On our second night in Portland (when we were finally starting to feel settled in) we took an evening drive around the Northwest Quadrant of the city. Just outside of immediate downtown, we left the hustle and bustle and were suddenly surrounded by the Pacific Northwest iconic greenery. Since this was our first time in the west, we were both in awe and kept saying “Look how green it is”.
On our way back into downtown, we stopped at the Hoyt Arboretum to walk some of the shorter trails. It was one of those “pull over to the side of the road” kind of unexpected adventures (the best in my opinion). This non-profit green space was an 187 acre ridge-top area with paved hiking travels of a variety of walking lengths. We discovered that slugs must be the state’s most popular animal. They were EVERYWHERE!