We left the town of Forks and headed northeast on Highway 101 where we passed beautiful Lake Crescent, a 650 foot deep, 12 mile long glacially carved lake that is part of the Olympic National Park.  The lake is the second deepest in Washington and in order to keep it environmentally friendly, quiet and peaceful, it only allows kayaks, canoes and row boats. We turned onto the Strait of Juan de Fuca Scenic Byway, following the shoreline of the glacial fjord connecting Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean.  The Strait of Juan de Fuca separates the Olympic Peninsula from Vancouver Island, British Columbia and reaches farther into the cold North Pacific than any other mainland point in the lower 48 states. We arrived at our campground in the Salt Creek Recreation Area.  This was once the location of Camp Hayden, a World War 2 harbor defense military base.  The campground has three tiers of campsites and our site was on the highest tier with a marvelous view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Crescent Bay, and Vancouver Island, British Columbia.  In the distance we could see snow capped Mt Baker, which looked more like a cloud than a mountain.            Our first night there we had a cloudy, but still beautiful sunset.     Our first full day we drove to Port Angeles and caught a ferry over to Victoria, British Columbia.  Port Angeles was a 19th century mill town and today is a bustling harbor with a population of around 19,000.  Murals throughout the town document the town’s history.         We caught the ferry which took us eighteen miles across the Strait of Juan De Fuca to Victoria in Canada.           Both on the way over and on the way back we had magnificent views of snow capped Olympic mountains.         On the ferry we saw many people with suitcases, bikes and tennis rackets, going for an overnight adventure.                     We saw several seaplanes which transport people to and from the city of Vancouver. Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, has a population of 300,000.  It goes back to colonial days with the first government building erected in 1859.  Even though it is a metropolitan city, it still had a small town feel.  It was clean and felt very safe. At one point we were stopped by a volunteer ambassador who could tell we were tourists and stopped to ask if we were enjoying our visit and had any questions. Since we decided not to take our car on the ferry, we figured the easiest way to see the island was to take the Hop On, Hop Off buses.  The hour and a half tour included the impressive Empress Hotel,           the magnificent Parliament Building, Chinatown, Fishermen’s Wharf,         and Mile 0 which is the start of Canada’s Highway No. 1 which stretches through all ten provinces of Canada between the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts.           We also saw Craigdarroch Castle as well as a statue of James Cook               and Queen Victoria.                                     The bus driver stopped at Christ Church Cathedral and gave us time to go inside.                         He pointed out the cornerstone of the church which had been laid by Sir Winston Churchhill.           With the price of our bus ticket we also had access to the water taxis going back and forth in the harbor.         We had a delicious lunch at an Irish Pub and did some geocaching and shopping before catching the ferry home.  We enjoyed the totem poles throughout the port area               as well as a statue of a girl welcoming her father home from war which was placed in honor of World War 2 veterans.           The next day we drove to Hurricane Ridge, elevation 5,242 feet, in Olympic National Park         with some of the most magnificent views of snow capped mountains I have ever seen, including Mount Olympus with an elevation of 7,980 feet.                             Of course I had to have my picture taken in the snow with my flip flops. Bill bought a shirt at the gift shop which said “The Mountains Are Calling and I Must Go” which is very appropriate for him since he is drawn to the mountains.  I am drawn to the ocean which is very ironic since I grew up in Virginia and Bill grew up in Florida!  We toured the Visitors Center which you can see in the background in one of the pictures. One interesting thing we learned from the movie there was that the mountains in this area were not formed by volcanic activity as are most of the mountains in the Pacific Northwest, but instead by the moving of tetonic plates which pushed the ocean floor up and formed the mountains.  They are not continuing to grow, yet they are also not eroding as do most mountains. While driving up to Hurricane Ridge we passed a deer along the side of the road, as well as seeing numerous elk and deer at the Visitors Center.                       Knowing my love of the water, Bill ended the day by finding a beautiful waterfall in the park on the way home.  Madison Falls is a wondrous 60 foot waterfall in a peaceful setting with only a short walk on a paved trail to get there.                          Our last day in Salt Creek Recreation Area ended with a glorious sunset.