Visit The 51st State

Joe and Neptune got up early to watch the sunrise and to go to the dog park here at the KOA.  Neptune had a couple good walks this morning before Joe and I headed to Niagara Falls.  It is less than an hour from where we are staying.

Apparently, a lot of people go into the US Customs door instead of heading over the bridge.  I loved the sign taped to the door telling you how to get to Canada. It was quite easy to cross the Rainbow Bridge into Canada.  We have a photo of each of us on one side of the international boundary line.

Joe had been to only the Canadian side of the falls years before when he was in the Minnesota National Guard. For that exercise, they had worked with the Commonwealth Nations (United Kingdom, Canadians, Australians, New Zealand) on an inner operability study to see if the US communication equipment could talk to their communication equipment.  I would highly recommend going to see Niagara Falls at least once in a lifetime.  And we’d recommend the Canadian side because you get a really good view of all the falls.  There were a lot of people visiting today. I loved listening to all the languages spoken.  There were literally people from all over the world with their families. 

I had to google a bit today because I honestly did not know where the water for the falls comes from.  The water from the falls comes primarily from Lake Erie via the Niagara River.  Lake Erie is connected to the other Great Lakes of Superior, Michigan and Huron, so the water flowing into Niagara Falls has come from these upstream lakes as well.  After the falls, the water continues into Lake Ontario and then into the St Lawrence River and finally the Atlantic Ocean.

It was a hot, sunny day in the 90’s.  We enjoyed the mist on the Canadian side. We watched some people Zipline and the boats with their passengers in their rain ponchos with the poncho color depending on where you boarded your boat (Blue-US and Red-Canada) We stopped for lunch at Table Rock Bistro and Wine Bar.  It was nice to sit down in the air conditioning for a bit before heading back to the US. 

FYI: There is a $1.25 toll when you return to the US.

We walked around the Niagara Falls State Park and are so glad that we took the opportunity to see this famous landmark.

On our way back to the campsite we stopped at Devil’s Hole State Park to admire one of the dams along the river.  Its full name is the Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station.  The plant diverts water from the Niagara River above the falls and returns the water into the lower portion of the river. There is a visitor center there if you’d like to learn more and get a closer look.  We did not.  We were getting tired and anxious to get back to Neptune. 

We made it back to the RV after about 5 hours.  It appeared that Neptune had not left the bed since we left.  Which is typical for him during the day when he’s at home. 

Tomorrow we are moving on again in New York.  One of the longer rides Joe has left. Thank you for your continued support.  What a summer it’s been!