From Collingwood to New York

It was my last night in Collingwood, Ontario.  

It had been a truly lovely visit and Connie was a wonderful hostess.

The variety of activities, the history of the area, and the picture perfect beauty of Georgian Bay and the surroundings could have kept me here for many more days.

But I needed to get moving...

And I think Connie needed a rest from the sightseeing.

This time I was going to turn south and see what upstate New York had to offer.

But someday I hope to come back.

Thank you, Connie, for everything.

I drove past miles of vineyards to spend one night in Niagara on the Lake, a very picturesque tiny town in the heart of Ontario's wine country.  I was lucky enough to find a parking spot right on the Main Street and opted not to move until 8 AM the next morning when the meter maid started her rounds.

By 10 am I'd had breakfast, found my passport and crossed the Rainbow bridge back into the U.S. 

I would spend the next two nights in the parking lot of the Casino that is located almost walking distance to Niagara Falls State Park on the U.S. side.

But I discovered the best way to explore the state park.  By parking in a very large, free lot at the Discovery Center across from the Aquarium I bought a ticket on the parks shuttle ($6).  The ticket was good for all day and made 8 stops along the cliffs overlooking the falls.  I could get off and on at will at any of the stops, eat at the restaurant overlooking the river, and hours later return to the RV.

Such a deal!

As this picture shows, the Canadian view is, by far, the more spectacular; but the observation platform built by the State park, (which I skipped), gives a more complete view of the falls from the U.S side.

 Father Hennepin was the first European to view and document Niagara Falls in 1678.

 The one thing I wondered when I saw the above view was, when those explorers came down the river and reached this point--and realized what was ahead--were they able to get those canoe's to the bank in time?

Or Not!  (Kinda gives you Vertigo, doesn't it.)

If all the water in the Great Lakes was spread across the continental United States, the 48 states would be under 9 feet of water.

There are nearly 9500 miles of lake shore and 35,000 islands in the Great Lakes.

The Lakes contain 20% of the drinkable water on the surface of the Earth.

Utterly Awesome!