Category Archives: Photography

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Niagara Falls to Wasaga Beach

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We arrived home late Canada Day afternoon and I was overwhelmed by all the things that needed to be dealt with (lawn, weeds, pool, groceries, laundry). I knew there would be, and I would have liked to have just carried on. Full-time RVing is becoming more and more appealing to me.

We had left Genesee Country Campground in Caledonia, NY on June 23rd, suddenly into the hot, humid weather of summer. I didn’t want to disappoint my girlfriends back home who enjoy bargain shopping, and Jim and I were both in need of new sandals, so we decided this would be a good day to hit the air-conditioned Outlet Mall in Niagara Falls, NY – our last chance before crossing the border back into Canada. Two hours later we struggled to carry our purchases all the way across the parking lot to the RV! Good thing we hadn’t decided to camp first and take the bike to the mall! We spent the evening in the air-conditioned RV, parked at the AA Royal Motel & Campground and watched in amazement when this 48 ft. condo-on-wheels pulled in, two spaces away from us!

big rig RV

It was fun watching this big rig, with a jeep in tow, pulling into this small campground

In the morning we drove into the Goat Island Niagara Falls State Park for some picture taking (parking was only $5.00 for our rig and trailer) before filling up with gas and heading across the border without incident.

Canadian Niagara Falls

Canadian Niagara Falls, seen from the US side

Niagara Falls Rainbow

Niagara Falls Rainbow

US Niagara Falls

US Niagara Falls

It was another hot and sticky day. We were expected at my Uncle’s in Kitchener that afternoon, but Jim decided we should spend some time in Niagara Falls Canada. We couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere near the falls, and if we had it would have cost double that on the US side. We finally found an abandoned arena parking lot at the top of Falls Avenue hill and decided to take our chances. It was way past lunch time. We enjoyed salads on an outdoor patio while listening to the live entertainer. Then we went back down to the falls, took more pictures and got cooled off under the falls on the Maid of the Mist.

Falls from Maid of Mist

Viewing the falls from The Maid of the Mist

View from Maid of Mist

Up close and personal

Ice cream cones on the way up the hill saved us from cooking before we made it back to the RV and we were off toward Kitchener. It was seven o’clock by the time we arrived and my poor uncle was getting quite worried. Because of little or no internet connection for the rest of our trip, I had to put blogging on hold. That’s a problem that I need to sort out for next trip. We spent the night in the RV parked in Uncle Nelson’s driveway, and were away by nine the next morning, heading north to Wasaga Beach.

Thanks to Jim for the Big Rig and Maid of the Mist photos.

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Fish, Water, Wine and Museums

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How many fish hatch at a Fish Hatchery in a year? Well, the one at Bath, N.Y. produced about a million and a half last year. That’s one interesting fact we learned when we stopped in yesterday on our way to The Curtiss Museum. We were camped at The Hickory Hill Campground near Bath, a lovely big park with a mixture of cabins, mobiles and many large RV sites and lots of shade trees.

Hickory Hill Campsite

Hickory Hill Campsite

We arrived there at 10:30 yesterday morning (it’s only 22 miles from Corning) and immediately got on the bike. The warm, sunny day was perfect for riding. At the hatchery we also learned that all the water used for the fish tanks comes from a natural underground spring – no electric pumps required.  Near the entrance a family was filling up several plastic jugs with water that was pouring from the spring through a pipe.  Although a disclaimer is posted it seems to be permitted “at your own risk”, and the matriarch of this family told us that she’d been getting this water for her cottage for 35 years. She offered us paper cups to try the pure liquid. Awe, it carried me back to the farm where city friends often came out to fill their jugs from our well.

