Day Fifteen Sep 13, 2000 Wednesday North West Washington and arrive Victoria We woke up in Aberdeen and spent a little too long in the quest for coffee and bagels. As we headed north toward Port Angeles and the ferry to Victoria, we stopped off to take thirty minutes and stroll a small trail through the Cascades at the southern tip of Olympic National Park near Quinault Lake. It was well marked, EZ-off EZ-on, and even paved for handicap access. An excellent use of my tax dollars making the little portion of this giant wilderness available to some very suburban eco-tourists. All of these pictures were taken in the small turnoff area, less than a hundred yards from the US-101. The pictures cannot, of course, provide you any idea of the cool humid temperature or exotic smells and sounds of this forest. You should go there to see, hear, and smell it for yourself. We joined up again with the Pacific ocean briefly, as route 101 from Aberdeen jags many miles west to the Pacific then returns east as it nears the Puget Sound. For one last goodbye we stopped at this turnoff area near Kalaloch, and walked down to the beach area. It was chilly and overcast, and to our surprise, the beach was entirely covered in driftwood. Look closely to see Jesse (grey shirt/left) and Dave (dark shirt/right) to better comprehend the immense size. We stopped for a few minutes in Forks, Washington and viewed this monument to forestry workers outside its timber museum. Naturally the sculpture and its housing were made entirely of wood. As the road turned east from the Pacific and followed the Puget Sound coastline, we were surprised to encounter Lake Crescent, within the Olympic National Park. Route 101 runs along its shore, and the surrounding Cascades make it extremely scenic. Unfortunately, the overcast skies deadened our photos and captured none of its majesty. We suffered from bad timing, forced to wait an hour and a half in Port Angeles for the ferry to the city of Victoria on Canada's Vancouver Island. We used our time to get ourselves a snack, make hotel reservations in Victoria, and organize the car and our lives. A lazy ferry ride following the forced dawdling in town set the laid back tone for our day. These pictures of leaving Port Angeles (above) and arriving in Victoria (below) capture the quiet beauty, but can't  communicate the feel of the sea air. We tooled around Victoria, then enjoyed dinner in an authentic Irish pub located by the wharf. Original Web Upload May 2001 Last Update: July 15, 2001