Great Adventure
Chapter 2: Ottawa, Ontario, CA to Niagara Falls, NY
June 14 – 24, 2002
My consolation in saying good-bye to Ed’s family was in knowing that
we would be spending the weekend in Ottawa with my Dad, who was
driving up from Connecticut. We knew it would likely be October in
Oregon until he would meet up with us again and we were grateful for
the time together. Fulfilling the promise that Ed & I had made to
ourselves on the way to Joliette, we found a lovely secondary road
through farmland that avoided Montreal on our route to Hither Hills
Campground, located just south of Ottawa. Unfortunately, we missed
the bridge over the Ottawa River so we were forced to go right
through downtown. We got lost but our GPS saved the day! The
Earthmate from Delorme, coupled with Map ‘n’ Go software, pinpointed
our location just a few blocks off course. I had always imagined that
GPS would be most useful in a remote area rather than in a big city, but
it saved Dad from having to wait even longer at the campground for us.
Although it rained hard all weekend, we had an interesting Saturday
afternoon at the Canadian National Aviation
Museum. Our purpose was to see the Argus,
particularly a piece of its tail section that Dad had
worked on as a stress engineer at Canadair
in the early 1950’s. The Argus was stored outside,
so we took a few quick pictures but couldn’t linger
due to the rain.
Dad with Argus
Argus tail section
Inside, we saw WWII vintage airplanes and several that were used by
Canadian bush pilots.
Dad with Westland Lysander
But my favorite was the one from the ‘50’s that converted to a car. The
little car, also the nose of the airplane, looked futuristic compared to
the big, chrome trimmed beauties of the day! It was a great idea, but it
never took off – no pun intended!
Airplane/Car
On Sunday afternoon, after Dad had left for home, there was enough of
a break in the rain that Ed & I decided to explore Ottawa. We found
Rideau Falls – twin man-made falls located at the end of the Rideau
Canal where it runs into the Ottawa River. We crossed the bridges over
both falls and strolled through the park between them. Downtown,
concrete barriers surrounded the U.S. embassy– a sign of the times
since 9/11/01. Next, we came to the Canadian Parliament, a Gothic
building with turrets and copper roofs. Senate offices are contained in
similar buildings placed perpendicular at each end of Parliament. In the
center square is a green with an Eternal Flame directly in line with the
main entrance to Parliament. Turning back, we passed the stone
Chateau Lauriat, now a luxury hotel in a castle.
Ed & I were anxious to get away from rain, so the next day we decided
to press on toward Niagara Falls, as better weather was forecast to be
coming from the West. We checked our Map ‘n’ Go software to find two
campgrounds between Ottawa & Niagara that turned out to be
excellent choices. Our route took us south across the St. Lawrence
River and back into the U.S. in New York State. We followed the
southern shore of the river to Clayton, in the Thousand Islands region.
At Merryknoll Campground we had a site high and dry on a hill with a
view of the river. Thousand Islands actually has nearly 1800 islands, as
we learned on a 2-½ hour lunch cruise/boat tour. They range in size
from a knoll, named Tom Thumb, to the large islands with private
mansions in the group known as Millionaire’s Row.
Boldt Castle
George Boldt, owner of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in NYC, built the
largest mansion for his wife, Louise. But in 1904, nine months before
completion, she died of consumption at the age of 42. Boldt Castle fell
into disrepair until 1978, when the Thousand Island Bridge Authority
acquired the estate. All tour proceeds are used to continue stabilizing
and renovating the estate. Their goal is to eventually refurbish the
castle as Mr. Boldt had planned. Legend has it that George Boldt also
is behind the origin of 1000 Island salad dressing! While cruising in the
region aboard his yacht, the steward served a new dressing on the
luncheon salad. Boldt was so pleased with its taste that he decided to
have it served in his hotels, naming it in honor of where it was first
prepared. The ingredients of the dressing include mayonnaise, chili
sauce, chopped eggs, pickle relish, and chopped parsley - which has
never been my favorite! After the boat tour, we drove a few miles to
the town of St. Vincent’s and the lighthouse at the point where the St.
Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario. From there, the deep blue
sparkling lake stretched to the horizon and was our first glimpse of one
the Great Lakes. Eventually, we would see all five lakes, but on this day
we were content to explore the shoreline, driving up and down various
points of land, until we cut across the peninsula to return to Clayton.
The sight of numerous abandoned farms made us wonder what had
happened economically to depress this region.
The next morning, we set out for Lake Bluff Campground, in Sodus Bay,
NY, continuing to follow the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Summer
finally arrived and we actually had our first opportunity to go swimming,
spending a relaxing afternoon poolside with a novel for me and a nap
for Ed. At the suggestion of the campground owner, we investigated
Chimney Bluffs State Park, just ½ mile away.
Chimney Bluffs
The bluffs along the edge of Lake Ontario have been worn away by
erosion, but because of sandstone mixed in with dirt and sediment, a
number of sand-colored monoliths have been left standing hundreds
of feet tall! We climbed up the bluffs to view the stone “chimneys” from
behind and then walked along the lake shore to get a different
perspective.
