Roger and I are following many of the Adventure Cycling routes, but that does not mean that we have paid very much attention to the details of the day-to-day turn-by-turn instructions. Which is why I was delighted, and surprised, to see that our path would take us right by Niagara Falls. Niagara! How cool is that?
 |
| Dan and Lynn at their guest cottage |
 |
| Dan en route |
We said goodbye to our Warm Showers hosts, Dan and Lynn, and got an escort out of town from Dan. It was another hot day, but the prevailing winds are from the west here, so we never had to fight headwinds. Most of our trip was on bike paths -first a very nice one (the Friendship Trail) from Port Colborne to Port Erie, and then the Niagara Parkway and trail along the Niagara River. This is the border between Canada and New York, and I will confess I got a bit teary-eyed when I saw the first of several bridges across to the states with both countries' flags flying side-by-side. To paraphrase Rodney King, "can't we all just get along great like these two countries?"
 |
| Buffalo from across the lake |
In fact, the Falls are such an amazing attraction that there are people there of every nation. The place was mobbed. Roger and I had visited once in the winter, and it is not nearly so crowded. Here in mid-summer's high season, it was crazy. We enjoyed stopping for a moment to take in the sights, then snapped our photos and headed on our way.
 |
| The Silver Queen makes it Niagara Falls! |
 |
| I love the power of the rapids as the river approaches the falls |
 |
| American Falls, and Horseshoe Falls on the right, from the bridge |
 |
| The river continues through a beautiful gorge after the falls. |
 |
| Back in the US of A |
We had laundry to do, and found a laundromat in Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Half a mile from the river, and it's just sort of a depressed, and depressing little town. Shop windows with bars on them, that sort of thing. When we arrived at our hotel in Lewiston fifteen miles down the road, what did we find right across the road? A laundromat! Oh, well. We had loonies to spend anyway!
And of course, all that water falling down the hills generates lots of power. The high tension lines coming out of the area were astounding. I've never seen so many.
The day's report: Port Colborne to Lewiston, 47.6 miles/4709 to date
 |
| Lots of energy in falling water! |
Nice commentary! I recently read a piece about the man whose job it is to control the flow of the falls. He is employed by both nations and makes daily and even hourly decisions which in turn dictate how much power is produced for both nations. It was fascinating! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete