Thunderous Niagara and a Peach of a Festival

We arrived at Four Mile Creek State Park in Youngstown, NY fairly early on Thursday, 9/8, after a one night stay at Lake Erie. We’re here for three nights, but the weather reports are calling for thunderstorms and rain showers sometime in the near future. We decided to take advantage of the blustery, but dry, day and head for the falls. 

“Niagara Falls” are actually three separate waterfalls: American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe Falls. American and Bridal Veil are on “our” side and Horseshoe spans the Niagara River to the Canadian side. All the falls are awesome; American Falls is the most picturesque (in my opinion) with huge boulders all along the bottom. Bridal Veil is the smallest, but you can get pretty close to it on the Cave of the Winds boardwalk (there is no cave, it collapsed in 1920 – but there was plenty of wind!). Horseshoe is the biggy – 90% of the water goes over it and you don’t just see it – you feel it.

We decided to take the Maid of the Mists boat ride to the base of the falls. Totally worth it! It gives you a chance to really experience the falls in a way you can’t from the topside.  The boat passes American and Bridal Veil Falls and pulls up close to the base of Horseshoe. The wind was howling the day we went and the blue ponchos provided by the tour company were flapping in the wind like wild things. The spray is drenching and the noise – you understand why “thunderous” is used to describe the falls. The power and force of the water is overwhelming.  After our ride (because we weren't wet enough - NOT!) we hiked to the "Crow's Nest" where the wind and spray completed our drenching. :)

 American Falls

View of the "Crow's Nest" next to American Falls

Maid of the Mist in front of American and Bridal Veil Falls

Rog in his poncho -  he looks like a very stylish Gandalf. :)

On the boat

Up close and personal with Horseshoe Falls

Soggy Selfies. Lol.

I couldn't resist ... they sparkled!

The Rainbow Bridge - connects the US and Canada. Who knew??

The next day the weather was actually calmer and mostly sunny, so we decided to visit the Canadian side of the falls. You can walk across the Rainbow Bridge to Canada. The name made me think of Callie, but we did not find her on the other side. :(  We had read that the views from the Canadian side were better and with that I’d have to agree. From across the river you can see all three falls at once and you have a better vantage point to see American and Bridal Veil Falls. When you are standing next to/above them you don’t get a clear picture of how beautiful they really are.  We walked all along their riverside park and spent a couple of hours enjoying the views from Canada.

Headed into moose and maple leaf territory.

Crossing the border.

You can see all three falls from the Canadian side.

Best view of American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls on the far right - separated by Luna Island.

Horseshoe Falls - Wow.

Wish you could hear the rumble and feel the spray.

On the way back to the campground we made a quick stop at Whirlpool State Park to see the rapids and a big basin where the incoming water creates a whirlpool effect.  In the evening we headed to the Niagara County Peach Festival. We tried their signature dish – peach shortcake, had a peach soda, and brought home several pounds of lovely fresh peaches. Yummmm!!

Whirlpool rapids - class VI and deemed not navigable.

Niagara County Peach Festival

Peach shortcake - what we really came for! :)

On our last day here the promised rain arrived, so we hung out at camp and used the time to plan the next couple of stops on our journey. We have reservations in Vermont (Ben and Jerry’s here I come!) and Maine – but needed to figure out what route we’re taking and where we can stay along the way.  We decided to have dinner out at a highly rated Bistro in Youngstown. Yelp did not steer us wrong. The cuisine was Mexican, but with a creative flair. Dinner was delicious, but dessert was to die for. Spiced chocolate crème brûlée (Rog) and chili chocolate ice cream in a warm churro bowl (me). OK we shared both, so it did not come to blows. Lol.

During dinner the thunderstorm hit with a vengeance. We lingered over coffee while the rain bucketed down. The first wave had passed by the time we made it back to the RV so we stood and watched lightning flash over Lake Ontario until the next wave of rain began. High winds are forecast for our departure tomorrow. Oh joy! 

More lightning and high winds on the way.

And Finally a Few Pics from Lake Erie

Rog takes a dip in Lake Erie

The waves make it seem more like an ocean than a lake.

There were even shells!

Sunlight on the rocky shore.

Who can resist a squirrel with his own patio!

Shafts of light through the clouds.

Last light on the beach.