Henry Hagg Lake

 

Henry Hagg Lake is a popular lake located in the Washington County of Oregon.  Due to its close proximity to the metropolitan area of Portland, Henry Hagg Lake is a popular weekend getaway location for people.  The lake is less than an hour away from the city and offers variety of water activity options and picnic for people along the lake shore.

We got to Henry Hagg Lake around 1PM in the afternoon.  The parking fee is $7 and can be paid at the entrance of the park.  If you missed it, you can also pay at the main parking lot.  Since Henry Hagg Lake is quite a large lake, there are several recreation areas for people to access.  We went to recreation area C because it has the largest parking space.

When we got there, the parking lot was only half full.  There was already a lot of people having picnic by the lake shore.  We also saw many students from nearby college having a lot of fun there.  Some picnic table also offered BBQ grill stand for people to use on a first come first serve basis.

As we walked along the lake shore, we also saw the hut that was offering paddle board rental.  Several people rented paddle board and kayak from there.  There was also a food truck selling Hawaiin shaved ice and was having a great business since it was a very hot day.

As we left the lake around 5PM in the afternoon, the parking lot was completely full.  It seemed that most people come to the lake later in the afternoon.  We would definitely come here again to enjoy a relaxing day but we would bring a canopy with us next time to stay under the shade.

Kura Revolving Sushi Bar

 

Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is a popular sushi restaurant located in Beaverton Town Center.  It originated from Osaka, Japan, and have established its presence in United States since 2009.  The Beaverton Town Center location is its first location in Oregon.  Kura is known for its revolving sushi concept and all the automation that has been deployed in the restaurant.  The Beaverton Town Center location of Kura has gained popularity among the local people and often has a wait line during the weekend busy hour.

We had the Friday of Memorial Weekend off and thus it was the perfect time to try the sushi at Kura.  We got there around 12PM and there was no wait line since it was not during the weekend.  We got a table in the middle and the waiter gave us an overview on how the restaurant works.  We can grab the plate from the conveyor belt, or we can order any food or drink from the touch screen.

We first ordered our drinks and the drinks were delivered by the yellow robot.  It was quite cool!  These robots runs around the floor and they seemed quite busy!  We then ordered about 14 plates of food from the touch pad and the food was delivered by the other conveyor belt at the top.  The touch pad notified us when the ordered food was arriving.  It was very convenient.

In terms of the quality, the taste of the food was decent.  However, we felt that the sushi was not well made.  The meat of the sushi did not stick with the rice and often fell off.  The hand roll was quite good in term of the taste, we enjoyed it a lot.

When checking out, we inserted all the white places into the slot and the system automatically calculated the cost of the meal.  We could pay through the app or call the waiter over.

Overall, it was an interesting experience dining at Kura.  We enjoyed it and would visit again in the future.  There were some special meal as well but we did not order this time.  We would definitely try the special meal when we visit next time.

Woodenshoe Tulip 2025

 

Woodenshoe Tulip Farm is the famous tulip farm in Oregon.  It is located by Woodburn, just less than an hour South of Portland.  The farm plants many different breeds of tulips in variety of colours.  Woodenshoe Tulip Farm hosts tulip festival every year and attracts thousands of people to attend.

We got to Woodenshoe Tulip Farm by 6AM in the morning since we bought the early bird admission ticket.  There was not a lot of cars there since the weather was cloudy, but the rain has completely stopped.  We stepped out to the farm around 6:30AM as the sky was getting brighter.  The ground at the farm was quite muddy due to the rain in the past few days, and luckily we were wearing boots today.

The tulip at the farm was not fully blossom yet.  There were rows of tulip that had its flower bulbs that were still closed.  It was likely due to the rainy weather that Oregon had this year and thus the tulip blossom was starting later this year.

We also felt that the amount of tulip at the farm was becoming less and less each year.  We recalled that the first time we came, the tulip farm was 1.5 times larger and had a lot more rows of tulip.  It was unfortunate to see the tulips farm shrinking.

We did enjoy the visit this year although the weather condition was not the best and there were not many people at the farm.  We are hoping that the tulip farm gets back to the size it was before when we visit next year.