That same lovely lady told us about the many vineyards in the area, and suggested a great place for lunch overlooking Keuka Lake. We took off, following her directions.  We passed many vineyards, but didn’t stop until we’d found Bully Hill Vineyard, way up at the top of a high hill, overlooking the lake and the Village of Hammondsport. The hills and twists reminded us of driving in the Kootenay area of BC. The view and the food were both worth the climb. After lunch we went into the store for a little wine-tasting (not much mind you – we were on the bike after all) and decided to purchase a bottle of their Sweet Walter’s White Chardonnay, before finally making our way to the Curtiss Museum.

Bully Hill Winery

Beautiful gardens surround the place

Yummy Salmon Salad

Yummy Salmon Salad

lunch

Scallops and Crab Cake on Mushroom Cap with salads and fries

As a teenager in Hammondsport, Glenn Curtiss was the ultimate entrepreneur and inventor. His main interest was bicycles and he invented several new models. By the time he was twenty he had three bicycle shops throughout the area, and eventually progressed from motorized bicycles to the Curtiss Motorcycle Company and later branched out into airplanes and boats. The museum is an interesting stop for anyone with any of these interests.

Curtiss Museum

Curtiss Museum

Any early plane

Any early plane

Curtiss motorcycle

Curtiss motorcycle

Travel Trailer

He also invented the first Travel Trailer!

It was another great day. We left Bath this morning and set up camp at Caledonia, before heading into Rochester, about 30 miles away. We wanted to see the George Eastman House. That’s a beautiful mansion and photography art gallery. It took us over two hours to tour it.

Eastman House

Eastman House, Summer Room

Stair Case

Stair Case

Living Room

Living Room

We made a wrong turn on the way to the Museum and found ourselves in the heart of downtown where they were setting up for something. We asked at the museum and learned that the Annual Rochester Jazz Festival was starting tonight, so that’s where we headed for some dinner and a little music before returning to camp. Who knew that there was so much to see and do in Central New York!

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Watkins Glen, NY

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Yesterday we rode the eleven miles back to Watkins Glen to the State Park Gorge and spent two hours climbing up the 832 steps to the top.  It’s definitely not a place you’d want to be without a camera. Between the two of us we took over 200 pictures. For now I can post only a sample.

Steps up the Gorge

Just some of the steps

One Water Fall

One Water Fall.The hole was made for a Mill sluice-way

Many Water Falls

Many Water Falls

Water Falls

Water Falls

Water Falls

More Stairs

More Stairs

Tunnel

One of many tunnels

Although my knees began to protest on the way back down, it took only half an hour because we were able to avoid most of the steps and we didn’t stop as often. We met two couples from Kitchener who we discovered were also at the RV Rally. Small world!

That was our third and final night at the Ferenbaugh Campsite. It was a good spot. I’d recommend it to any campers or RVers who want to spend some time in the area. Later I’ll do a review of all the campsites we’ve visited on this trip.

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Moving On

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We spent a few hours Sunday afternoon negotiating and crunching numbers to see if we could make that purchase on our Wish List happen (we couldn’t thanks to the sales tax we’d have to pay taking it across the border), and we completely forgot about the Vogues concert at 4:00 pm! Oh well, it was raining anyway.

The clouds rolled away in the evening so we took a walk around our camping area to see how many RVs were still there and how many would need to be pulled out of the mud. There were even some that had For Sale signs on them.  They must have made successful negotiations on new ones. The Rally ended that night with another fireworks display.

Fireworks

Fireworks

The departure on Monday morning went smoothly. Unlike we had expected, the RVs started drifting out in stages so there wasn’t any congestion when we got away at about ten o’clock. The sun was hot by then. By noon we were once again established, this time at  Ferenbaugh Campsites, five miles north of Corning, NY. Hungry and in need of groceries, we struck out on the bike, heading towards Corning we thought, but we’d turned in the wrong direction so had lunch, did banking and bought groceries in Watkins Glen instead. We’d planned to visit the State Park there another day and had not gone prepared with cameras, so we returned to camp to enjoy nice leisurely showers before carrying the dirty laundry down the hill to the Laundromat. Not an exciting day, but after a week of dry-camping (i.e. without electric, water or sewer hook-up) it was pure luxury! We even had unlimited internet. (Well, I thought we did until I tried to post this blog with more pictures. Had to switch to Verizon and limit pictures.)

