Days 4 - 8: Niagara Falls or Bust!

Friday & Saturday, Sept 24 & 25: Lisbon Park Campground, near Ogdensburg, NY

Lin speaks: Friday was a get acquainted with the campground and a recovery day.  We showered in the morning and headed over to the public library for WiFi access to check our email and update the blog. Then we hit a few stores to get needed supplies. Amazing with the Walmarts, Lowes, etc., that in terms of shopping, every town looks about the same. Kind of sad, except that you know where to go to get what you want.

The weather was windy, windy, windy, and somewhat rainy.  The campground is on the St. Lawrence Seaway and had it been a beautiful sunny day, it would have been a heavenly stay. Around five o’clock we decided to take a walkabout, even though we might blow into the river. We met some scuba guys that were part of a club that were busy preparing for a nighttime float/drift dive. One young man, college age, said that he might be slapping carp, as they swim right into you at night. Further down the beach we saw this strange fish -

Heading back to the trailer, an older guy sitting outside his fifth-wheel called us over, as he noticed we were from Maine. I suspect nothing that goes on in the campground that gets by some of these young-at-heart old-timers.  We met Charlie and Betty from Kingston, Canada, and had a tour of their trailer. They came over the next night to shiver next to our campfire while Don played all the Canadian tunes he could remember. Charlie also gave us some good hints on how to cut our exit time when breaking camp.

Don speaks: Saturday was a tourist day and we visited the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg and the Boldt Castle on Heart Island, part of the 1,000 Islands.  We started with the Remington Museum and were really impressed with the quality of the exhibits – bronzes, paintings and drawings - and the fine old house in which they are exhibited.   I always pictured Remington as a cowboy sort who drew and sculpted works from the life he led.  Turns out he was an overweight New Yorker who failed at his attempt at sheep ranching in Kansas.  However, he had a keen eye for detail and movement that translated into fine Western artwork from observations he made on occasional trips to the frontier as it existed in the late 1800’s.  Many folks got their impressions of western life from the drawings he sold to Harper’s Weekly.  Once he learned about working with clay and bronze, however, sculpture became his passion.  It was amazing to see the differences between the initial castings of some of his works and the later ones.  Detail just melts away in the later castings when Remington wasn’t personally supervising. 

From the Remington Museum, we headed for Alexandria Bay near the 1000 Islands.  We caught a shuttle boat to the Boldt Castle on Heart Island.  The castle is both a wonder of stone construction and a tragic example of lost love.  George Boldt, a wealthy hotel entrepreneur, started building a magnificent castle reminiscent of those in his native Prussia for the love of his life, his wife Louise.  After spending 2.5 million dollars on the construction, he stopped work on the project when Louise died suddenly in 1904.  The castle was left unfinished and falling into ruin until it was sold to the 1000 Islands Bridge Authority in 1973.  They have been working steadily to finish the castle and have done a wonderful job.  There is still a lot left to do, but the grandeur of the place is magnificent.  It’s a reminder of craftsmanship and opulence that is rarely seen today.  But would I trade our place on Great Pond for the Boldt Castle?  Not a chance.

Sunday, Sept. 26^th - Travel Day to Niagara Falls on the Canadian Side:

Lin speaks: We were up at 6:00 AM and left Lisbon at 8:30. That was a half hour better camp breakdown than last time, but I still questioned why it took so long as Don had hooked the camper to the truck the night before and had emptied the tanks. Then we remembered that we had a leak under the bathroom sink and that cleanup/fix ate up at least a half hour of the two and a half hour exit. Geez. Our goal was to get to Niagara Falls at a decent hour, which we did!

We arrived at Riverside Park Campground at 3:00 – a perfect landing time.  Cecelia, the campground owner, asked us if we wanted a river-view site and ended up giving us the best site in the campground. We were giddy happy with this campground, with the Niagara River across the street and a fifty mile bike path running along the river. We quickly set up camp and hopped on our bikes. I forgot how much fun it is to ride, as it has been years since we’ve used our bikes. It really is true; you do not forget how to ride a bike. (“Just like riding a bike.") The next thing I knew, I was zooming along the path with the wind whooshing by, river on one side and magnificent homes/mansions on the left.

Returning to the campground and gingerly climbing off our bikes (my, those bike seats are tough and Don's is the worst) we settled outside the camper in our red lounge chairs with a celebratory bottle of Silver Oak wine. (Thanks for the retirement wine, Solon folks!) A quick leftover dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and we hopped back in the truck for a drive to the Falls. 

We were tired, but had been told there would be fireworks tonight and that was a motivator to go. It turned out that the summer fireworks were over and the Falls were dark. Where were the lights? Many people were milling around and then "pow" the lights came on! What a rush --- we were viewing Niagara Falls at night!!! We were here and it was beyond breathtaking. You can't really describe the emotional magnitude of this experience, as you just needed to be here. What a phenomenal day - perfect campground and Niagara Falls - wowie!

Monday, Sept. 27th: That night we slept for ten hours, so I guess we had really put in a long day yesterday. It was threatening rain later in the afternoon, so after a shower and leisurely breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon, we returned to the Falls.

Purchasing the "Adventure Pass" we decided to do half of the attractions today and more tomorrow. We started off with the 4-D movie, "Fury of the Falls." We expected a historical National Geographic type movie, but it was more Disneyesque. The "4" of the 4-D was snow and buckets of water coming down on you, plus the shaking, booming and rolling of lightning and thunderstorms during the progression of the Ice Age to today to form the Falls. I'm sure some little tykes were having some wild nightmares later that evening. 

After putting on our second water-protecting ponchos, we headed down into the tunnels under Horseshoe Falls. We walked a third of the way behind the Falls, about 125 feet deep down. Here you could hear the thunder of the Falls and see the power up close. The tunnel was built in 1944 and we hoped they really knew what they were doing and it hadn't eroded too much.

Now it was time to grab some nourishment and we found the perfect place for a beer and burger. The Edgewater Restaurant was directly across from the Falls, so we sat for an hour or so and relished the view. I tried so hard to imprint this experience on my brain, but I think photos, videos and memories of the Falls will have to suffice. It was truly an over-the-top day!!!