Niagara Falls, NY & ON (August 9-11)

When we started planning our trip about a year ago there were two places we knew we had to see. One was Niagara Falls because Mary Sue had never seen it and I was about 10 years old on a Girl Scout bus trip from OK with 31 other scouts and 4 adults. It was time to do it again! So as I sit in Maine writing this installment (2 weeks after the fact) Niagara Falls still remains the highlight of scenic stops on this trip.

We rolled into Four Mile Creek State Campground (1055 Lake Rd., Youngstown, NY) after a slow drive through Buffalo due to rush hour traffic. This camping spot was one of only a few reservations we had when we left home and we'd strongly recommend booking ahead for anyone else wanting to be this close (14 mi) from The Falls. It gets it's name, 4 Mile Creek,  because Lake Ontario (the last of the Great Lakes for us) receives the outflow of the other 4 Great Lakes by way of the Niagara River located 4 miles to the west.

 

 

On Friday 8/9 we readied ourselves for a big day at Niagara Falls State Park , America's oldest state park, which is the place to go to see the falls from the US side. There is one big parking lot at the Park which was full as we approached and had been for a while. As we stopped to ask for suggestions of where best to go, magically the parking goddess appeared and let 20 of us in. Mary Sue's parking Karma works again! 

First stop the Visitors Center to get a map so we could scope out the day, and next lined up with the masses to see "Niagara Legends of Adventure" at the theater. Money well spent for an IMAX presentation of Niagara Falls' incredible stories and history. We saw the thundering falls from down below and plunged over them with history's daredevils. Out of 15 heroic or accidental attempts 10 survived! We chose not to buy the Discovery Pass (covers 5 attractions at a savings of 30%) because we were going to walk to and from Goat Island and The Falls, and we were doing the boat trip on the Canadian side. But if you want to do it all from the US side, this would be a good deal and quite satisfactory in terms of seeing it all! So we walked and walked, across Niagara River, and saw both falls, Horseshoe and American, from their side views.  The skyline is of Niagara Falls, Ontario.

 

 

 They are spectacular and beautiful each in their own way. To have seen most of the Great Lakes at this time and a few waterfalls along the way, Niagara Falls are in a league of their own! It is amazing how close one can get to the falls and rainbows appear frequently. A picture is worth a 1,000 words so here are a few from the US side.

 

 

 

When Irene did the Cave of the Winds as a Girl Scout, they had heavy reusable yellow raincoats...they are still yellow!

 

On Sunday we packed up our tow car and headed over to Canada for a night at the Marriott Fallsview Hotel. The Embassy Suites also has a hotel with as good a view. The border crossing (was about an hour both ways) and RV's seemed to be crossing both ways without difficulty. (We still had a pretty good stash of our CA wines with us and didn't want to take the chance of having them confiscated so we went by car.) 

Since we couldn't check in to the hotel until 3pm we went to the most touristy part of Niagara Falls and took the Hornblower Cruise to The Falls. Best $20 we've spent in a long time! 

You don't have to be on the boat to see the falls.  This view was waiting in line to buy tickets.

 If you're on the Maid to the Mist on the US side you wear blue thin plastic rain capes and if on the Hornblower you wear green. Either boat takes you to exactly the same spot in front of both the Horseshoe Falls and American Falls and lasts 30 minutes. It's hard to take too many pictures from the boat because of the spray, but here are a few.

 

On our way back to the car, we had to stop for an ice cream (becoming a ritual) 

 then off we go to check in. Our room was all we'd hoped for, a room with a spectacular view of Horseshoe Falls mesmerizing us with its mist. Also it was space larger than we've been living in for the last 5 weeks, and someone else will clean it all up! Here is what we saw from the Canadian side.

 

At night the falls are illuminated, and on Friday and Sunday fireworks are shot over the Falls' at 10pm. After having a wonderful dinner in the hotel we retreated to our room for the display which was amazing but not so easy to photograph.

Susan, a neighbor had just emailed us about the Super Moon and we got to see it from both sides of the Niagara River! That would be the darker pictures with a round "light" up to the right. 

 

 The next day we made our way back to the US re-energized by a "holiday weekend" and ready for more exciting experiences with this last view of Horseshoe Falls.

As we leave our campground on Lake Ontario we wrap up our tour of the Great Lakes.  While not in order, if one needs to remember them think "HOMES" for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.

We have completed week 5 of our travels with just a little over 4,000 miles on the Lazy Daze and we are still heading east.