Back in the US and in The Thumb

Sunday, June 16, (Cont'd)

After the accident, we continued along the highway through Ontario. We saw this sign for one of the all time ice hockey greats! 

This is pretty prosperous looking farm country.  We go through towns called London and Paris.  It is 77 degrees out!  There is lots of corn planted here.  We also pass through Wyoming and Delaware, at least towns named that.

After a few hours, we saw the sign to cross back over into the US at Port Huron.

The water was a beautiful turquoise and azure blue.

We immediately turned north and went a short distance before stopping for the day at a beautiful campground at a town called Lakeport.  John put on his SHORTS and went to test the water.

Skies look pretty iffy off to the north, but the dark clouds pass us by.

Who knew that you would find these kind of beaches on Lake Huron.  I have always thought of the Great Lakes as very inhospitable and industrial.

This could be Hawaii!

We are going to go up the "thumb" of Michigan.   I am on another quest for ancestors.

Our dinner this evening was something Chris had told us about over the phone.  He had boiled sausages in beer, along with onions.  Then he put the sausages on the grill, and put brown sugar on the onions in foil.  John liked the idea, so we stopped and bought the ingredients.  We didn't have brown sugar so we used maple syrup!  It was delicious!  Today was Father's Day and both sons, Jack and Chris,  were thoughtful in their messages and calls.  We are so lucky!

Canada and a Car Accident

Sunday, June 16, Day 55 (Cont'd)

After we left Niagara Falls on the Canadian Side, we traveled toward Hamilton, Ontario.  We are skirting just above Lake Erie.  Later we talked about this.  If we had gone the 17 miles to Buffalo, we would have seen all five of the Great Lakes.  But at the time, we couldn't think of one single reason to go to Buffalo in the pouring rain!  We are headed across this part of Canada and will enter Michigan just to the  north of Flint. 

I was interested in Hamilton because I had Nemitz relatives in the 1870's who immigrated from Prussia, started out in the US, and then went to Hamilton for a couple of years.  William Nemitz had two children there before immigrating to Kansas. 

While I was looking around, a car suddenly left the road in front of us.  We didn't see it leave the road, but rather saw several pieces of wood from a signboard fly into the air  and then the car, swerving through the ditch, between the posts of another sign that was made of metal and come to rest.  

We immediately pulled over, saw the air bags had deployed, and before we could come to a stop, the driver got out.   It took a while for the fire department to come.  The motor was still running and we were afraid the car would explode or catch on fire.  But nobody wanted to get near it to turn it off.

John got a chair out of the camper, and the driver, a young girl, sat down.  The lady in the green is a nurse and she and her daughter immediately came to help.    Then the medics came and checked for injuries.

 Pretty soon there was lots of help!

The girl appeared to be unhurt and after telling the ambulance driver she didn't want to go to the hospital, they left as well.  We had to wait for the police in case they wanted a report from witnesses.

Pretty soon a female police officer came along.  She said, "Did any of you see the collision?"  We all hesitated because there was no collision.  The several of us there said, "No."  And she said. " OK, you don't have to stay."  Wrong question, in my opinion.

Our best guess - phoning or texting while driving.  This girl was really lucky!  If she'd hit the poles on the second sign, she could have been seriously injured.  As it was, the car was totaled, but she was apparently unhurt.

Niagara Falls Canadian Side

Time to see the Canadian Side of Niagara Falls.  This sign was at the exit as we left our campground.  Good advice! 

We drove over the Rainbow Bridge and had an easy passage through customs.  You immediately turn off the bridge and follow the river along to a parking area.  And, when you walk to the edge, this is what you see.

Again, no zoom! We are right at the edge.

There are a number of abandoned buildings like this one along the river, former power plants that are no longer being used.  This one is just above the falls.

We are looking at Niagara River above the falls, and the water cascading over it.

This is the view just below me.

A little farther away, you can see the curve of the horseshoe.  You would never know that behind me is all of these large hotels, etc.

It is raining really hard, so it is hard to separate out the mist from the rain.

