Thursday 20 September 2012

We are in Bangor, Maine. (Eoin Cameron has a lot to answer for!)
We left Michigan last Thursday after visiting the Henry Ford Museum - see earlier post.
Our travels since then have taken us back into Canada; crossing back into New York State; Vermont, New Hampshire and today into Maine.
It has been quite a week ...

Driving through Detroit was a test! Where to cross the border into Canada - the bridge or the tunnel? A no brainer really but the gps was intent on taking us through the tunnel. As we got closer, a three way conversation ensued between Trevor, the gps and me! Now it can get a bit hairy at these times but we were as one against the gps:  'We want to take the bridge!!'  Finally we had to turn 'her' off.
Then - which lane should we take - the one for cars or the one for trucks? No RV's in either to give us a clue. We opted for the truck lane as it looked bigger.  Wrong!  But the border police were kind to us  "out of towners ..." as they called us.  It sometimes helps to have a map of Australia on the back of the RV and South Dakota number plates!!

Ambassador Bridge

Then we are back in Ontario,Canada.

Who says we are not a truck!

Almost immediately we are into rural countryside deciding to travel on a provincial highway along the shores of Lake Erie: large wind farms, farming properties, crops and glimpses of the lake. We passed through a number of small communities after turning off Highway 401 to State Hwy 3.

We stopped at the Grand Oaks RV Park in Cayuga, 2 kms (yes we
are in Canada) off Hwy 3 and overlooking the Grand River.
It was  rustic with  lots of trees and very quiet.  Even the group of army cadets on a 4 day exercise could not break the tranquillity.  We also felt very safe!!

The next morning we were headed for Niagara Falls!! We restocked our supplies. Canadian food prices are higher than in the States and we were also mindful of quarantine restrictions when crossing back to the States.
We missed Highway 405 as we drove through Fort Erie and found ourselves on the Niagara Parkway which was a very pretty drive along the Niagara River. We then found Lundy's Lane where several RV Parks are situated and opted for Scott's Tent & Trailer Park - a great spot.  We booked for 3 nights.

Even though it was raining and late afternoon by that time, we stood in the rain for half an hour to catch the Wego bus to the Falls.  How could you not go see such an awe-inspiring spectacle.
Louis Hennepin, a French priest and one of the first Europeans to gaze upon Niagara Falls in 1678, wrote that "the Universe does not afford its parallel."

He was right! And 10 million tourists a year also know a thing or to! I felt quite emotional on catching my first sight of the Falls! It is hard to describe the beauty and power of all that water tumbling over rocks.

The Niagara Falls straddle the international border between Ontario,Canada and New York State, US and
 include the Horseshoe Falls - on the Canadian side, and the American Falls and  Bridal Veil Falls both on the US side. We visited from the Canadian side as we had been told that was the more spectacular view.
The combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet. Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America.

 We signed up for an Adventure Pass and over the next two days experienced the Falls from a number of different perspectives including in tunnels behind the Horseshoe Falls, walking a boardwalk beside the Niagara Rapids, witnessing the creation of the Falls and taking a boat cruise which goes right up to the base of the American Falls and then to the basin of the Horseshoes Falls.  We also walked across the Rainbow Bridge, and the US Border  to experience the Falls from the American side.  Not to mention viewing the Falls illuminated at night and walking and more walking!!! But it was all worth it. What a place!