Monday, July 22 - Evangola, NY S.P. to Niagara Falls, NY

Before pulling out of Evangola, NY S.P. we took a few more pictures of Lake Erie, then trundled N.E. along Hwy 5. We followed the lakefront rather than follow I-90 to Buffalo. Stopped in Lackawanna for some laundromat time. I had 5 people in a drug store giving me directions to the nearest laundromat. This was an example of New York friendliness not found in New York City.

We spotted giant windmills along the lake front on the eastern end of Lake Erie. Following local streets into Buffalo, we used the GPS to direct us to Niagara Falls. I-190 took us to American Falls Park area of Niagara Falls. We went directly to the Information office and signed up for a 4 hour tour of the Canadian side of the river. The tour was excellent. We went across Rainbow Bridge to Canada. There was a fairly long wait at Customs. We were asked to leave the bus, go inside to have passports checked, and to answer a few questions. It was a speedy process.

Our group was made up of tour guide, Leena, originally from Chicago, a couple from Bentonville, AR, their daughter-in-law from Watertown, NY, a couple from Reno, NV, a couple from Long Island, NY, a younger couple from Germany with their daughter, and their uncle from Murfreesboro, TN (!). Oh, and ConRita. A fun group. We all enjoyed Leena showing us all the sites. We were taken upriver, past a huge dam used for generating power, to the Floral Clock (see pictures). The clock symbolizes the water treaty between the U.S. and Canada. We also drove by the Niagara School of Horticulture. Their work was displayed throughout the park. The park follows a gorge along the entire length of the Niagara River that extends all the way from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.

The tour included a boat ride on the 'Maid of the Mist'. Everyone was provided with raincoats, which helped keep us from getting completely soaked rather than mildly soaked. We were taken very close to the falls, and stayed there for several minutes. My main concern was keeping the camera dry.

We later made a stop for souvenirs, pizza, water, & some fudge. Of course, we got a magnet for the fridge.

The tour included a 'Journey Behind the Falls'. This attraction was at an area named Table Rock. We took an elevator down to a series of tunnels. We followed the tunnels for an up close view about 10 feet behind the roar of the falls. Awesome power. Very impressive.

Since our tour ran into the night we were able to see the multi-colored lights shining from the Canada side over to the Falls.

The Canada side of the river has lots of tall hotels, shopping districts, restaurants, etc., while the U.S. side is more quiet and subdued.

The attached pictures show the American Falls seen from Canada side, and ConRita in front of Floral Clock.