Today (Tuesday) we turned in the right direction and got ourselves to Corning and the Corning Glass Museum, which has replaced the Steuben Factory. We were there from 11:00 am until 3:30 pm, learning all kinds of interesting facts about glass components, fibre optics, the development of fibre glass insulation, and watched a Glass Blowing Demonstration, a Flame Working Demo and a Glass Breaking Demo, and took lots of pictures. We resisted buying anything in the Gift Shop although the glass flowers were very appealing – too tall and fragile for an RVing life though.

Glass Flowers

Glass Flowers

We took the free shuttle bus downtown to explore this heritage town (some interesting architecture here) before grabbing dinner for two at Holmes Plate 54. Once again we returned home with enough food for another day.

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The Great Canadian Yard Sale

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Gilmour Street in Peterborough, Ontario is a beautiful seven-block-long, tree-lined street of original early 20th century homes that have been well maintained, with groomed yards. On one Saturday in May for the past twenty years, it’s been the host of a bargain seeker’s delight – the Great Canadian Yard Sale.

Gilmour Street

Some of the immaculate homes on Gilmour Street

This year was no exception. The weather was perfect and the adjacent streets were jammed with parked vehicles that brought the throngs to wander the length of Gilmour Street. We spent an hour or more wading through the crowds and taking in the atmosphere, which is that of a relaxed, friendly community where people share a coffee, catch up, support the charities that have tables set up, and enjoy bargains. Amateur musicians and young break dancers entertain; entrepreneurial children sell homemade lemonade and cupcakes.

The traffic

The traffic

The Bargain Hunters

The Bargain Hunters

It’s amazing what you can find there!

Golf Balls

Golf Balls

Appliances

Appliances

Antiques

Antiques

Coat of Armour

Even a Coat of Armour!

Motorcycle

A Motorcycle

Kitchen Sink

And yes, even the kitchen sink

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Day-tripping on the Boulevard

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The pool is ready for summer, but the water wasn’t quite warm enough for us to stick our toes in, so what better way to spend the first Canadian long-weekend of summer (Victoria Day weekend) than doing some day-tripping on the motorcycle?

The weather was perfect for riding when we started out on Saturday morning to attend a local Pow Wow; but a misunderstanding between Jim and me took us to the Curve Lake First Nations instead of Hiawatha! Nothing special was happening there, but we weren’t far from our other planned destination – the annual Buckhorn Spring Craft Show. We shared a hoagie, fries and Greek salad at the Olde Ice House in “downtown” Buckhorn before heading out to the Community Centre to admire the colourful creations and sample the jams, jellies and fudge on display, in the Community Centre and in and around the several wooden out-buildings.

Buckhorn is a small community along the Trent Severn Waterway at Lock 31, and a bustling tourist destination during the summer months.

We left Buckhorn with no other destination in mind, but while we sat enjoying a Dairy Queen treat back in Peterborough we decided it was too nice a day to go home, so off we went again, this time to Fenelon Falls, another summer attraction along the Trent Severn (Lock 34) and a great place for snapping pictures.

Fenlon Falls

Fenelon Falls

Fenelon Falls

Fenelon Falls

We enjoyed dinner on the balcony over the falls, in …The Fallsview Restaurant, of course!

Fallsview Restaurant balcony

Fallsview Restaurant balcony

Before falling onto our couch at home, full, sleepy and content, we drove down to the Peterborough waterfront at Del Crary Park for the Victoria Day celebrations there. The place was packed with parents and kids, lined up to enjoy the dozen or so Bouncy Castles that had been set up for their free entertainment. Some of them were pretty darned elaborate! We watched the sun begin to set, but were just too tired to wait around for the fireworks.

