Wrapping up at Niagara

July 23-31, 2012
(I promise that I’ll get caught up…really)

Youngstown, NY
Four Mile Creek State Park (NY) site 65

So do you want to hear the rest of the story about that camera shot?  Well it started about a week or so earlier.  We wanted a good but smaller camera so that we would actually use it more, especially while we were at Niagara so we ordered a new Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 with 16x zoom.  It was delivered to us while we were at the farm in PA.  Do you also remember the shot of that nice Observation Gazebo along the walkway on the Canada side?  Well it appears that the camera wanted to sit there a bit while the rest of us walked away.  We didn’t realize it was gone until after supper.  I walked back to look for it but it was gone of course.  We wrote it off as one of those things that happen in life and continued to enjoy our evening of fireworks.

That was on Friday.  Fast forward a couple of days to Sunday.  Gin and I decided to stay at camp to relax while Dan, Tricia, Brandon and Amanda went back to enjoy the Canadian attraction, Journey Behind the Falls.  While they were there,  they checked the lost and found at the Park Police building.  The officer said they did indeed have one turned in on Friday matching that description!  It was locked up for safekeeping and they would need to wait around for about 30 minutes while someone came in that could unlock the storage room.  (I could think of worse places to hang out for a while since the views were gorgeous.)

After checking to make sure it was our camera, Tricia signed for it and brought it back to us.  They had taken that picture of our camera at the Falls to tease us.  We were sitting outside at our MH when they got back from their day trip and Brandon said that they had taken a really nice picture that they wanted to show us.  Tricia came over and had that shot open on her camera.  We just smiled, jumped up, and gave her a big hug!!  We were so happy to have it back!  A good Samaritan had turned it in to the police just a few minutes after we walked away from it.  Thank you Dan, Tricia, Brandon and Amanda for getting it out of lock up for us!  So now you know the rest of the story.

We enjoyed being tourist while here but we enjoyed the relaxing down time with friends also.  On the last day here I joined Tricia, Brandon and Amanda for a little hike to the Niagara River in nearby Artpark.  It’s another NY State Park in the area that has a music venue and art on the grounds.  Here’s some examples.

 

We found a trail that led us down to the Niagara River and got a good view of some of the whirlpools.  I love the color of the water and like the River about as much as I like the Falls.

 

We saw several of the Whirlpool Jet Boats go by with lots of people in them.  They had on their ponchos so I’m sure they all got wet at some point.

 

We enjoyed our relaxing time at this cg too.  On a clear day, we could see the skyline of Toronto, Ontario across Lake Ontario.

   

There were many beautiful sunsets over Lake Ontario.  Here are just a few parting shots.

 

I think this one is my favorite one though.

The End

Niagara from Canada

July 23-31, 2012
(Catching up but still having fun.)

Youngstown, NY
Four Mile Creek State Park (NY) site 65

This will be three days in a row that we have played tourist at Niagara Falls and we lived through it.  This was also the day of closing on the sale of our house so we had that in the back of our minds all day.  We all piled in to our Suki and rode over the Rainbow Bridge to Canada for the afternoon and evening.  The Falls are illuminated at night and fireworks were also scheduled.

  

We had always heard that the view of the Falls were prettier from Canada so we had to check it out.  It was very crowded but beautiful! 

 

We all got our obligatory posed pictures taken…

 

and continued walking towards Horseshoe Falls.

 

There’s a very nice Observation Gazebo about halfway to Horseshoe Falls and this is the Rainbow Bridge between Canada and the US.

 

I have not taken my morning power walks while visiting here because I knew that I would get plenty of exercise as a tourist.  We continue on and got closer to Horseshoe Falls.

Remember that bridge we drove across?  It’s a little farther away now.

We made it to the edge of Horseshoe Falls.  I could have stood there for hours just watching all that water cascade down.  About 90 percent of the volume of water here goes over Horseshoe while the other 10 percent goes over American Falls.  I can still hear it and feel the sheer power!

 

After this crowded walk to Horseshoe, we started walking back the other way to find a place to eat supper and people watch before the illumination and fireworks began.  The Canadian side of the Falls is quite different from the US side.  The view of the Falls is nicer and it is more manicured but also more expensive and more crowded.  I’m glad we did both, but I’m not sure which side I liked better.  Here is the Niagara Parks Police building in Ontario and some of the beautiful flowers which are all around the place.

