09-09-2010 Our Day at Niagara Falls

Gee, think I look tired here?  LOL  Guess all this fun is hard work! 

This day marked the “big day” of our Northern Tour, the visit to Niagara Falls.  While lovely, dramatic, and a sight not to be missed, I am not so sure that other parts of the trip may qualify as “big days” as well. We knew that getting through Toronto during morning rush hour was something to avoid, so set the alarm for 5am and did everything we could the night before except actually hooking up the Tracker.

Everything went well, quick morning tea in the microwave, pull in the slide, lower the levelers, start the engines, dump the tanks on the way out, and line up for hooking up the towed.  UhOh.  For some unknown reason, the four wheel drive transfer case for the Tracker refused to budge and Mo couldn’t get it into neutral.  We tried everything for a time, but with the clock ticking and traffic vibrating on the nearby 401, we decided to just go.

I drove the MoHo and Mo followed in the Tracker.  Of course, our phones were not turned on, and we hoped to keep track of each other on the highway until we were back in the United States. I must say, Garmin Girl earned every single cent of her price this morning. I negotiated the many “collectors” adjacent to the expressway, together consisting off 10 lanes of traffic, all the way through Toronto.  Even at 6am, the cars were thick, filling every lane and going close to 100km per hour.  I couldn’t see Mo very well in the backup camera since it was still dark, but sometimes she would show up in the side mirror, negotiating a lane change for me.  We traveled through town, through Burlington, following Garmin Girl as if she knew what she was doing, and thank goodness she did!

 

In just a couple of hours we were in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and found the King Waldorf RV Park on Stanley Road.  Setup was uneventful in the nearly empty park, and are reserved space was expensive but only five miles or so from the falls.  Many of the parks in this area run up to $75.00 a day, so we were happy to pay only $45.00.

What can I say about Niagara that hasn’t already been said.  The falls are truly a world wonder, and much like another world wonder, the Grand Canyon, seem a bit less so viewed from above.  Only after we took the Maid of the Mist tour to the base of the falls did I feel the true majesty of the mighty Niagara River, draining 4 of the 5 Great Lakes over these rocky cliffs. It was a thrilling moment.

Much of the Niagara experience is a calculated money making endeavor, with ticket times and lines, and people movers, a bit like Disneyland.  The Maid of the Mist, tourist attraction though it may be, is worth every bit of tourism kitsch endured.  We also saw the Niagara Fury Omnifilm, a nice effort, and toured “Behind the Falls'”, which from the Canadian side was a bit of a let down.  The rest of the day we spent walking on our own through the gardens along the canyon walls, admiring the water and watching the “Maids” make their journeys.