One Huge Bouncy Castle

One Huge Bouncy Castle

The line up for this one ran half way across the park!

The line up for this one ran half way across the park!

Peterborough Tour Boat

Peterborough Tour Boat

Sunset Over PeterboroughSunset Over Peterborough

Sunday morning we were out the door before noon once more, this time to catch the Pow Wow at the Hiawatha First Nations Reserve, just a twenty-minute drive east of Peterborough. The breeze from the bike was refreshing, but the sun was hot as we sat on the bleachers watching the ceremonial parade of people dressed in colourful traditional costumes and performing native dance steps. It was beautiful. We ate buffalo burgers for lunch and checked out the many vendor booths around the perimeter of the ceremonial area. We also had a good chat with a fellow biker who we always see at the Bikers Reunion in New Liskeard. That day he was celebrating his native heritage along with the others.

Dancers

Dancers

Hiawatha

Hiawatha

Our friend "Bear" on the right,with Standing Buffalo Warrior (a.k.a.Cliff Standingready)

Our friend “Bear” on the right,with Standing Buffalo Warrior (a.k.a.Cliff Standingready)

What a glorious two days to kick off summer and the biking season!

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The Grand Canyon

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Our day started at 5:00 a.m. as we needed to be waiting outside at 6:20 to catch a shuttle van to a small airport at Henderson, where we began our Grand Canyon Adventure. After much perusing of brochures we’d decided that, although expensive, the full tour with Vegas 500 was the best value. At the airport we were offered coffee and comfortable couches to sit in, after we’d signed all necessary waivers, while we waited for the plane to be prepared. Pictures were taken, instructions were given and we climbed aboard the nine-passenger Cessna Caravan and were lifted up into the bright blue yonder. It was a cool, but clear day, unlike the two previous days when three of our fellow passengers, who hailed from Ireland, had attempted the tour. This was their last chance, and luck was with them.

Vegas 500 Plane

Flying over Vegas

After 20 years of drought, the only green to be seen is on the golf courses

We all had window seats, which made for much picture taking all around as we flew over historical Boulder City, Lake Mead and Grand Canyon West. Upon arrival to the Hualapai Indian Reservation airport our plane pilot got us our arm bands for the rest of the tour. We were thrilled to learn that we had been assigned front seats on the helicopter that awaited us! Lots more picture taking as we dropped over the cliff and down 4000 feet into the Canyon.

Helicopter

Our helicopter

Grand Canyon

Dropping over the edge

Approaching the Colorado River

Approaching the Colorado River

Into Grand Canyon

Into Grand Canyon. Note the tiny dock and pontoon boats below

From the helicopter we were hustled down an embankment to a large pontoon boat that would take us on a twenty-minute trip on the Colorado River. Wow!

Trekking down the rocks

Trekking down the rocks

View from the Colorado River

View from the Colorado River

Back to the top in another helicopter, we boarded a bus to Eagle Point, where we awed at the vistas and ventured out onto the glass Skywalk. No cameras were allowed here; no phones or purses or backpacks either. Lockers were provided for such items, and we were given cloth booties to put over our shoes before we stepped onto the glass. A professional photographer was available to take as many pictures as we wanted. Of course, they were all beautiful and we couldn’t choose, so ended up purchasing the whole package! When we were ready, the bus was waiting to take us to Guano Point, and then onto Hualapai Indian Village. The designated three and a half hours slipped by too quickly. At the Village we were given a delicious buffet lunch before we had to catch our bus back to the airport for our reluctant return to the city.

Eagle Point

Eagle Point

Skywalk

Skywalk, Grand Canyon

Skywalk

Looking 4000 feet down

Another long, exciting day ended in a very early retreat to our beds while the younger members of the family partied into the wee hours. A text message received long after we’d been asleep told us that one of them had won $1,000 at the slots! Did we want to join them? We had to pass.