Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, one of the 7 wonders of the world. Standing on the American side with the American Falls in the foreground and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side right behind me.

The sign says the average temperature for Niagara Falls in the summer is 67 degrees. Well, it has been in the 90s for the past 2 weeks and even topping 100. So much for averages.

Looking down at the Maid of the Mist boat from the top of the Sheraton Hotel in Canada. We had lunch in the Fallsview Restaurant.

When you go out on your Maid of the Mist boat tour they give you a poncho, because you will get wet. The Maid in the Mist has been providing services since 1846. Back then they provided a ferry to cross over into Canada and back since there was no bridge. Once the bridge was built they turned it into a tourist attraction, offering rides to those visiting the falls.

The Skylon Tower in Canada. Our tour included a ride to the top. You get a great view of both Canada and America.

Looking through the fence down on Horseshoe Falls from the top of the Skylon Tower.

Looking across to the American Falls.

I zoomed in on the above picture and saw these people in yellow ponchos walking out near the falls. This is the Cave of the Winds tour. I went on in when I was here in 2002, but did not go on the tour this time.

Over on Goat Island on the American side, looking upstream from the falls. Even though the water is only a few feet deep, they say a person cannot stand against the force of the water.

And yet this duck was out there swimming and diving for his supper.

Standing at the bottom of the American Falls you get a real feel for the power of the water falling over the top.

I had met up with a number of my WIN friends, and Ernie, our host for this gathering, planned a wonderful, guided tour. Thanks Ernie.

Several of us went back another day for more sightseeing on our own and to stay and view the falls at night with the pretty lights.

After our sightseeing adventures we stopped for some dinner. We were at the upstairs restaurant and had a great view of the falls and all the people.

Following dinner we all decided to share some dessert.

Once the sun set and the lights came on, we went back down to the walkway along the falls to view the lights. Every few minutes they would change colors. This is Horseshoe Falls. The reason you can't see any lights or falls in the middle is because of the mist.

The view of the American Falls from the Canadian side.

Earlier in the day we stopped downstream along the Niagara Gorge Rim to look down on the Class 6 rapids.

There is a place where you can go down to the river level and walk on the boardwalk to see the rapids up close. These waves and troughs can get as large as 20-30 feet high and they continue for about 1 mile. They attempted to provide a tourist attraction of rafting the rapids, but in the trials runs only 1 of the 2 rafts made it through. The other raft flipped, killing 6 people. Sorry folks, but no white water rafting these rapids.

Although in the 1990s a daredevil floated down these rapids with 3 life jackets on and survived.

We also visited one of the Daredevil Museums, the Three Sisters Island, the power plants and many other interesting sites in the area. Way too much to put in this blog. I guess you'll just have to come visit yourself.

Erie Canal, Lockport, NY

The Erie Canal System, consisiting of the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego and Champlain Canals, includes 524 miles of canals connecting the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence Seaway, bypassing Niagara Falls. Currently there are 36 locks, with a combined elevation drop of 526 ft. These locks were completed in 1918. But the original Erie Canal was started in 1818 and completed in 1825 with 83 locks.

The locks in Lockport are a double set of locks with a combined elevation change of 49 ft.

 

These are one of the double sets of locks originally built in Lockport. The other set of locks was enlarged in 1918, although this smaller set of locks remained in service until the 1920s when they were converted to a spillway.

There were about 17 of us who decided to kayak the locks in Lockport.

Here we sit under one of the world's widest bridges waiting for the lock to open for us. This bridge is only 129 feet long, but 399 feet wide. Above is not only a 4 lane street, but a parking lot.

Sitting in the lock waiting for the gates to shut.

The gates are shut and the water is released so we can kayak out to the lower level. And we got to do it all over again since this is a double lock.

Thomas Jefferson was approached about national funding for the Erie Canal, but he refused to consider national funding, so the state of New York funded the entire construction of the canal. It lost its importance as a commercial waterway after the trains became common, but it is still in use today, mainly for recreational use. All along the waterways are hiking and biking paths, campgrounds and marinas for traveling boats.

Jet Boat, Buffalo and Buffalo Wings

One of the highlights of my time in Hamburg was the jet boat trip. The jet boat holds 48 passengers and has 3,500hp engines. They are the only boats authorized by the coast guard to navigate the class 5 rapids and the whirlpool area on the river.

