the east is comfortable and familiar to me; it doesn't bring the awe of the new and spectactular to me. niagara is a little different. though i've been to upstate new york before, i've never been to the falls. i came in along the north shore of lake erie to fort erie, then down along the canadian side of the niagara river. buffalo sits on the lake across the mouth of the river from fort erie.
the niagara escarpment is about a 330 ft drop. it runs from around hamilton, ont. to near lockport, ny. so lake ontario sits alot lower than lake erie. when you reach the river, you can feel the pull on the water, wanting to head down river. like a drain on a bathtub. as the water narrows down into the river channel there's some surge and white water, but it quickly settles down to a calm but rapidly moving river. it's hard to remember that all the water of the great lakes is heading down this river (discounting the amount being diverted down the chicago river).
15 miles down the river. the canadian side is mostly parkland with houses on the opposite of the road. plus one battlefield site at chippewa river from the war of 1812. you all remember the war of 1812? well they actually fought part of it here. the silly canadians put all this land along the river under park control even to the extent that it has it's own police authority. the american side, on the other hand, has industry along. befitting of the leaddr of the free world and capitalism, new york state sold all the land along the river. so there are oil storage facilities, mills, etc. for those canadians living in those nice houses to look at. of course there are always those silly environmentalists who whine, so new york had to buy back some of the land around the falls, tear down some mills, and create a state park.
the falls, of course, are awesome. powerful to say the least. the canadian side has the best views of the falls and there are loads of tourists - oops, that's me. but i took my time as well as photographs to soak it in.
but the falls paled to the experience when i turned inland away from the gardens, parks and vistas, into the downtown. Imagine pigeon forge squeezed into about three blocks, running up a hill. centre street makes up for everything the canadians did right on the waterfront. just incredible.
i had to fight, but i pulled myself away to go find my warmshower, knowing i would be back tomorrow to meet paul and head up the american side of the river to the erie canal. my warmshower was about 3 miles or so to the north in a nice quiet subdivision. linda and bill had never hosted a cyclist before, so i was the guinea pig. boy was i lucky.
linda is an avid cyclist; bill more of a part time enthusiast. they are both around 70 years old and don't look a touch over 60. every year for the last few years they've been going with a small group on a cycling and boat tour. vietnam, croatia, this year their heading to the greek islands and turkey. a german company puts the tours on, usually about 20 people on a sail boat. it takes them to a place, drops them off, then picks them up down the road later that day. sounds fantastic. we sat around and talked, linda made a wonderful dinner and desert, and just had a wonderful time telling rales, sharing stories, and telling anecdotes.
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