Week 20: Pocono Mountains, PA to Niagara Falls Ontario, Canada

Even though saying goodbye to my hometown was sad, it wasn’t long after crossing the border into New York that I felt the excitement and adventure of being on the road again.  This week was filled with discovering new boondocking options, visiting familiar places in the Finger Lakes and making my way into Ontario, Canada to see one of nature’s wonders.

Finger Lakes, NY
I left Pennsylvania on Tuesday, 5/13 with a change of plans.  Originally, I was heading to the Adirondacks in upstate New York.  After chatting with friends from Seattle and hearing about their upcoming business trip, I decided to change direction and meet them in Toronto.  This change was a great excuse to revisit the Finger Lakes region as well as venture across the Canadian border to see Niagara Falls.

When I started this adventure, a few folks told me about Harvest Hosts.  For a $40 one-year membership, you can boondock (dry camp) overnight for free at participating wineries, farms, ranches, etc.  Their incentive is that you will spend money and I am in favor of supporting local businesses (especially the wineries!).  I joined the program before leaving PA and found a winery located on Seneca Lake called Chateau Lafayette Reneau.  I pulled into their gravel lot with a perfect view of the vineyard and lake.  After a $3 wine tasting and an enjoyable chat with the staff, I purchased a $10 bottle of reserve chardonnay making my total expense for the evening well worth the unique and peaceful camping experience.  That night, we enjoyed (if T cowering in the tiny bathroom is enjoying) a fierce lightning storm; and I’m thrilled that after close to 100 photos, I captured a few striking moments.  I don’t know the history of Harvest Hosts, but it’s simply brilliant!

Not a bad place for the night (see RV on far right)

T enjoying some sun and green grass

Beautiful skies as the storm takes form

We were in for an interesting evening

Thanks to Chateau Lafayette Reneau for a great camping experience!

Seneca Lake State Park
The next day, I drove north on 96A which borders the east side of Seneca Lake.  The drive was beautiful with one vineyard and winery after another.  I stopped at the north end of the lake to walk around Seneca Lake State Park. The wind was relentless making the walk more of a “try to stay on your feet and stay dry” outing than a leisurely stroll along the lake, but it made for some cool photos and the kite surfers certainly enjoyed it.

The north end of Seneca Lake on a very windy day

A little windblown

But fun for the kite surfers

Lake Ontario, NY
After getting windblown enough, we made our way northwest to Lake Ontario.  The drive on highways 20 and 19 consisted of one small town after another, and nothing but farms and open countryside between the towns.  I was surprised by the emptiness along the southern shoreline of this Great Lake.  The Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater system in the world and Lake Ontario is last in the chain of the five lakes serving as the outlet to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence River.  The drive along Lake Ontario Parkway is right alongside the water and there are very few homes and no commercialization that I saw.  Perhaps it was too early in the season, but I was the only vehicle on either side of the parkway.  I pulled into Lakeside Beach State Park located on the lake and decided it was a good spot for a few days.  The weather was typical spring with chilly downpours followed by warm and muggy sunshine. 

T found the one puddle to cool off in 

Love this shot!

Great Heron enjoying the sun on Lake Ontario

Enjoying a chilly morning on Lake Ontario

Keeping T on leash and away from the edge 

This region got a lot of rain causing soggy camping conditions

But rain equals beautiful green trails

An immature eagle enjoying a break in the rainclouds 

T patiently waiting for the sunset behind our campsite

Not a bad way to end the evening... watching the sun set over Lake Ontario

Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada
On Saturday, 5/17, we continued our journey by driving west along the lake as long as possible before stopping in a small town called Model City to fill up the gas tank and refrigerator.  A few folks warned me about the expense of everything in Canada.  Oddly enough, my phone must have known we were close because the navigation voice started referencing kilometers and meters.  I hit the Lewiston border crossing around noon and the gentleman working the booth was instantly suspicious when I told him I didn’t have a job or structured itinerary.  He told me to pull into the immigration lot and wait.  Two officers asked me to grab Trooper and step out of the vehicle.  They searched the RV and asked me if I had any illegal weapons to which I replied “No”.  Then they said “That includes pepper spray” to which I responded “Yes”.  They continued searching, looked at the spray in my backpack, and then told me to put the dog back in the RV, lock it up and go inside to immigration.  I spent over one hour inside waiting and talking to several officers explaining why a single woman with no job and no itinerary wants to enter their country.  Clearly, I should have come up with something different than the truth.  Even more unfortunate is the fact that I am now in “the system”, so future crossings will be interesting.  After crossing and going the wrong direction on the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way), I quickly learned that despite the 100 KM speed limit, driving is a form of competitive sport and signaling is optional.  Four hours after reaching the border, I was happy to park PattyWaggin at Campark RV Park.

