Niagara Falls

Canadian Falls

We arrived in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Wed. evening after a fairly strenuous day of driving, about 300 miles. We were greeted warmly by our Boondocking host, Karsty, who was armed with maps and brochures to get us started the next day. He lives in a nice neighborhood and we just parked right in his driveway. The next day dawned gray and drippy so we spent the morning catching up with email, chores and muddling around. I started getting restless after lunch and jumped on my bike to head to the falls while Thayer opted for a complete rest day. It was about a 3 mile ride into town that didn't take very long. I checked out the town, figured out where the main attractions were, scoped out the routes down the hill and just got the lay of the land. I purchased

Canadian Falls

each of us an "Adventure Pass" which gave us a discount on 4 of the major attractions and a 2 day bus pass for cruising the Niagara River Gorge. When I could finally peel my eyes away from the spectacular falls I was dismayed to see towering dark clouds brewing in the direction I had to go to get back to Karsty's. I was about halfway back when the heavens opened and soaked me in a few minutes. At least it was a warm rain. We visited with Karsty and learned about the local history and current events. That evening we drove into town to see the light show at the falls. They shine a bunch of BIG lights on the falls and it looks very pretty, sort of like oobleck or playdough flowing over the rocks.

Your Worst Nightmare

American Falls

On Friday Thayer and I rode our bikes into town to have our big "Adventure Day" with our passes. I guided him through "new" Niagara, where the real tourists have fun. As you can see, it wasn't the kind of place we wanted to spend much time. We biked on down to the river to admire the falls for a bit, then we started our cheap plastic poncho collection with "Niagara's Fury!" which is an entertaining video presentation on the formation of Niagara's gorge and falls. It was followed by a surround sound, panoramic video, snowstorm, rain, splash sort of "ride". It took us on a virtual arial trip over Lake Erie, down the river, over the falls, through the rapids and whirlpools to Lake Ontario. It had my head spinning from start to end. The next poncho acquisition opportunity was "Behind the Falls" where we were able to walk through tunnels bored behind the falls to lookouts on what amounts to a solid wall of water rushing downward. There were also several lookouts that took us right to the edge of the falling water and the roiling water below. The power of the water is just incredible. It is easy to see why much of the power for the NE and Canada is generated from this river. Fortunately the power people have cleverly kept most of the power generating canals, ponds, generators, dams and such completely out of the view of the falls area. You can certainly see it to the north and south and Thayer had a fun time puzzling out what each building or pond was used for. Since most of the buildings are quite old you wouldn't really know that they are power related because they are beautiful structures made of cut stone with intricate carvings, decorations and windows. It is a very complicated system and is the very first large power generating system in the US and Canada. 

Maria Spelterini with baskets on feet, 1876

After so much excitement we decided it would be a good idea to sit down for a while so we climbed aboard a WEGO bus and headed up river, to the turnaround and then down river to our next activity. We rode the elevator down to near the river then onto a nice boardwalk for the Whitewater Walk. The standing waves that roar along this stretch are HUGE. The signage says '15 meters' but they aren't quite that big. They are rated as Class 6 rapids, which means virtually un-runnable. Also, they don't just go up and down but swirl, dive, swell, and suck. At one point in history entrepreneurs were allowed to run commercial rafting trips down the river, but that finally ended when 8 people were lost off one boat. Much of the information presented along the walk was about the incredible feats (and flops!) people have tried successfully, and not, over the years. There have been many tightrope walkers doing ridiculously wild things on a rope, boaters, swimmers, barrel riders, and an unintentional little boy in a lifejacket. At one time it was incredibly competitive and you had to outdo the last guy in order to draw a crowd. It is very tightly controlled now and they allow a tightrope walker about every 20 years, just to honor the history of the funambulist (there's a good word to look up!) in Niagara's history. A few years ago they allowed a kayaker in the rapids for a National Geographic film. It was certainly an impressive set of rapids that I only briefly considered running.

Maid of the Mist

We climbed back on the bus and continued to the downriver turnaround and came back to the Falls for our next poncho. We rode another elevator to river level and received another blue poncho for our journey to the falls aboard the "Maid of the Mist." It being a cool afternoon there were not huge crowds so we were able to secure good viewing spots right at the bow of the boat. We motored by American Falls on our way to where the real misty part happens in the horseshoe shaped drop pool of Canadian Falls. The mist rises in a giant cloud from the center of the falls. As the boat edges into the swirling cloud and churning water, the warm mist wraps around you, quite a bit warmer than the air outside the cloud. When you look down into the beautiful green water there are so many bubbles that it seems the water is only about half water, the rest is air. The drop pool is over 120 feet deep so the water really churns and boils as it flows through. A Karsty fact is that people who go over the falls sometimes don't surface for a long time or perhaps never. He said that about 18 people a year commit suicide over the falls. Strangely enough there are many birds flying and swimming around the base of the falls, gulls and cormorants mostly, they are feeding on the stunned little critters that find themselves going through the gauntlet of the falls. We spent a short time in the swirling, pounding, misty center of the falls before coming about and heading back to the dock. About the ponchos: they are recyclable but we used just our first one all day and saved the others. We now have the spares in our backpacks and bike bags for emergencies. Millions of them must be used during the season!

