The Best State Park in the Country

September 7, 2017

According to the signage, Letchworth has been voted the best in the nation and the claim is totally believable. There are three falls through the gorge, lots of hiking trails and spectacular views.  This could easily be a several day stop although I was there for only a few hours.

Stairs down to the falls

Lower Falls

Stone picnic tables

Amish tour group

Middle Falls

The trail to the Upper Falls was closed because of construction but I don't feel at all slighted with the two that could be viewed.

Yep, I'd certainly call it the best state park I've seen so far.

Heating Up In the North

September 5 - 6, 2017

Leaving Toronto was even less fun than getting there.  I thought the going might be easier if I stayed out of the center of town but not only was there a ton of construction, the roads are also potholed and narrow in some places. To make things even more exciting there was a storm building and the bumpy roads in the city seemed to have made the engine heating issue even worse.  The truck was running warm even on the flats and being buffeted by winds while worrying about the rig made me very unhappy. 

I did a roundabout route into Hamilton avoiding the Skyway Bridge and the accompanying gusts of wind. Of course, since I didn't have any cell reception in Canada and only had a vague idea of where Walmart was in the city, I did a lot of slow driving until I got close enough to allow Google Maps to show me the location.  I originally looked up the location in the U.S. and this allowed Maps to show me more detail of that area.

I also discovered that Canada celebrates labor day by allowing laborers to stay home.  Lots of closed businesses and presumably fewer people on the roads. Other than the plants from Lowes being rolled across the road by the wind, it seems like a more civilized way to have a holiday.

Parked for the night and decided to go back to Niagara instead of seeing what Fort Erie was all about in case the heating situation got even worse.  Ah well, another thing to do later.

The border crossing was just as easy although the U.S. border guard spent a little more time looking in my vehicle.  It seems like a pointless exercise to me since he just kind of peeked and maybe opened a cupboard or something.  Really, if I were going to smuggle something into the country I wouldn't leave it lying on floor in plain sight. 

Or maybe no sensible smuggler would be driving a thirty year old vehicle.

Filled up with gas as soon as I was back in the states (SOOO expensive in Canada!) And drove towards Buffalo.  I figured I'd find a place to stop and then look for a muffler shop in hopes that fixing the muffler would solve the heating issue.

I stopped on the edge of the city and found out that most shops were in the center of the city.  Um....no.  Shops that were close to where I was parked had bad reviews except for one, but he didn't think he could fit my vehicle on his lift.  I didn't feel like describing the camper on a Toyota truck base because really, if you can't figure that out then I don't want you looking at my vehicle anyway.

Found a shop in Springville with good reviews and drove there.  Turned out that not only had I lost one of the hangers (twisty tailpipe) but there was also a couple holes in the muffler and it needed to be replaced.  Well let's do that then.

While chatting with the desk guy he told me about a pretty place to visit if I didn't want to do the standard Buffalo-DC route.  Not wanting to do anything standard I went east instead of south and found an absolutely amazing state park.

Niagara Is Worth a Second Visit

August 12 - 30, 2017

I spent more time camping in the woods a bit south of Utica in an area that seems to be mainly used by local folks as a picnic area.  I'm a happy introvert and empty campgrounds suit me well, plus the forest rangers always seem to check on lone campers and marvel over a single woman on her own in the trees.  The engine is still getting warm and the flatness between Utica and Niagara Falls is welcome.  I tend to stress when things aren't working correctly despite not panicking about it.

The other thing that needed to be dealt with was rabies vaccines for the cats.  Canada does not like the idea of people's pets infecting their critters (understandably) and will not let in pets without a rabies certificate.  Cool. $170 dollars and a couple pissed off cats and I'll be set, right?  Except that New York doesn't issue certificates for cats, only dogs.  Sigh.  Fortunately the receptionist was willing to work with me to create a document that looked official and had all of the required information on it.  Hopefully I won't have to haul the cats out at the border for an inspection.

Stopped at the Walmart instead of the casino to be close enough to the gym for a morning shower.  Thought I'd be somewhat clean for meeting the Canadians.  Thankfully I wasn't in a hurry because oddly, in a giant parking lot, people couldn't come up with a better place to park than right in front and behind me.

Clearly I wasn't going anywhere any time soon so I decide to check the muffler - one of my possible sources for an extra warm engine.  I grabbed the tailpipe to jiggle it and found the entire thing twisted in my hands. Welp . . . even if that wasn't the source of the problem it definitely needed to be addressed.  I looked for a national muffler shop in Niagara Falls but didn't find anything closer than Buffalo.  Oh well. The way to Toronto is mostly flat anyway. It can wait. 

