Category Archives: Oregon

Mirror Lake (Without Much Mirror)

As I mentioned previously, we headed up to Mt Hood on the weekend for a short birthday/anniversary/just-needed-a-break vacation. It felt good to get out of the city, even if we only had to drive an hour to get there. We stayed at The Resort at the Mountain which was nice. Nothing extra fancy but a pretty good deal at about $125 a night for the fours of us. If the weather had let up a little then I’m sure we would have made better use of the amenities like the basketball hoop and croquet field. But, bad weather means fewer people and we had the mini golf and swimming pool/hot tub all to ourselves so there was a definite upside to the rain and cold.

The bad weather also meant very few people braved the hiking trails, which was a definite win for us. On Saturday morning we set out for Mirror Lake, a 3.2 mile return hike. It wasn’t too difficult but the distance to the lake was all uphill and the kids were pretty tired by the time we finally saw some water and even a little snow. It was good thing I pulled together an impromptu scavenger hunt before we left the hotel. At times, I think that might have been the only thing that motivated Thomas to keep going.

We found almost everything. I think the ants and worms decided to hide from the rain and expecting to see a feather and nest might have been a little ambitious. Still it kept the boys occupied for the first part of the trek, especially after I reassured Thomas that Samuel would still be able to open an early birthday present (the reward) even if we didn’t find everything. The important thing was that we tried.

The walk up to the lake itself wasn’t particularly interesting. And I realize that, by saying that, I have just shown how much I have become accustomed to the beautiful nature that surrounds me every day in Oregon. So, when I say that it wasn’t very interesting, I mean by gorgeous Oregon standards. I’m sure people who live in Arizona feel the same way about the desert.

The hiking trail was muddy, and at times slippery with steep drop offs. We also expected it to head downhill at some point because aren’t all lakes at lower altitudes? Apparently not, because just when Kei and I were growing concerned that we’d missed a turnoff, we stumbled upon this…

It was beautiful. The hike was worth it and I’d even consider doing it again on a better day just to see this place in the sunshine.

I could see where the naming inspiration came from. There was still a little bit of mirror even on a grey, dreary day.

Snow!

If you’re looking for a relatively easy family hike on Mt Hood, then I’d definitely recommend Mirror Lake. I read that the trail gets crowded during the busy late Spring/Summer season but it was almost deserted while we were there. I’d also recommend that you buy a parking pass from the Ranger station before you head up so you don’t have to leave a note on your car promising that you’ll get one later. We thankfully didn’t get a ticket and followed through on our promise the next day.

Coming soon: More hiking adventures.

Chaos and Color

This week is shaping up to be a doozy. I need to work around some childcare issues which means interrupted workdays, I’m heading to Seattle for a day trip on Wednesday and that’s on top of the usual Karate/Soccer/Swimming insanity. My brother is coming to visit for the weekend so I’d better squeeze in time to tidy up and clean the bathroom and, to top it all off, I’m taking photos all day Saturday at TEDx Portland. I’m already exhausted and the week has barely begun. I’m just thankful I had the foresight to schedule a couple of May vacation days as a little birthday present to myself. I’m going to need them.

On the upside, the sun is shining and I have a billion photos of tulips to share. I know you’ve been eagerly awaiting them so I’ll just get right to it. I’d apologize for the number of photos in this post but what would be the point? 🙂

P.S. I’m thinking about submitting a photograph to the TulipFest photo competition but I can’t decide which. Please let me know in the comments if you have a favorite.

Photo by Thomas.

Photograph by Thomas

Photograph by Kei.

Cargo PDX: The (Other) Happiest Place on Earth.

The boys and I took full advantage of our MLK holiday, first by sleeping in and taking our time getting dressed, and then with a no stress trip downtown. While our ultimate destination was Powells (by popular demand), I decided to take the boys on a little side visit to Cargo. They were hesitant at first but as soon as we walked in it was like angels started singing – or perhaps Buddhist chants would have been more appropriate as you’ll see below.