 

Gin and I stayed in Canada to watch the fireworks while Tricia, Dan, Brandon and Amanda walked over the bridge and stood in two countries to watch the fireworks.  We picked them up just as we reentered the country.

I want to leave you with one last beautiful shot.  In my next post, I’ll tell you the rest of the story…

More Niagara Falls

July 23-31, 2012
(Catching up is hard to do when you’re busy having fun!)

Youngstown, NY
Four Mile Creek State Park (NY) site 65

To take advantage of all of the touristy things offered at the Niagara Falls State Park, we had purchased a Discovery Pass which included tickets to five attractions.  We had already enjoyed the Maid of the Mist and the Cave of the Winds so today we were going to enjoy the other three; Niagara Gorge Discovery Center, Niagara Adventure Theater, and Aquarium of Niagara. 

The Discovery Center basically educated folks on how the Falls and Gorge developed into being after the Ice Age.  I find the geology to be both interesting and a little boring at the same time, if that makes sense.  The Adventure Theater delved into the history of the people at the Falls from the Native Indians up to the barrel plunging daredevils.  The Aquarium of course focused on what lives in the water.  It focused a lot on seals, which I thought was interesting since seals aren’t native to the Niagara area.  They were all rescued seals and there was a nice outdoor display.

 

 

There were several penguins and tanks of different fresh water fish displayed and this terrarium which had colorful poisonous Dart Frogs in it.

 

We didn’t go to the penguin feeding because it was too crowded, but we timed it right to get a good spot to watch the sea lion show.  They were also rescues and could jump through hoops and clap on command.  It was a real crowd pleaser.

After this enjoyable day, we made our way back to camp to relax and have a little fun for Gin’s birthday.  We played a friendly but competitive game of Spoons and Tricia had made a Nutty Buddy Pie since I couldn’t find an ice cream cake nearby.  It was way sweet but delish.

Just a little comment or two about this state park.  We had 50 amp but no water at the site.  We were close enough to a hookup so that we could fill up our tank without moving so that was nice.  Since it is right on Lake Ontario, it was a nice breeze most of the time.  It was so nice to have a relaxing place to retire to after being around the tourist crowds all day.

 

The End.

Niagara Falls

July 23-31, 2012
(This week will be broken up to be a few posts since it is photo intensive.  It was a busy, wonderful week!)

Youngstown, NY
Four Mile Creek State Park (NY) site 65

If you want to be a tourist, then Niagara Falls is the place to be.  We set up camp next to Dan and Tricia at a NY State Park that was about 13 miles away from all the hubbub so that we could enjoy a little quiet time also.  Tricia’s son Brandon and his wife Amanda flew in from Wake Forest NC to join us for the week.  Also in camp was Mac and Moe who are a hoot of a couple that Dan and Tricia met this past winter in Cedar Key FL.  We all went to the Falls on the first day along with a few thousand other people.  It is Beautiful!!

 

We all enjoyed walking around the NY side and I just marveled at the power and beautiful color of the water.  Since we had our receipt from the other state park cg, we didn’t have to pay for parking.  That was nice.

 

 

It was indeed a lot of people there, but the park is set up so that it didn’t feel all that crowded.  There are a few different attractions to get you closer to the Falls and to get a bit of history of this Natural Wonder so that helps to spread out the crowd.

 

One of those attractions is Maid of the Mist which is a boat ride upstream to the base of the Falls.  They run a boat from the Canada side and another from the US side.  They issue a blue poncho to you so that you won’t get completely wet.

 

The next three shots were taken from the boat before I had to put the camera away due to the spray.  The awesome power of the water is just indescribable.

 

There were lots of posed pictures taken with beautiful backdrops…

 

and some pictures developed much slower.

Another attraction that we took advantage of on this first day of Niagara was the Caves of the Wind walk on the Hurricane Deck.  The decking and stairs are replaced every year due to the extreme winter weather.

 

We finished off our first day at Niagara by walking over to Three Sisters Islands which isn’t nearly so crowded.  It was a nice way to end our extreme tourist experience.

The End