I debating walking to the gym since it was only a mile away but dithered long enough that the guy sleeping in the van eventually left.  The folks in the big RV seemed to be planning a longer stay and were still there when I left around noon.  I only went as far as the casino anyway.  No point in hurrying since I wanted to take a stroll around Goat Island and hang out for the evening light show.

No, that isn't a picture of the light show because my camera doesn't do dark well. I also think the view would be much better from the Canadian side but I wasn't up for a walk across the bridge.

Wanting to get an early start across the bridge in the morning, and also getting cold from the spray and wind, I left before full dark and went 'home'.

A Little More History

July 28, 2017

There's one more fun stop on the way to Vermont with the ruins of both a French fort and what was meant to be a killer British fort that they accidentally blew up before it was finished.
Fort St. Frederic is mostly piles of dirt but the remains of Crown Point are fun to tramp through, plus they had a sign that nicely explained the parts of a properly constructed fort.

This was a short stop on the way to Vermont - a place I had never considered visiting and know nothing about.  I realize that a drive through a state still doesn't give you much information about the lives people lead but it's been interesting so far to compare my expectations with reality.  I guess I'm expecting Vermont to be pretty . .  and that's all I know . . .

The French at an American Fort

July 27, 2017

Fort Ticonderoga was built by the French around 1755 near the south end of Lake Champlain (Seven Years War/French and Indian War).  In 1759 the British drove out the French and 16 years later the Green Mountain Boys took it back from the British (Revolutionary War). A couple more years of fighting led to some back and forth between British and American occupation until the British finally abandoned it near the end of 1777.

The fort is currently owned by a foundation and presents a bit of a Disneyfied introduction to history.  The entrance fee is pricey ($23 per person) but if you are willing to spend the entire day watching demonstrations it seems appropriate.

Every year they choose a different year to demonstrate and while I was there the Fort was Carillon under French occupation.  I gotta say that they did an amazing job.  Costumes were detailed down to the color of the piping for different troops and commands to subordinates given in French even when they weren't meant to be heard by the audience.

They really do shoot off the firearms.

 Love the details on the cannons and mortars.

 

The Fife and Drum (brigade? squad?) is composed of high school students. Pretty awesome summer job.

This guy gave a great talk on the history of the fort and also mentioned that every pair of shoes that period people were wearing had been hand made at the fort.

The two guys on the right built the cannon that they then fired.  They had the barrel made to spec at one location, got an Amish wheelwright in Ohio to make the wheels on the carriage and they then spent the summer putting it all together.

The view is amazing

Back on the Road

July 18 - 20, 2017

After spending a couple weeks in Rochester helping friends move and getting in some puppy time I hit the streets heading towards what looked to be a lovely state park.  Fair Haven Beach State Park is quite lovely despite being a bit flooded.

Those are barbecue grills in the water.

Despite the sogginess it was a pleasant place to hang out for a while and see some green.

Saw this bike at the next Walmart - Not sure if it shows in the pics but it's totally decked out as if it were a Harley including the the tassels, seat and tailpipe welded on.

More Walmart fun was this Amish buggy hitched to a light post.  It must be the usual hitchin' post based on the piles of poo around it.  My rig is in the back to the right.

After a brief stop in Plattsburgh (where I was born), I continued south towards more history.

Oh THAT Niagara

June 17

When I set out I knew there were places that I really wanted to see:  Grand Canyon, The Everglades and so on.  For some reason it never occurred to me to go see Niagara Falls.  There I was in Pennsylvania looking for somewhere to go and right there on my map app was Niagara Falls - so I went.

I parked at the casino that is right downtown and "paid" for my stay by eating at the buffet.  They had gluten free desert and I ate waaay too many of them.

From the casino it's only a half mile to the falls so I avoided the $20 a day parking fee by walking.

It's really three falls, Horseshoe, Bridal Veil and American Falls

Super fun to take the boat tour.  You get good and soggy and they take you right up to both the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls.  It's also fun watching all those people destroy their expensive phones by taking pictures in what amounts to a hurricane.  I had my phone in a plastic bag.

It's an easy walk across the bridge to enter Canada and worth the trip.  The Canadian side has a walkway along the river from the bridge up to Horseshoe falls - like, right up to the edge of the falls.  Plus it's fun to tell the border checkpoint guy that you're only staying for half an hour or so.  How far did he think I would get on foot if I were escaping to Canada?

Another advantage of sleeping close to the action was that I could break the visit into two days.  I did the "cave of the Winds" tour on the second day.  There is no longer a cave but they put up walkways that let you get up close and personal with Bridal Veil Falls.

Although I managed to be polite enough not to take pictures of them, it looked like there was a mennonite outing to the falls that day.  Lots of young couples and families getting drenched right along with me.  Funny to see them trying to protect their hats by putting them under the plastic poncho.  I was soaked despite the exotic plasticwear we were given and I expect their straw hats weren't nearly as crisp after the adventure.