And this is American Falls, as viewed from the Canadian Side.  You can see why it is not  as picturesque.  To the right, there is a little rock wall break in the falls, and then the smaller area is called Bridal Veil falls.  So, they say there are three falls.  And the tall building to the left is a Seneca Casino.  The Indians get their revenge by spoiling the view of one of the most spectacular sights in the US!

We were soaked to the core, but it let up just enough to get this picture.

This really is just the most amazing sight.  Here I am a little river up from where the Horseshoe Falls plunges over.  I don't know how you could get any more up close and personal!

Niagara Falls American Side

Saturday, June 15, Day 54 - Sunday June 16, Day 55

We traveled from the Rochester area the 60 miles or so toward Niagara Falls.  We didn't head out very early.  We stopped along the way, taking note of the beautiful day, reading about the Seneca Indians in the area, who were the most war like, sided with the British during the Revolutionary War, and finally signed a treaty.   Most Seneca live in Canada (remember, they sided with the British!) They live on reservations around Niagara Falls.  

We went through the town of Alabama. 

And we saw the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.  The Iroquois is a league of six nations, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca.   They are matrilineal and have clan mothers.  They live along the St. Lawrence Seaway and around the Great Lakes.  

We spent the night in a campground near Niagara Falls.  We wanted to stop early and be prepared for a long day of interesting sights! 

The next morning, we drove to Goat Island, which is where you park and walk around.  The parking lots were full when we came through and they sent us to a much smaller one.  It was also full, and it was difficult to turn around.  We were getting discouraged when we came around to the original parking lot  and found they had opened it again and there was plenty of room!  

We started today on the American side.   This is where you get a side view of Horseshoe Falls, the portion of the falls which is really on the Canadian side, and is most often photographed.  

This is not a zoom picture!  You are literally standing this close to the water!

It is just hard to describe the sensation you get from standing right at the waters edge, and watching this massive amount of water cascade over the falls.

This is a state park.  (Remember my list of the most visited National Parks?  Well Niagara isn't on it because it is a State Park.)


There is really nothing between you and the water.  No safety fences, guard rails, etc.  Just a short rock wall.

The Maid of the Mist Boats leave from the US and Canadian sides, go up close to the falls, stay for a short period and then turn back.  There are about three of them at any given time in a revolving path through the mist.

Just another view with part of the wall to give you a perspective on how close you are.

Here is a map of the area.  We are standing on Goat Island for the pictures above.  The area is in the lower right hand part of the map.   Then you can walk around and stand over American Falls and take a bridge across the river.

But first, a Niagara Ice Cream cone, filled with Vanilla Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl, Fudge Covered Pretzels,  Fudge Covered Peanuts, and Praline Peanuts.  Why not!

Here we are standing at the edge of American Falls.   In the background is the Rainbow Bridge to Canada.  A little closer, the cylindrical thing, has a viewing platform which goes pretty far out into the river for a better look at both falls.

This is not a zoom!

The view directly below us.

These nutty people have paid to put on rain gear and go stand under a portion of bridal veil falls, which is just an offshoot of American Falls.  There used to be caves behind the falls  you could enter, but they no longer exist.  The falls are receding at about an inch a year.  A lot of reconstructive work and blasting has been done to keep this area viable for tourists.

I couldn't resist this picture of a girl with her dog tucked under her arm, on her cell phone. The falls is right beside her.  One little twitch by this pooch and it will be a goner!  It's already hanging over the edge!

The viewing platform.  You can see the line of people waiting to go out on it.

This shot was taken upstream.  A lone sea gull makes a stand against the current.

There were two weddings I saw, both on the American side.  This little "funsie" pose didn't look very fun.  The guys holding him didn't look too steady!

But he survived and here he is with his bride.

The area around the falls is quite built up, particularly on the Canadian side.  Lots of hotels and casinos.  Here you can see both American Falls in the foreground, and Horseshoe Falls in the back.

And another wedding.  This girl was a real "pisser" and I wish the groom a lot of luck!

And we walked across a bridge on the river upstream.   You can see the edge of American Falls and the trees on the other shore.

This religious sect was quite visible throughout our stay.  I would have guessed Amish, but later they all got into cars, so I don't know what they were.

As we walked back to the car, we took one last look at the Horseshoe Falls and the area we had been standing in earlier.  This was definitely worth the effort to some see!