Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

We left Louisville yesterday morning before seven and arrived here in Niagara Falls at 4:30. The road trip was fairly uneventful. We drove from Louisville on I-71 to Cincinnati, then on to Columbus to the outskirts of Cleveland where we took the bypass I-271 to I-90 to Erie, PA onto to NY – Buffalo at Lake Erie crossing over the Niagara River to Grand Island and then Niagara River to Niagara Falls. It was cold outside the whole way from a low of 33°F to a high of 38°F. It had snowed north of Columbus and then out of Cleveland. We had planned to eat our packed lunch on a picnic table at a rest stop but when we got outside of Cleveland the rest stop had received lots of snow so the tables were all covered white. We ate lunch in the car!

We donned hats, scarves and gloves with our coats as we left the hotel in downtown Niagara Falls for supper last night. Our hotel is only two blocks from the Niagara State Park. We walked down to the entrance before supper to check out the site and it was quite cold. Tourist season is officially over but the hotel is full – draws besides the Falls are the casinos here. There really aren’t many restaurants open except those in the casinos. We found a Denny’s for supper. Oh for a Cracker Barrel nearby! We got a good deal on our hotel stay on Priceline.com

We got up early this morning to try to get a head start on the crowds but there really weren’t any! We met a couple from Canada in the elevator so invited them to eat breakfast with us. It was fun to meet someone new and get to know them and how they view the USA. He is retired and she is due to retire next year. They travel lots.

After breakfast we walked the two blocks down to the state park to get our bearings and decide how to see the most during the day. We decided to walk the two blocks to the bridge and walk over to Canada first. We walked alongside the edge of the Falls and saw them first from this side. To quote the first European, a Franciscan monk, to see the Falls, we were “seized by awe”! They are truly magnificent whichever side you are on. We walked across the pedestrian bridge to Canada and had our passports stamped. It isn’t necessary to have a passport to cross over to Canada if you are an American, but we wanted the stamp in our passport for history.

We had a great view of the American Falls and got some beautiful shots. The Horseshoe Falls has so much mist that it is hard to see them. The park on the Canadian side is gorgeous as well with landscaped areas and good view points. There is a huge needle that allows for an elevator trip to the top to get a long view of the area but we chose not to do that since it was so early and the tower didn’t open for another hour or so.

After seeing all that we could and realizing how “American” the Canadian side is with the “Hard Rock Cafe”, “Starbucks”, Hershey’s, the Sheraton and several other noted American brands, we headed back across the bridge to the American side to see the different views of the Falls, the river, etc. First we stopped by the Visitor Center and watched the film about the history of the Falls. I am so glad that some people had the foresight in the late 1800’s to make the Falls and the areas on both sides as parks so that all people would have the opportunity to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Falls, etc. One of the first Europeans, a Franciscan monk, wrote that when he saw the Falls he was “seized with awe”! The Falls are truly magnificent no matter from what side you see them.

We crossed the bridge over to the Green Island and enjoyed seeing the falls from another angle. We walked along the pathway to the Luna Island where we saw a number of water birds and also the small Bridal Veil falls. We walked up the steps to continue on the path to Goat Island. The name came about because a man put his goats on the island to keep them from being killed by wolves. The result was that all the goats died in the winter except one. The last island that we saw was The Three Sisters which got its name because its former owner had three daughters.

We walked back to the hotel and our car and drove to find a place to eat. We ate a “Tim Horton’s. Because it was so late the chili was gone so we had sandwiches which were good. We decided to drive the 13 miles north to Fort Niagara and Lake Ontario. It was a pretty drive. The little village of Youngstown is a clean town. We drove from there through back to Niagara Falls by a different route and drove through the Tuscarora Indian Reservation.
This trip has been a neat side trip for us as we get ready for the Missions Conference that begins on Wednesday.