I try to stay away from RV Parks, but Campark was the best option to get close to Niagara Falls.  The city bus turnaround point for touristy Lundy Lane was in front of the RV park making it easy to get to the falls which was my plan for Sunday, 5/18.  Fortunately, the bus was clean and an easy mode of transportation.  As soon as the bus turned right on Niagara Falls Parkway, I was staring at Horseshoe Falls.  It was such an impressive sight, it’s hard to put into words.  I walked off the bus and right to the edge.  Many people told me to visit the Canadian side of the falls and it was then that I understood.  Horseshoe Falls are massive and a rare beauty.  The American Falls are beautiful in their own right, but placed next to Horseshoe Falls takes away from their impressiveness.  As a comparison, 90% of the Niagara River flows over Horseshoe Falls.  The American Falls are 176 feet tall, 1060 feet wide with a volume of 150,000 gallons of water per second while Horseshoe Falls are 167 feet tall, 2600 feet wide and 600,000 gallons per second.  I spent a couple of hours walking around taking photos and enjoying the natural beauty while doing my best to avoid the tourist activities, which there is no shortage of.  After seeing Clifton Hill, which is Times Square meets Vegas meets wax museums, I knew it was time to get back on the bus.  

Me playing around with my panoramic settings

Edge of Horseshoe Falls

If only I could capture the thunderous sound

Selfie 

Maid of the Mist heading into the falls

Closeup of the blue-ponchoed people getting soaked

American Falls from Canada's viewpoint

Closeup of American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls (the small one to the very right)

Daffodils in full bloom overlooking Horseshoe Falls

Couldn't resist a black & white

Tulips with Skylon Tower

Hanging out waiting for lunch

Red-winged Blackbird just hanging on the edge

I didn’t realize that is was Canada’s Victoria’s Day weekend, a national holiday celebrating Queen Victoria’s birthday.  The campground was filled with excited holiday weekenders and fireworks (sending Trooper back into the tiny bathroom).  I met Moira and Chris from Hamilton, ON who invited me to their camper for Sunday night happy hour.  It is moments like that, connecting with complete strangers and sharing our stories, that add so much to what I’m doing.  I spent the Monday holiday doing laundry, cleaning the rig, and sitting in the sun watching everyone pull out to start their work weeks.  It reminded me how fortunate I am to experience life not bound by time or schedules.

On Tuesday, 5/21 I packed up and headed west on Niagara Falls Parkway to check out Niagara Gorge.  It is an area downstream of the falls with hiking trails and the Whirlpool.  The Whirlpool is created from the huge volume of water rushing from the falls into the narrow gorge creating a “reversal phenomenon”; at full flow, the water travels into the pool counter-clockwise past the natural outlet forcing the water under the incoming stream and creating the whirlpool.  It was much less crowded than the falls and was a relaxing way to spend a few hours before saying goodbye to the Niagara area.

Niagara River flowing into the Whirlpool

Different perspective from the nature trail

Following a fisherman to the water

T checking out a fisherman and cooling off in the Whirlpool

Enjoying the coolness and watching the gondola cross

Final Thoughts
Your Backyard.  I spent the majority of my life in northeast PA but it wasn’t until I traveled over 9,000 miles from Seattle that I discovered the beauty that was in my backyard all those years.  From north central PA with the Grand Canyon and Alleghany Mountains to Lake Ontario and Niagara Falls, there was so much to experience that was never on my list of things to do.  Vacation to me has always been going to a far away place to experience something magical.  Who knew that there was magic right in my own backyard?  Wherever I end up after this, I hope I remember to explore my own backyard and find the beauty that surrounds me.

Thanks for reading and until next time…