Stonehenge Memorial

 

Stonehenge Memorial is located near Goldendale, Washington State, along the North side of Columbia River.  It is the exact replica of the Stonehenge in Salisbury, UK.  Unlike the Stonehenge in UK, the Stonehenge in Washington State is open 24 hours everyday and tourists are allowed to go into the Stonehenge circle.  The main difference is that this Stonehenge replica is made out of concrete instead of real stones.

February 28, 2025 was when the 7 planetary alignment happens.  Thus we decided to venture out East to Stonehenge Memorial to have a clear viewing sky and see the planets.  Stonehenge Memorial is about 2.5 hours East of Portland and we were able to get there by 5PM.

There was not a lot of cars at Stonehenge Memorial and we were able to explore around the area.  We have been to the Stonehenge in UK but we were only able to look at the Stonehenge from outside.  This time we were able to enter the Stonehenge and see the interior design of this magnificent structure.

By 5:30PM, we started setting up the telescope for looking at the planets.  The view from the Stonehenge Memorial was astonishing as we were able to see the beauty of Columbia Gorge with the sun setting down below the horizon.  It was quiet and we could only hear the cars running along the highway.

By 6PM, the sun has set below the horizon and we started to see stars in the sky.  The first and the brightest one we saw was Venus.  It was extremely bright.  Then after 20 minutes we were able to see Jupiter right above us.  Then Mars also showed up as a small red dot on the East side.  We couldn't really see the other planets with our naked eyes, but we were able to capture Mercury on the photo and Saturn was too close to the horizon to spot it.

There were also 2 other people with telescope and having a blast at viewing the stars.  They had a more fancy telescope than ours and showing us the stars in the sky.  They mentioned that the Goldendale Observatory used to be rent out the observatory for just $12 a night.  It is unfortunate that the rental is no longer available.

Although we were not able to see all the planets, we had a blast at Stonehenge Memorial.  The area was wide open on a hill and the sky was as clear as it could be.  We would definitely come back here again during the summer to see the Milkyway.

Cannon Beach 6 Planetary Alignment

 

Cannon Beach is at the West Coast of Oregon and about 1.5 hours of drive time from Portland.  It is a very popular beach getaway location for people who live in Portland area and the main street of Cannon Beach has several charming shops.  Cannon Beach is also a great place for viewing the stars due to the wide open sky along the beach and the low light pollution in the area.  The only caveat is that it can get cold and windy at night due to being along the coast.

In 2025, there is an astronomical phenomenon called planetary alignment.  At the end of January, there is a 6 planets alignment and we can see all 6 planets in the night sky.  This includes Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn.  Then a month later at the end of February, Mercury will join and appear in the sky as well!

We got to Cannon Beach around 4:30PM and the sun was about to set below the horizon.  It was great to see the sunset along the coast.  Luckily it was not very windy and thus we didn't have to wear thick jacket.

When the sunset and during the twilight hour, we started seeing people setting up bonfire along the beach.   We looked up the night sky and we could see the 2 brightest stars.  The one on the West (right) and near the horizon is Venus.  It was the brightest star!  Then the bright one above us was Jupiter.  It was not as bright as Venus but it was quite obvious to us.

Then on the far left near the East (left) and up in the sky is Mars.  It appeared as a little red dot in the sky and thus it was obvious for us to tell that it was Mars!  Saturn was on the West, right below Venus.  We could see it as a small dot in the sky.  Neptune was also on the West, it was right above Venus.  We could not really see Neptune with our naked eye, but it appeared like a blue dot on the photo.  Uranus was a tough one to spot.  It supposed to be right above us but due to being so dim in the sky without any special way to identify it, we could not really tell which star is Uranus.

It was an amazing experience seeing the planetary alignment and this is not something that would happen every year!  We definitely would try to do this again at the end of February to see Mercury!

Lost Lake Milkyway

 

Lost Lake is really an amazing place near Portland, Oregon.  The lake is calm with beautiful view of Mount Hood on the South side.  Last time when we were there, we were unable to capture the Milkyway due to the sudden appearance of aurora.  This time we have checked that there would be no aurora and the sky is dark and clear calm wind.

We left Portland around 6PM and got to Lost Lake around 8:30PM this time.  We left a bit early so that we could get there before sun set.  When we got there, we were surprised to see the amount of people there.  There were at least 30 people by the lake waiting to take photos of the Milkyway of Mount Hood.  There were also many campers with kids rowing paddle boards and boats on the lake.  We also saw a couple wearing beautiful dress and suit and padding the boat.  There was a drone above them taking photo of them on the lake.  It was a beautiful scene.

