Off to Niagara Falls, we first stop at a RV park in Herkimer Falls, NY. This is a great place if you’re traveling with kids—there are diamond mines here! Who knew. You can pick them up on the river bank beside the camp or actually go excavating in a mine. The afternoon we were there I saw several large diamond chunks people had found. (Needless to say, these are not top quality stones. They are about a 7 on a hardness scale of 10) But it was fun watching the kids and their families really get in to this.
Once in the city of Niagara Falls we wasted no time getting to the main attraction. The area around the water is a beautiful national park—we loved walking through it.
The view from Bridal Falls was spectacular.
The first day we rode Maid of the Mist—this is a must and was fun. We dutifully donned our blue rain ponchos and took pictures beginning at American Falls.
The water was beautiful with the emerald green of the Niagara River crowning the top of the falls.
The high rise city perched on the Ontario side made a great backdrop for Horseshoe Falls.
Plus we got a great view of the Observation Tower.
Back on shore, we were able to get very close to the falls and had a great overview of the park and falls from the observation tower.
The next day, we drove around the local area before heading back to the falls. This is an area with a large Native American population, including several tribes of the Iroquois Nation, as well as Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Huron, Petun, Erie and the Susquehannock. The name actually comes from the Indian name for Thundering Waters. There were many tribal stores selling tobacco and gas. And the area is a mass of electric lines tied to the power grid at the falls.
On our second trip, we went back to The Cave of the Winds and were amazed how close we could get to the water. Here we put on a yellow poncho and special shoes—unlike the boat, this was a definite necessity.
We walked through walls of HEAVY mist, generating great rainbows.
We went back later for the weekly fireworks show. I’m adding a picture from the observation tower to show what they do to the poor falls at night. (Not my favorite look)
Fireworks on the Canadian side were pretty.
And I did get a more simple night shot of the falls after the light show.
Next, we're crossing the American border and heading to Toronto and Montreal. Tonight I’m cooking. Remember all the great foods I found at the Cohasset Farmer’s Market? Well, I need to freeze any of the fresh fruit and veggies I want to keep. We will be heading into a foreign country--Canada. Really?--and a neighbor in the RV park reminded us all the rules for transporting fresh food apply.
