Yesterday I was trying to find a new place that we could go for an afternoon excursion where Franny would have lots of space to walk safely that would minimize her risk of scrapes. With Franny not only insisting on walking, but insisting on walking unassisted, I find myself paying much more attention to surfaces, such as the texture of concrete and uneven ground. With this in mind, I opted to explore the Tualatin Hills Nature Park. Since it is located right off of a major road in Beaverton, I really wasn't expecting much, but it is close and I just wanted someplace different that Franny could run around.
I was pleasantly surprised--the park is very nice, and actually encompasses 219-acres of urban greenspace. I was anticipating just a grassy, natural park-like area--like Fanno Park--but this park has a variety of very dense foliage and trees, similar to a Forest Park trail. But the trails are paved and flat--perfect for strollers and amateur walkers to toddle around! The pavement was fairly smooth, just a bit rougher than a sidewalk. It was perfect for Franny to walk along, and as we continued down the main trail, I was amazed at the general feeling of being in the forest--there was no road noise, and while the main trail is paved, there are a series of secondary trails composed of wood pellets, which is even better since it's a softer surface. There are several different areas we didn't see, including a Wildlife Preserve and two large creek and pond areas, but since there are several entrances to the park, we will be able to see those without having to walk too far to get to them.
In all, we only went a little over a half a mile, but Franny walked almost the whole thing, stopping only when we came across new people. And that really was long enough, as it took us about an hour to do! But Franny had a great time, and we now have a new afternoon adventure spot!
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