Niagara Falls

So nice to be on the road again! After the wedding we visited with folks and headed north to Niagara Falls Sunday morning. Spent the night in a nondescript town about halfway there.

Monday afternoon we arrived at the KOA in Niagara Falls and went into town to check things out. WOW! Elaine had been to the Falls in the 50's, but I never had. Seeing them for the first time will not soon be forgotten. We strolled around the part on the American side (Elaine did not have here passport so we did not go to Canada), walked to the Seneca Casino (Yup.. She won $200 at the slots.. How does she do that so consistently??), walked back to the Falls to see them at night and made our plans for Tuesday.

Since the campground didn't have cable, we went to the American Legion to watch football. It was a shame we had to go the six miles to the Legion because there was a Moose Logde directly next to our campground. However, they not only allowed, but encouraged a no-neck lout to constantly scream obscenities of the first order. We left full drinks and walked out.

We had a very pleasant time at the Legion visiting with folks our age that had lived there all their lives. One still lived at Love Canal (interesting stories there..). Upon leaving we were just knuckle-bumping each other for yet another great day as we approached my truck to find that some bottom-feeding, low-life scumbag had smashed out my passenger's side window and stolen my GPS. Grrr..

Insurance fixed the glass the next day and we were on our way back to the Falls before noon. Not bad. The "silver lining" was that I reserved an extra night at the campground thinking that the repair would take longer. We thus had more time to enjoy the Falls - and did so immensely. We took our time strolling, I think, every path in the park, rode the "Maid of the Mist," and I climbed the stairs to the "Cave of the Winds" (Access behind the Falls blocked since rock fall in the 1950's).

When I was recording the Maid of the Mist videos, I mistakenly thought the boat actually went behind the falls. Not so. It gets up right "close and personal," but doesn't go behind. I think you can walk behind them from the Canada side, but not certain.

The climb up the stairs at the Cave of the Winds was exciting, but a bit freaky. Winds were howling, water levels were, apparently, a bit high. Most people walked down the stairs to the lower platform, took pictures, and returned the way they came down. A few climbed the stairs partway into the torrent and exited. At least with the folks around me, I was the only one to climb to the top where water was gushing over the slippery stairs. I could only stay long enough to get a quick clip, but it was quite exhilarating!

As before, we are so impressed with the various park services in the U.S. Though Niagara Falls is a state park (first in the country) rather than federal, nonetheless, great job!

Sorry for the poor quality of the videos.. I still don't have the hang of it and cannot stop myself from doing stupid scans that are so tedious to view.

Soooo nice to be back on the road!

On to Syracuse..

dbg

Videos:

Niagara I - First day stroll, Seneca casino, Falls at night

Niagara II - Various views of the falls

Maid of the Mist I - Getting ready..

Maid of the Mist II - Getting drenched

Cave of the Winds - Getting soaked again

Sep 23, 2009

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