Day 34 - 7/28 - Dunnville to Niagara Falls

This day of traveling was more like hopping - from one spot to another.  After a sketchy start (a meeting mix up) we were all back on the road.  A variety of scenery - views of Lake Erie, canals, small quaint bridges, city streets and highways.  Thank goodness for GPS in the car, along with the multiple maps we carry along.  Once at our motel, Gwen and I went for a walk along the Niagara River enjoying peeks of the river (below the falls).  A quick walk to the Whirlpool viewing area where the river makes a turn causing an enormous eddy. 

Very impressive views and great pathway all along the Niagara River.  Being so close to the US across the river, my cell phone actually thought I was located in the US and went off international roaming.  Armed with the name of a restaurant, we headed toward the main tourist area of Niagara Falls.  Although I thought I had made a wrong turn and had arrived in Las Vegas, the restaurant and people watching were great.
Patty along the falls

Notes from Tom:  We started out riding in the rain, but it didn't last all day.  We rode 78 miles today, and our trip total going into the two rest days is 2804 miles.  Jerry had his second flat tire of the trip (I've had one that was road caused and one immediately after that that was self caused) but Jerry's was in a nice place along Lake Erie, where we could see the US across the lake. 

Today was more of a navigational challenge than a riding challenge.  The Adventure Cycling maps showed a bike path that went for about 20 miles, which we eventually found after Jerry saw some riders about a half mile to our right.  It was a great path and it took us all the way into Fort Erie, ON, across the Niagara River from Buffalo, and got us close to Niagara Falls. 

We could see the mist from the Falls for a long time before we actually got there, and as we got closer, we were a little surprised how many people were there.  It was impossible to ride a bike unless we rode on the streets, which we eventually did.  We were able to ride all the way to where we will cross the border back into the US on Tuesday.

Right across the street from the beautiful Falls, we were all shocked at how commercial, tacky, and trashy the Clifton Hill area of the town of Niagara Falls has become.  There is the biggest collection of tacky tourist attractions you have ever imagined.  After seeing the pristine beauty of the natural wonders in Glacier Park, it was quite disappointing to see the commercialization of this natural wonder.

Notes from Jerry:  We did our usual put the rain gear on, rain gear off only my rain pants were packed, so Tom suited up and I just put a rain jacket on, which due to the jinx worked well for me.  Once he had his full scuba gear on, within 5 minutes it stopped raining so I lucked out - he rode the rest of the day with his booties on over his shoes, of course he forgot to remind me that I had on my helmet cover on unecessarily so we were even.

The long bike trail into Fort Erie was really cool - literally, because it was very forrested and the sun came out and it got hot!  Riding a bike into the Niagara area was really an experience because the bike trail is right next to the river and you can see the plume from the falls miles away and then see rapids and an old barge that was hung up on rocks above the falls.  The bike trail really gave one a great view of the old power plant intake gates etc.  As Tom said within a half mile of Horseshoe Falls, the bike trail was more like an obstacle course - here it was Saturday afternoon at 3 pm !! People!! from everywhere, luckily there was lots of grass to ride on, only it was raining from the plume!  I might have well been trying to ride my bike down main street of Disneyland in the rain!  Chaos, but fabulous fun and one of the most spectacular natural wonders around.

Like Tom said I can't believe the Ontario Niagara Parks Organization could not hold in check the crass commercialism - much worse than the cheesist waterparks you would ever see in Orlando.  I wonder if the US side is the same.  Reminded me of sailor towns from Navy days.

Quick Note From Gwen:  What spectacular sites!  The Niagara River Whirlpool that Patty mentioned is a beautiful natural site along with the river and rapids.  The Falls coming over the escarpment from the USA and viewed from the Canadian side where we first saw it is amazing.