Crater Lake 2025

 

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and the Crater Lake National Park is the only National Park is the only national park in the state of Oregon.  The national park itself surrounds Crater Lake and it is not a large national park compared to the other ones.  Crater Lake is located in South Central Oregon, about 4.5 hours away from Portland or 2 hours away from Eugene.  The Crater Lake Lodge is one of the only lodging options in the park and it gets full very quickly.  It is recommended to book the lodge a year in advance.

We were lucky to be able to boot 2 nights at Crater Lake Lodge this summer.  We went to Crater Lake on a Friday and when there was thunderstorm when we got to Crater Lake.  It was definitely an interesting scene.  There was a lot of people at the lodge this weekend, not just for people staying overnight.  We had to wait for 30 minutes even just to get our room ready.

In the evening when we head out, the thunderstorm has already gone by.  The air was very refreshing and the lake was very calm.  The sun light formed an orange colour on the cloud which was a magnificent scene to see.  It was quite amazing.  We could also still see lightning on the far side of Crater Lake.

Next day morning, we went to Watchman's Peak to wait for the sunrise.  We hiked up just before the dawn and wait for the sun to rise.  The sun rose above the cloud and showed up as a crescent initially.  Then the sun slowly rose above the cloud and the sun rays started to shine.  It was a serene experience.

After we got back down to the parking lot, we drove the Cleetwood Cove trail.  The parking lot was nearly full at 8AM in the morning.  Cleetwood Cove trail was the only trail that allowed people to head down to the lakeshore and it will be closed until 2028.  We hiked down quite easily and enjoyed our time along the shore.  The lake water was freezing but it felt good under a hot day.

At night after dinner, we were getting ready to do some stargazing.  We drove to Merriam Point since that's the best place to take milky way photo.  While we were there, there were 3 other stargazing enthusiasts with us.  We were all just waiting for the moon to set below the horizon around the midnight.  Once the moon has set, the milky way was so clear for us to see.  The milky way core was so bright and amazing.

Crater Lake has always been our favourite trip in Oregon as we felt it provides a very relaxed atmosphere when we are there.  We would definitely visit again even if we can't book the lodge since we could just sleep in the car next time.

South Sister Summit 2025

 

South Sister Summit hike is one of the most popular hiking trail in central Oregon.  It is one of the mountain with summit above 10000 feet and easily accessible for amateur hikers.  South Sister is located South West of Bend, just about 30 minutes away.  Hiking on South Sister summit trail now requires a $1 permit per person.  The permit is on sale 10 days before the hiking date and around 100 is available.  There is also a parking fee of $5 at the trail head.  There is also a payment station that accepts credit card.

We got to the trail head around 10PM on Friday.  The parking lot was half full.  We got prepared and got ready to start the hike.  When we walked to the trail head, the original trail was closed for restoration.  The trail head got moved to the left side of the vaulted toilet.  This surprised us and the new trail was a little big longer.

After about an hour of hike, we got past the tree line and started to feel the wind blowing really hard.  It almost felt like freezing point temperature and we had to put layers of clothing on us.  Along the trail, there was also more snow patches than what we expected.  We sometimes had to walk across the snow patch and find ourselves the trail again.

As we got to the glacier, the wind was blowing really hard.  We had checked the weather before we left, it was 40mph wind.  It was a horrible feeling with the wind and sand blowing towards our faces.  Thus we decided to ascend without any rest so that we can hide in the crater at the top.  It took us about 1.5 hours to get to the top due to the furious wind that was slowing us down.  The wind felt like 50mph at the summit.  It was insane.

However, all the effort to get to the top was worth it.  There were clouds surrounding the North and Middle Sisters and the cloud was beautiful under the sun rise.  We loved it and enjoyed our time at the summit.

We would definitely do this again but maybe decide based on the wind speed.  40mph wind is really not a fun experience.

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!