends here. However the Pacific, Asia and both Koreas are on your virtual doorstep.
We have several links to reviews of various levels (anything in blue is a link) here...
wiki.radioreference.com
Now to find like-minded folks in your general neck of the woods, look to your North to the DXer.ca website
This is Canada's original radio website - since 1996!
www.dxer.ca
(If you happen to run into a fellow by the name of Ian McFarland, tell him Mike Agner and Tom Sundstrom say hi. He will know our names.)
To get you started, read up on the preamble which has links to various things you will encounter in this side of the hobby...
wiki.radioreference.com
And finally, and maybe the most important one, is this site that takes you through the basics of how radio signals get from there to here. Make sure your Flash player is turned on
AE4RV Propagation Primer - Learn how HF (shortwave) radio signals travel accross the world without satellites. Good for people studying for Amateur Radio Exams or anyone who needs to know how HF radio works. Flash Movie by Geoffrey Noles, AE4RV.
www.ae4rv.com
That oughta be enough for now. Get something nice, tall and cold to drink and start reading.
Mike