Wrapping It Up...

Saturday evening, after a long day of hiking and exploring, we went to a restaurant/grill for dinner. It was labeled as "Italian" though our bed and breakfast owner let us know it wasn't true Italian. That was okay. I had a delicious dinner of seafood pasta, real Italian or not. I enjoyed every bite. After that, we walked through Clifton Hill (the tourist spot) to visit the Falls one more time. Oh my. Clifton Hill was TOO much for me. I am just not a "touristy" type. That was the moment I was even more thankful for our bed and breakfast off the beaten path.

Our visit to the Falls, the last for the trip, was short and sweet. Apparently it was a three day weekend for Canadians. There were people EVERYWHERE. It was almost suffocating. So I just snapped a few pictures then we walked back to the bed and breakfast to pack our things. (We walked probably 10 miles in all that day)

One last look at the American and Bridal Veil Falls...

The only time I really enjoyed the lights was when they lit up the American Falls with red, white, and blue; otherwise, I preferred the natural white.

And one last look at the Horseshoe Falls...

The next day, we got up early and left Canada.  By the way, that is the time to leave. We returned to the US via the Rainbow Bridge with virtually no wait.  A few hours later, the traffic would have been back up on the bridge. 

We drove through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky to our last destination of the getaway...Cumberland Falls State Park.

Sidenote:  Along the way, we needed to stop for lunch.  I searched my app "iWant" and found a burger joint in a little town in Ohio.  It was a little off our path and added a little time to an already long day but it was worth it.  I ate all but one bite of one of the best burgers I have ever had.  I don't even want to know how many calories I consumed.  It is probably a good thing that I had NO desire to even have any dinner or food the rest of the day...

Anyway, after we got to the park and got the keys to our room, we drove (still sore from our walk the day before) to the Falls.  Cumberland Falls is called the Niagara of the South. After seeing it, I understand. It really is like a miniature Niagara...

One of my friends had said it would be a letdown after seeing Niagara.  I will admit, it looked really small. But I still loved it. I love waterfalls.

I also love butterflies. I loved having the opportunity to try out the zoom on my camera...

This really reminded me of Niagara...the water often looked just like this as it fell over the Falls.

After seeing the waterfall from a few different spots, we walked along the Cumberland River and came upon this bridge. It was just a neat setting. 

This picture pretty much sums up our trip...loved every minute with this man.

The next day, we again got up early and hit the road (thankfully gaining an hour along the way).  About 12 hours later (after driving across Kentucky, hitting a small part of Illinois, driving through part of Missouri, and along some of Arkansas, we returned home. 

And just like that, the adventure was over. But the memories will remain with me for days and years to come...

More later,
Reba

State Parkin' It

After our hike, we hopped on the trolley and rode back to the main part of the Niagara Falls State Park which is the oldest state park in New York and the one with the most visitors each year. That was pretty obvious from our short time there...LOTS of people!

While we loved the view of the Falls from the Canadian side, seeing them from the American side was just as spectacular.

That green structure is an overlook; we later walked out on it after our ride on the Maid of the Mist...

If you know me at all, I LOVE rainbows, so seeing a rainbow as I looked down at the American Falls was a treat.

Another rainbow...Rainbow Bridge. :)

Here is Bridal Veil Falls, the Falls just to the right of the American Falls.  There is actually a tour to the base of them called "Cave of the Winds".  We were told it is a "must do" (and that we would get VERY wet...disposable shoes are included as part of the tour).  However, after we saw the line for it, we decided it was a "must don't".

See those yellow dots below? Those are people in ponchos at the base of the Falls!

We loved seeing the river from so many angles.

There is our restaurant from Friday night, across the river.

These birds have it made. With so many people, there was bound to be food.  They enjoyed every bite!

A view of the American Falls from near the Horseshoe Falls

Another Maid of the Mist tour

Excuse the hair...it was a bit misty

Horseshoe Falls

As we continued to explore the park, we happened upon this little fellow eating his lunch.  Okay, I really just wanted to try out the zoom on my camera. But he really was a cute little guy.

Walking along the river

Niagara Falls wanna-be's...

Looking toward Canada

With all of the rapid waters, these birds tickled me...

Another view looking toward Canada

Resting and taking it all in

 Preparing to ride Maid of the Mist

 

Sorry for the water droplets...it was a bit misty out on the water

 Another rainbow at the base of the Falls

 A together shot which would have been great if we could have kept the water off the camera lens. (I did use my older camera since we were right on the water)

 Another rainbow pic

 He's the king of the world... :)

 A view from the overlook

You have NO idea how difficult it was to get this picture.  There were TONS of tourists (besides us) on that overlook, hogging the rail.  And very few spoke English.  (And yes, we were still in NY)  So we had to do a lot of waiting just to jump in and snap a few...

We walked around just a little bit more before heading back to Canada for the evening...

All in all, it is a wonderful park. We only paid 2 bucks to ride the trolley (hop on and off at our convenience) plus a little for the Maid of the Mist ride and refreshments. Otherwise, our adventures were free for the taking.  We loved staying on the Canadian side but I am so thankful we hopped over to the New York side for a different view of the Falls!

I had to take this for my daughter. I stood with each foot in a different country. :)

More later,
Reba