Buddy Bison Student Ambassador Ethan

Ambassador Ethan and his brother at Marymere Falls

My name is Ethan and I’m a new Student Ambassador this year for the National Park Trust. I’m 9 years old and in the 4th grade this year. I live in Beaverton, Oregon.  I’ve been to about 30 National Parks, plus lots of other National Park Service sites. I love doing to the Junior Ranger Program found at many of these locations. I love the outdoors because it’s fun to explore new places while being out enjoying nature.

For my 10th birthday weekend in September, my family and I took a road trip to Olympic National Park (Port Angeles, WA), and I brought Buddy Bison with me!

We stayed at Lake Crescent for the first time, which is a beautiful, clear lake. My favorite part of the trip was our hike to Marymere Falls. I like to look for animals when we visit national parks, and they’re usually hard to find, but I did see a few banana slugs on that hike, which are my favorite.

Olympic National Park has really cool landscapes and different climates, like the mountains of Hurricane Ridge and Hoh Rain Forest — it’s one of my favorite parks, and I recommend going there. Just be sure to pack and prepare for the different types of weather!