Today, we will explore the US side of the falls. We drove to the Discovery Center and parked there, that left about a mile and a half of trail for us to the Falls. That seemed within reach for me.
A brief history of the bridges of Niagara
We walked under the bridge, this is looking back down river. The wall is by the Discovery Center.
The under structure of the bridge
The "Maid of the Mist" observation deck. Those are people waiting for the cruise.
The American Falls with Horseshoe Falls in the distance. We are really close to the water. Note the people on the left.
Now, we're standing where those people were in the earlier photo.
Looking down into the falls
Horseshoe Falls and "Maid of the Mist" boat
We are going to go over where those folks are standing. Obviously, it's not a direct route.
This is some of the park on the US side of the falls. If you look closely, you can see the pedestrian bridge.
The trail takes us up river to a pedestrian bridge. Here, we're looking through the bridge railing toward the falls.
Donna and Abby looking down river toward the falls.
Up River
One view along the trail
The falls before the Falls
Top of the Falls
Rainbow Bridge in the background and a Real Rainbow at the Falls
That's the "Cave of the Winds" tour below.
From here, you can see the remains of the old power station on the Canada side.
The Observation Deck, and the Park area. That little outcropping separates the American Falls from the Bridal Veil Falls
The top of Horseshoe Falls
Time for a rest, because now we have to walk back. We walked back over the pedestrian bridge and caught the trolley back to the discovery center. The complete trail was a bit more than a mile and a half.
Thank you, God, for the Niagara river and the geology of the area for creating such magnificent beauty. I will never forget it.
OK, this is our last day, lets make the most of it. On to Lockport to see the Erie Canal locks.
The original locks here were built in 1825 and are being restored for the 200 year celebration. The first locks were 90' long, 15' wide and 4' deep. They were enlarged over the next 40 years to 110' long, 18' wide and 7' deep to carry heavier loads through the locks. The modern locks were added in the early 1900s and are now 328' long, 45' wide and 12' deep. The Lockport locks have given way to much larger seaways and are now used primarily for tour cruises. We watched one of these boats go through the locks.
Entering the lower lock.
Lock closing behind it.
Here comes the water
Time to move through the second level.
Lock opening in front of the boat
Next level, lock is closed
More water
At the upper level
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