Thomas took it upon himself to try on every hat in the store, as well as a few masks, and then request a photo.

I think this one is Samuel although, honestly, it’s sometimes difficult to tell them apart even without masks on.

Then they both proceeded to pray to every single Buddha in the store. Yet somehow I missed getting a good shot of them both in action – blame low light and fast-moving kids.

Although there’s something I love about this photo of Thomas.

Cargo is not all about hats and Buddhas. It’s like one massive treasure box. Every corner you turn brings new surprises – furniture, toys, mirrors, Kimonos, lanterns, fake birds in cages…

The kids had fun but lacked the stamina to stay as long as I would have liked – especially not after I mentioned the word cookie.

So much fun, and we didn’t have to spend a cent… well, apart from the cookie.

View From the Top: A Hike Around Powell Butte

Today has been a strange one to say the least. Half of my family is sick at home while I’m navigating work craziness. It seems the only person who is even close to normal right now is Samuel and that’s saying something.

As for the weekend… well we had a great Australia Day on Saturday and it went a little downhill from there, complete with some flooding in the basement thanks to a blocked drain. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed but just enough to push a good weekend into not-so-good territory.

So, while I work on uploading photos from our eat-our-way-through-Australia-day, I’ll cheer myself up by sharing some more photos from Powell Butte. Yes, it was weeks ago and, yes, I’ve already posted my photos of Mt Hood from this location, but it’s always a good idea to post photos of a sunny winter adventure when you need a pick-me-up.

It’s also a reminder that blue skies always return eventually.

Not the best photo of Thomas but I like it because he resembles Bigfoot.

Note to self: remove the camera bag before taking a shadow self-portrait.

 

 

A Familiar Sight

It would be interesting to go through all of my photos and see just how many times I have photographed Mt Hood – and from how many different viewpoints. It would be interesting… and very time consuming so likely not going to happen.

This view of Mt Hood captured from Powell Butte on a sunny Portland Winter’s day.

Don’t Call it Fall

After living here for eight years, I still refuse to use the word “Fall” to describe this season. It just doesn’t seem like an important enough word for the beautiful soft light that bathes the city and the the amazing colors dripping from the trees.

If I sound a little too upbeat about this season that precedes the impending doom of Winter, it’s because the sun is shining today. It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do to lift the spirits and almost make us forget that we have three months of overcast skies in our immediate future.

Of course I’d much rather be outdoors taking photographs than working, but I’ll have to make do with sharing a few quick photos that I managed to capture on a late afternoon autumn day a couple of weeks ago – before the time changed and we were plunged into darkness at 4:30pm. (It’s not all roses here).

Still, Autumn in Portland is beautiful. I’m going to try and enjoy it while it lasts.

Autumn Fun Continues: Portland Nursery Apple Tasting

Last weekend we took part in a popular Autumn tradition – apple tasting at the Portland Nursery. Of course we didn’t realize just how popular it was until we found ourselves standing in line for 30 minutes just to get to the “tasting” part.

It was definitely worth it, though. I had no idea that apples and pears had so many wonderful flavors and, after tasting more than 100 of them, let’s just say that I was glad that we took notes along the way. We left with a big bag of Comice Pears and Honey Crisp Apples – the sweet crunch appealed to all of us and they can apparently be stored for up to 5 months, although I doubt they’ll last that long in our house.

I was only able to grab a few pics here and there because it was very important to maintain a decent tasting speed to keep the line moving.

 

Batman was there of course (best $20 spent on a Halloween costume, ever!)

After the tasting we spent a little time checking out the Scarecrow contest (my favorite below), listening to a couple of numbers from Boy and Bean, a band that took me back to the 30s (in the best way possible) and, of course, some running around the Nursery.

 

It was a fun, and healthy, way to send a sunny October day. I think we’ll add Apple Tasting to our list of annual Autumn traditions.