This is where we realized we were lost

It was getting late in the afternoon and we decided that a large hot chocolate was needed to warm us up before climbing back on the bikes. We were so energized that we decided to try an alternate route to get back to Karsty's. The bus ride inspired us to ride upriver towards a nice park area which we did. The path led us through an amazing botanical garden filled with colorful flowers, large and small, and perfectly grouped and arranged. It was simply lovely. We continued toward some electricity generating areas consisting of gates, flumes, canals, and beautiful old buildings. We rode and rode, thinking we knew where we were going, hahahaha. We rode along canals, quiet streets, corn fields, abandoned houses and construction sites. We went over bridges and around corners. As the light grew dimmer, the speed limit increased, the headwind increased, the traffic increased, the size of the shoulder decreased, and my legs grew tired. Finally, as we approached the on ramp for the QEW, I busted out the ipod and consulted my friendly TOMTOM map. Fortunately, all we had to do was go over the freeway, turn right and ride for another 5 miles and we'd be home. ugh. We pulled in just before darkness fell. Thayer calculated the distance the next day, we had turned a 3 mile ride into 15.

Karsty offered to show us around the next day which we happily agreed to, always preferring the expertise of a local to our own thrashing about (see yesterday's activities.) Because of a big bicycle rally many of the roads were blocked so Karsty expertly navigated the backroads to get us to Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL). Nice to have an ex-cop showing you about, they know all the backroads. NOTL is a lovely little town located on the Lake Ontario end of the Niagara River. It caters to the wealthy, let me tell you. We drove the neighborhoods admiring the historic houses and churches. Great effort has been made to preserve the architecture of the 1800's and many of the buildings are original. The flowers on the main street are fantastic, reminding me of Victoria, BC. There are many chic shops, galleries, fudge and ice cream shops, bakeries and restaurants. The Prince of Wales Inn is a first rate, 5 star establishment anchoring one end of the busy street. Horse and buggy rides are available and the horses are very handsome. 

Prince of Wales Inn

Niagara River Whirlpool

We poked along and looped back to Niagara, stopping to admire the Whirlpool section of the river as it makes a screaming right hand turn after the raging rapids mentioned earlier. It is an unusual whirlpool in that it circulates counter-clockwise.  Try to imagine this: the river, traveling at a vigorous pace, needs to do a right angle turn but it enters a large roundabout and turns to the LEFT, and doubles back on itself. Well, its course is now on the other side of the main flow, so it goes UNDER that flow, creating very turbulent, dangerous and unpredictable currents. It is fascinating to just stand there and watch that tremendous eddy, going the wrong way, disappear (except for wood debris left floating in confusion), and come roiling up on the other side in billowing currents as it flows on down its course. In the area where the water makes it's dive for the other side there are frequent violent whirlpools that swirl swiftly around before the water is sucked to the other side. Seconds later another whirlpool will take its place. Have I mentioned the beautiful color of the water yet? I am kicking myself for not taking video of this unusual site. What was I (not) thinking? 

We drove by the old police station in Niagara, a lovely old stone building that was still in use when Karsty started on the force. He showed us the backside of the neighboring bank where some thieves had tunneled into the vault and robbed the bank right next to the police station! The old station is boarded up and decaying now, a sad site.

Our most gracious host, Karsty

We went out to lunch and when we got back to Karsty's we packed up the rig and prepared to leave. We had decided to go back to NOTL to do some more exploring, visit Fort George, one site of the War of 1812, and give Thayer a chance to photograph some of the beautiful old houses in town. We said our goodbyes and headed down the road. We successfully navigated back to NOTL only to discover that Thayer had left his camera and shirt in Karsty's car. After some vigorous walking around the neighborhood searching for open WIFI, emailing and finally a phone call made from the Prince of Wales Inn, we contacted Karsty who insisted on jumping in his RV and driving the camera and shirt out to us. We met up in the quiet parking area of the Jet Boat outfit, had a great visit and Karsty decided to stay the night as well. It was a nice quiet night and we said our goodbyes one more time the next morning.