The brave and hardy souls who prepared to get wet on one of the wildest rides ever.

A look at the class 5 rapids on the river. We went through these, not once, not twice, not 3, but 4 times.

Yes, I did get a little drenched. They said the first 3 rows were called the 'power rows' because of the force of the water. Well, I sat right on the first row.

After the jet boat ride, it was on the Youngstown and Fort Niagara.

Ft Niagara is the oldest fort I have ever been in North America. The first structure was built originally by the French in 1678 on this site at the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. It was held by the French and over the years enlarged to most of what you see in the picture. The British took the fort in 1759. It became U.S. property in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris, but the U.S. did not occupy the fort until the Jay Treaty in 1796. It fell to the British during the War of 1812, but was returned to the U.S. following the war and the Treaty of Ghent. It still to this day flies the flag of all three countries.

Shooting muskets on the parade ground.

Standing guard.

The 'Castle' is the oldest building on site, built in 1726.

Standing in front of one of the sally ports (gated entryways).

This house, built of rock, was unusual because of the rocks unevenness. Most rock homes have the walls smoothed off and are flat. These walls were sharp and pointed and very uneven, giving it a fortress like look.

An early church, built like a castle.

An old municipal building in downtown Buffalo.

In downtown Buffalo at the Wilcox Mansion (site of Army Barracks built in 1838), Theodore Roosevelt took his oath of office as President of the United States in 1901.

Anchor Bar, downtown Buffalo, site of the original buffalo wings.

In 1963, the owner of the Anchor Bar fried up some chicken wings and poured her homemade sauce over them for her son and his friends. They were such a hit, she continued to make them and added them to the menu. And history was written.

Max was infatuated with this waitress.

Wonderful wings. Suprisingly the original wings as made in 1963, weren't that hot, but were more of what today is considered as mild or medium. But they were good and I was glad to say I have eaten wings at the home of the original buffalo wings.

Fort Erie, Fort George and the Niagara Parkway-Canada

The past few years I have traveled in areas where I visited old forts, which were usually Civil War forts, but out here in the northeast, most of the forts I have been visiting are much earlier, such as the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. On the Canadian side of the Niagara River, at each end, stand forts which played a large part in these early wars, and the drive between is claimed to be the most scenic in the world. I'm not sure I would agree it was THE most scenic I've ever seen, but it was pretty.

Waiting to cross into Canada on the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, NY.

 

Fort Erie, located at the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Erie, was built in 1764 by the British.

Looking across to Buffalo there was this building in the middle of the river. Later we found out it was a water intake for the drinking water for Buffalo.

A British soldier in front of Fort Erie.

As we headed north on Niagara Parkway we spotted this sign. Max has a dance club named after him. Wow. It was closed and we never made it back in the evening to see what it was like. Maybe next time.

Just south of Niagara Falls on the parkway is the town of Chippawa. Near this site was a famous battle during the War of 1812.

The monument at the Chippawa Battle Site.

We stopped for lunch in the town of Chippewa and the restaurant turned out to be Greek. Great food.

The Aerocar which crosses the Niagara River at the Whirlpool site. The Aerocar was built in 1903 and is still operating today. At this spot the Niagara River makes a 90 degree turn and creates a huge whirlpool. They say if you get caught it can take you down 200 feet and keep you there for up to 30 days. While we were in the area a lady fell in, but luckily she was rescued by one of the tourist jet boats before she got swept into the whirlpool. She was still severly injured and in critical condition in the hospital just from the turbulence she went through in the river.

You can see on of the tourist jet boats coming up to the whirlpool.

At Niagara-on-the-Lake is the site of Ft. George, built by the British in 1796 and was the site of several battles during the War of 1812. The tents are not part of the fort itself, but they were getting ready for a reenactment, which was going on over the upcoming weekend.

We had an English maiden greet us at the entry to the fort.

Several British soldiers were riding in the area too.

Although the Queens Landing Hotel looks like it was built in the 1800s, since it is a Georgian style architecture, it was actually built in 1990.

Looking across the Niagara River towards Fort Niagara.

The Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, truly is a historic landmark, built in 1864.

On the way we stopped and bought some fresh Canadian peaches and cherries.

Waiting in line to cross back into the U.S. at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, we were able to see some of the crazy buildings in the area. The candy bar is centered around the doorway into the Hershey Store.

Planet Hollywood looks more like a planeterium or science museum, instead of a restaurant.