The morning was very rainy and the kids were "in school" until 1 pm, by which time the rain had stopped. We headed for the Falls about 1:15, 6 of us loaded in the jeep, leaving Gus behind to hold down the fort in the RV. He was not happy about that, but is used to being left behind. It turned out that we could have taken him to the park, but he would not have been able to go everywhere with us, so we made the right choice to leave him behind. We followed the scenic highway south toward the falls, stopping at a few scenic spots before the falls, including the Whirlpool below the falls. We had incredible views at every stop along the way. When we entered Niagara Falls State Park, we found a spot in Parking Lot 1 close to the entrance to the Falls area. The cost of parking was $10 for the car, but there is no charge for entering the park itself. There are additional costs for the Maid of the Mist and for the Cave of the Winds, but not for the trails along the river around the Falls. We walked along the river front catching breathtaking views all along the way, taking in the views of the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls as the Niagara River reaches the Falls. Then we crossed over to Goat Island where we got different views of the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls, and then spent time watching the water run over the Horseshoe Falls on the far side of the island. After that we walked back to the entrance to the Cave of the Winds, rode the elevator to the lower level where we took the steps down along the falls to get an even closer look at the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls, although it was a WET view. We were given rain ponchos to protect us as best they could from the spray of the falls, but we all still got quite wet even with the ponchos. It was still worth the views we got of the Falls. We will go back to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist, where we will certainly get wet again, but hope for more incredible views.
 |
| I had to include a photo of the black squirrel we saw |
