Jonsrud Point

 

Jonsrud Viewpoint is a scenic lookout point at Sandy, Oregon.  The viewpoint looks out East towards Mount Hood and the river ravine below.  During the cold morning, thick fog form within the ravine beneath and the sunrise over the ravine simply looks gorgeous.  Thus this place has been a popular spot for photography enthusiasts for taking sunrise photo around Mount Hood.

We got to Jonsrud Viewpoint around 7AM in the morning.  It was still dark outside because the sunrise is at 7:45AM.  The parking area for this viewpoint is along a pull out South of the viewpoint.  There were only about 9 parking spaces and quite limited.

When we got out of the car, it was freezing.  We could see the frost on the grass and on the fence.  As we set up the camera, there were more people arriving to wait for the sunrise.  The parking lot was full.  Everyone was wearing gloves and hats because it was freezing cold.  We saw a dog walker placing a card board on the ground for his dog to stand on to protect the dog's paw.

Around 7:50AM, the sun rose above the mountain and the sun rays over the fog was simply beautiful.  The orange colour of the fog was too beautiful to dismiss.  The sun also made an orange grow on Mount Hood, it was quite amazing.

On the river down at the ravine, we also saw several fisherman there doing some early morning fishing.  It must be extremely cold down there on the river.

We stayed there for 30 minutes when the sun was well above the horizon and went back the car.  We were the last few people to leave but we really enjoyed this.  We would recommend to come here as early as possible to secure a parking space.

Crepe Neptune

 

Crepe Neptune is a famous bakery store specializing in crepe located in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  Crepe Neptune is located at the Northeast corner of downtown Cannon Beach.  It is right across from the tennis court.  Crepe Neptune offers various crepes in savory flavour and sweet flavours.

We got to Cannon Beach around noon on a beautiful sunny Saturday.  Before we went for a walk along the beach, we decided to get ourselves some treats to regain some strength from the workout in the morning.

We went to Crepe Neptune and saw 2 kiosks on both sides of the store front.  It was very convenient for its customers to order.  We ordered a Cape Lookout Crepe and a Smuggler's Cove Crepe.  This allowed us to taste both savory and sweet flavours.  After we placed the order, a text was sent to us with an order number.

After about 10 minutes, we got another text indicating that our order was ready.  The nice little girl gave us the crepe from a box.  Both crepe was so warm and very aromatic.  We took the crepe and walked to the Cannon Beach lookout just down the street to enjoy the crepe under the sun.

As we started eating the crepe, we just realized that the sleeve carrying the crepe had indications showing where to tear off the top of the sleeve.  There were 2 parts that can be teared off.  This really made crepe eating super convenient.

Cape Lookup Crepe had egg, ham and cheese in it.  It was very fresh and warm.  It was like eating an omelet but in the crepe.  Smuggler's Cove Crepe was the classic with nutella, banana, strawberry, and whip cream.  It was soft and sweet in a warm crepe.  We probably liked it the most.

We definitely would visit Crepe Neptune again to enjoy the crepe.  Next time we will try a different crepe.

Spirit Falls

 

Spirit Falls is a magical place in Pacific Northwest. The waterfall has huge volume of water with beautiful turquoise colour.  It is located near Cook, Washington state.  However, Spirit Falls is actually located on a private land owned by the lumber company and there is not an official trail to get to the fall.  The unofficial trail passes skirts around the privately owned land and hikers should make sure they don't trespass into the privately owned land.  Since the trail is unofficial, it is not maintained and hikers are using it at their own risk.  The trail is only 0.4 miles long to get to the falls but the trail is extremely steep.

We got to the trail head around 8AM and parked the car on the shoulder of the road right before the privately owned land.  Then we walked towards to the open area and the trail head is located at the Southeast corner of the open area.  The trail started off with a steep slope going downwards and we had to go very slowly due to large rocks on the trail.

Once we got down the first portion, we saw a path heading up the ridge and thought that was the trail, we went up the ridge and found that there was no where else to go.  We had to come back down the ridge, which was a bit scary due to the drop off on both sides.  When we got down the ridge, we found that the trail actually did a sharp left turn and continued downwards.

While heading down the slope, we were constantly checking our location on our phone to ensure we weren't crossing into privately owned land.  After about 25 minutes, we finally got to the waterfall.  The last part of the trail was very slippery due to the water flowing across the trail.

When we got to the waterfall, we were amazed by its beautiful turquoise coloured water.  Also, due to the thick foliage above the waterfall, there wasn't any sun light at the waterfall and it was just beautiful.  On the right side of the waterfall, there was a small narrow path heading down to the water level.  We carefully climbed down there and it was amazing there.  Note that getting down there is extremely dangerous due to the slippery rock and narrow path.  Do not attempt to do this if you are alone by yourself.

As we heading back, the climb up on the trail was tiring but it was easier than heading down.  The distance was also short so we were able to get back in 15 minutes.

This Spirit Falls was an amazing experience.  The water level is a bit low at this time of the year, we would probably try again in the future during an earlier time of the year.