The only downside was that there were lots of bugs flying around!  It was buzzing like crazy around us.  Luckily as the sun goes down, the bugs seem to have gone back home to sleep.  We were so glad.

As the sun sets down and the night approaches 11:30PM, more and more people started to show up because this was when the Milkyway started to rise above over Mount Hood.  People were having a good time by the lake and playing soothing music as well.  Many other photographers have been here for the whole day taking photos for timelapse video.

As we enjoyed the night by the lake, we also saw an owl just resting by the tree beside us.  It was a small owl and its eyes were so round and big.  It was probably looking for a prey for dinner.

When 11:30PM came, everyone started taking lots of photos.  The lake water was so calm because there was no wind tonight.  The stars were perfectly reflecting off the lake water and we could see the reflection of the Milkyway as well.  It was simply amazing.

We left Lost Lake around 12:30PM and it was an amazing night.  It was our first time taking great Milkyway photo here and enjoyed having fun with the people around us.  We would definitely come again the future to take more photos.

Lost Lake 2024

 

Lost Lake is a very popular lake in Mount Hood National Forest.  It is located Hood River, just about 1.5 hours East of Portland.  Lost Lake is a privately owned area and thus there is a day time access fee required.  Lost Lake is usually full of people during the day time hours in the summer, but it is also a paradise for stargazing lovers at night.

We love to take Milkyway photos at Lost Lake at night since it is close by and have minimal light pollution.  We got there on Friday and arrived at Lost Lake around 9:30PM at night.  The sun has already set and we could barely see anything when driving on the road.

As we settle down and put up the camera and start taking photos, we noticed the sky had some unusual colours.  There were colours of pink and green in the sky.  Initially we thought this was caused by the smog in the air or there was a large concert near by.  We were also suspecting that maybe something was wrong with your camera lens or camera sensor.  Then after an hour, we started noticing rays of light coming down from the sky and that was when we started to realize this light was aurora.

The appearance of aurora was a shocking surprise to us.  We didn't read the news and we weren't aware of this happening.  This was an awesome surprise since we have never seen aurora before and it would be our first time taking the photos.  This would also mean that we wouldn't be able to take the photo of Milkyway because the sky was too bright.

Throughout the night, the aurora took form in many different shapes.  Sometimes it was in a form of light rays coming down, sometimes it was just in a form of coloured fog, and sometimes it was in a form of giant dough.  We were able to capture all these on the camera.  However, it was not as visible through our nakes eyes. We were only seeing grayish colour in the sky.

This year's visit to Lost Lake was truly amazing.  We highly recommend to visit Lost Lake a night during the summer to enjoy stargazing.  It will not disappoint.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm 2024

 

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm is a popular flower farm with thousands of blooming tulip during the Spring time in Pacific Northwest.  It is located near Woodburn, which is about an hour South of Portland.  In every Spring, Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm holds annual tulip festival and open its farm to public with a ticket price of $20 per person.  The ticket must be purchased online prior to arrival.

We visited Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm quite late in the season this year.  In fact, we actually went on the last day of the festival.  The weather was an overcast with slight drizzle in the air, but this did not turn us back from visiting the tulip farm.

When we got there around 8AM, there were only few cars there.  We could see the tulips from the parking lot.  However, as we walked closer, there was not a lot of tulips that were still blooming. After all it was the last day of the season.

One good part about going this late in the season was that it was not crowded at all.  We barely see people walking around the farm.  We basically had the farm for about 10 minutes just by ourselves.

One of the downside with the overcast weather was that we could not see Mount Hood on the far side unfortunately.  If the weather was sunny, we would be able to see Mount Hood with rows of tulip blooming in front of it.  There was also no hot air balloon ride today either due to the weather.

As we completed a loop around the farm and headed towards the gift shop, it started raining from the sky.  We were lucky that it did not rain when we were out there in the farm taking photos.

It would be best to visit the farm during early or mid April when the tulips were at its full bloom.  In addition, it would be best to go there early in the morning to avoid the crowd and see the hot air balloons in the sky.