Even in the face of National Park Service budget woes, Powell's sign-painting chore is emblematic of a noticeable renewed sense of vigor and vitality. You sense it not only in that part of the park, which includes Rialto Beach and the picturesque First through Third ocean beaches, but in adjacent La Push on the Quileute Indian Reservation as well.

Established in 1938, Olympic National Park receives more than 4.6 million people each year, mostly during the summer and early fall when it's the driest. According to the National Park Service, it has one of the highest overnight usage rates among the nation's parks, with its 16 campgrounds with restroom facilities, 900 campsites and 230 picnic sites. The park features more than 1,200 backcountry campsites as well. Also, some of the highest rainfall totals in the nation have been recorded at various parts of the almost million-acre park.

A buffer of private and public lands separate the central and eastern mountainous regions from the coastal portion of the park. The latter encompasses a 63-mile stretch of ocean beach composed of sea arches and stacks, tide pools full of colorful aquatic creatures, rocky and sandy beaches, drift logs, as well as a large variety of wildlife and waterfowl. Some of the beaches are accessible by automobile -- others only on foot.


		JEFF LARSEN / P-I
	Volunteer John Powell of Georgia spends his summers as a volunteer in Olympic National Park.

Rialto Beach, the northernmost beach in the developed region of the park referred to as Mora, is one of those settings that picture postcards are made for. It's also the only beach in the Mora area that visitors can drive to, with its own parking lot in close proximity to the beach.

Early morning is best because the parking lot fills up fast. Hundreds of picnickers, day hikers, fishermen and beachcombers clog the beach as the day goes on, especially on hot summer weekends.

From the parking lot, visitors can walk a mile and a quarter to the remarkable Hole-in-the-wall rock formation, which is surrounded by a labyrinth of tide pools and other volcanic rock formations -- all exposed when the tide is out.

Tide tables are available at the nearby Mora Ranger Station. Best time to visit, of course, is during low tide when it's possible to explore the rock formations and tide pools even farther north on the beach beyond Hole-in-the-wall. For safety's sake, it's always smart to pack a tide table to avoid being trapped up the beach by the incoming tide.

Either end of the 17.3-mile South Coast wilderness trail can be accessed from Rialto Beach, as well as the 20.8-mile North Coast wilderness hike.


		JEFF LARSEN / P-I
	A brown pelican dives for a fish outside the River's Edge Restaurant in La Push.

Mora Campground is tucked into the lush woods near the beach and features 94 campsites, a group campsite, and an RV dump station but no RV hookups. There's a boat launch, though it isn't accessible at low tide. Interpretive programs are offered during the summer. Campers can access a variety of trails that range from a short walk to James Pond to a milelong hike to the Quillayute River called the Slough Trail.

With such words as Ozette, Quinault and Quillayute derived from Native American languages to describe parts of the coastal region, you would think someone back in the late 1930s could have come up with more original names than First, Second and Third for the beaches in the Mora region.

The dreary titles certainly don't live up to the natural beauty of the beaches and as far as I know the rankings are not indicative of their quality status.

Third Beach is accessed by a 1.4-mile trail that leads from a parking lot adjacent to state Route 110 (La Push Road). The trail winds through a second- or third-growth forest to a sandy beach at Strawberry Bay and gets considerably steeper as it gets closer to the beach. If it rains, the lower portion of the trail can get quite slippery. Hikers may explore tidal pools or just relax on the beach and watch the surf crash against the close-in sea stacks. Teawhit Head rock formation to the north blocks access from Third Beach to Second Beach.


		JEFF LARSEN / P-I
	Tourists flock to Rialto Beach on a warm day in Olympic National Park near La Push.

I heard Second Beach is even more spectacular than Third, but a brimming parking lot at midafternoon prevented me from making the .8-mile hike to the beach. Authorities discourage hikers from parking on or near the road if the parking lot is full. Expect a sandy beach, again with tide pools and numerous scenic sea stacks -- and more people than Third Beach.

The scenery at First Beach in La Push reminds me a lot of the Oregon Coast or the Tofino region on the west coast of Vancouver Island because of the towering rock formations that make up James Island to the north, plenty of crashing surf and yes, plenty of indomitable surfers as well.

The waves looked only satisfactory at best to me, but the surfers frantically paddled to try to score just the right-size wave anyway. As part of La Push, the beach is much more family oriented, with quite a few accommodations nearby, including some cozy-looking new cabins at Ocean Park Resort and the adjacent Lonesome Creek RV park that was elbow-to-elbow with motor homes, trailers and campers. Both the properties are Quileute Tribal Enterprises.


		JEFF LARSEN / P-I
	A tourist directs friends to the parking lot at Rialto Beach, where large formations of driftwood are a helpful landmark.

Tiny La Push, with its scenic beaches and protected marina on the Quillayute River, was once a prosperous sport and commercial salmon-fishing destination, especially during the 1950s and '60s, along with Westport, Neah Bay and Sekiu. The declining salmon resource has meant fewer fishermen, but it looks like tourism has picked up a lot of the economic slack for the tribe in recent years.

Another noteworthy Quileute Tribal enterprise in La Push is the River's Edge Restaurant, which has been fashioned from a historic U.S. Coast Guard boat launch facility on the shore overlooking the Quillayute River, practically a stone's throw from the ocean. The original plank floors have been refinished and polished and large vertical and lofted horizontal wooden beams are the main supports, with large picture windows facing the river.

During my tasty lunch of halibut and chips (I substituted a large salad for the fries), I could have sworn I was at a birders' convention rather than a restaurant. First, a gathering of brown pelicans decided to put on a fishing show. Usually in pairs, the large birds would swoop low over the river, heads cocked with their giant bills at the ready as they searched for unsuspecting fish. When they spotted one, they would flip their wings back against their bodies, thrust their head forward and dive beak-first into the water after their prey.

During the pelican show, a boater nearby spooked what sounded like thousands of gulls that were relaxing on a jetty that protects the marina. Mayhem ensued as the birds took flight with a cacophony of sounds. The feeding pelicans looked confused as the huge flock of gulls cluttered up their fishing flight patterns.

The halibut was delicious at the tidy restaurant and the service was good -- and for $10.95, a true bargain. And the best part was they didn't even charge a cover for the bird entertainment.