OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Teresa Beverley of San Antonio said she was struck by the glaciers, rain forests and “just the overall diversity in the ecosystem” at Olympic National Park.
Coming from her, that’s saying a lot.
Beverley and her family have toured 26 national parks on a one-year mission to visit all 58.
Their adventure began at remote Isle Royale National Park in Michigan last fall. It will end later this year at one of two national parks in Hawaii.
The Beverleys arrived in Port Angeles in their RV last Thursday. They toured the park’s rugged interior and met with park Superintendent Karen Gustin before heading west to the wild Pacific coastline.
Beverley and her husband, Anthony, and their children — Anthony, 14, Justice, 12, and Kendall, 10 — spent three days at Olympic National Park.
“Right off the bat, I’ll tell you we haven’t seen a lot of it, but I would say this is really the only remaining place in the U.S. that has any type of rain forest,” Teresa Beverley said Friday.
“This is completely different from any park we’ve been to so far.”
From Olympic, the family planned to hit Mount Rainier and North Cascades national parks this week.
After meeting with park officials at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles, the family headed out to Lake Mills and the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam that formed it.
Glines Canyon and the Elwha Dam downstream will make international news in September when a park contractor begins to tear them down as part of a massive salmon restoration project for the Elwha River.
On Friday, the Beverleys toured scenic Hurricane Ridge high above Port Angeles.
“We couldn’t see Canada, but for a few minutes, we could see Mount Olympus sticking its peaks out,” Teresa Beverley said.
Over the weekend, the quartet explored the park’s coastal beaches, the Hoh Rain Forest and Lake Crescent.
Wilderness park
Although Olympic is among the wildest parks they’ve been to, it is by no means the most remote.
That honor goes to Isle Royale on Lake Superior and Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys, Teresa Beverley said.
Before coming to Washington, the family toured Crater Lake, Ore. They plan to hit Alaska’s national parks next week.
“Each have their own character and personality — their own unique quality,” Teresa Beverley said.
Olympic stands out by the two-dozen species of animal and plant life that you can’t find anywhere else, she said.
The fog and precipitation lend a “fresh” feel to the park, Teresa Beverley said. She added that the good air quality is noticeable.
The Beverleys sold their home in Texas to purchase the RV and pay for the trip, which is more than a sightseeing expedition.
The children are home-schooled, and the lessons they are learning from park rangers, visitor centers and their own adventures are part of their education.
“Our school room is our country,” reads the Beverleys’ blog, www.discoveringamericas58.com.
“Along with the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic, our kids expand their minds with nature, their environment and all that encompasses these United States.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