Moving approximately 130 miles west, we reached Niagara Glenview
Tent & Trailer Park, two miles north of Niagara Falls. The weather was
hot and humid during most of our four-day visit to the Niagara region,
so our views of the Falls were typically hazy. Nonetheless, who could
fail to be impressed by the two separate waterfalls, American &
Canadian, that make up Niagara Falls? I was continually reminded of the
awesome power of water - from the Flume in NH, the Canyon of St.
Anne in Quebec, and the greatest, so far, here at Niagara. Although I
had been here before, I learned a few new things.
Niagara River and Gorge
The Niagara River connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and 12,000
years ago, the falls were seven miles down-river from their present
location. Today, the Falls continue to erode about one foot per year, yet
less than before approximately half the water was diverted for electric
power generation. Thirty-four million gallons of water per minute flows
over the Falls in summer and two to three times that amount in winter!
Ed & I have seen the Falls from ever conceivable angle. (The old Judy
Collins song “Both Sides Now” came to mind! “I’ve looked at the Falls
from both sides now, from up and down, and still somehow...I really
don't know the Falls at all”.) We took a boat tour on the “Maid of the
Mist” www.maidofthemist.com, which took us alongside the rock piles
at the base of the American Falls and into the basin of the Canadian
Falls. The mist and spray were so thick that we could just barely see
the top of the Falls at the edges. We had dinner at the top of the 775-ft.
Skylon Tower www.skylon.com in the revolving dining room that makes
one complete rotation per hour. We enjoyed comparing notes on our
travels with fellow RVers from CT seated at the next table. The
following day, we took the “Journey Behind the Falls” tour, walking
through man-made tunnels drilled under the Canadian Falls. It was
exhilarating to exit onto Table Rock right alongside the edge of the
horseshoe falls, where a solitary goose was feeding in the grass and
enjoying the spray that was falling on us like rain. We then ventured to
the end of two adjacent tunnels and actually looked at the Falls from
behind, watching the water flow over the opening in the rock!
In the evenings, the Falls are illuminated with colored lights.
Sometimes the American Falls are shown in rainbow colors. The small
falls right next to the American Falls are referred to as the Bridal Veil
and are always illuminated in a different color from the rest of the
American falls. To cap off the scene, fireworks are held every Friday
and Sunday night at 10:00 PM. Although only about 15 minutes long, the
works were shot off one right after the other in glorious bursts of
colors!
Along the Canadian side of the Niagara River, the Niagara Park Service
www.niagaraparks.com maintains approximately twelve miles of green
parks and beautiful gardens. The Mosaiculture Garden consists of
three-dimensional sculptures covered in plants. Our favorites were the
cat, the bears, the Eskimos, and especially the pony. The pony had long
grass for its mane and tail. We toured the grounds of the 100-acre
Niagara Horticulture College by horse and carriage through rose
gardens, herb gardens, vegetable gardens, perennial gardens and the
arboretum – all maintained by students. The horticultural school is so
exclusive that only 36 students were admitted for 2002, but upon
graduation, students have their pick of industry jobs. The Butterfly
Conservatory is a large greenhouse filled with tropical plants and
waterfalls and innumerable brightly colored butterflies gliding all
around!
Blue Morpho butterfly
Most of the species raised are from Africa and South America,
including the blue morpho, whose iridescent blue wings can only be
seen when the butterfly is in flight. When it lands, the wings fold
together, showing only its brown camouflage, making the butterfly a
challenge to photograph! The curator of the Conservatory has started a
program to reestablish the 5”-across Swallowtail Butterfly, native to the
US and Canada but nearly extinct due to destruction of their habitat
and the use of pesticides.
June 14 – 24, 2002
My consolation in saying good-bye to Ed’s family was in knowing that
we would be spending the weekend in Ottawa with my Dad, who was
driving up from Connecticut. We knew it would likely be October in
Oregon until he would meet up with us again and we were grateful for
the time together. Fulfilling the promise that Ed & I had made to
ourselves on the way to Joliette, we found a lovely secondary road
through farmland that avoided Montreal on our route to Hither Hills
Campground, located just south of Ottawa. Unfortunately, we missed
the bridge over the Ottawa River so we were forced to go right
through downtown. We got lost but our GPS saved the day! The
Earthmate from Delorme, coupled with Map ‘n’ Go software, pinpointed
our location just a few blocks off course. I had always imagined that
GPS would be most useful in a remote area rather than in a big city, but
it saved Dad from having to wait even longer at the campground for us.
Although it rained hard all weekend, we had an interesting Saturday
afternoon at the Canadian National Aviation
Museum. Our purpose was to see the Argus,
particularly a piece of its tail section that Dad had
worked on as a stress engineer at Canadair
in the early 1950’s. The Argus was stored outside,
so we took a few quick pictures but couldn’t linger
due to the rain.
Dad with Argus
Argus tail section
Inside, we saw WWII vintage airplanes and several that were used by
Canadian bush pilots.
Dad with Westland Lysander
But my favorite was the one from the ‘50’s that converted to a car. The
little car, also the nose of the airplane, looked futuristic compared to
the big, chrome trimmed beauties of the day! It was a great idea, but it
never took off – no pun intended!
Airplane/Car
On Sunday afternoon, after Dad had left for home, there was enough of
a break in the rain that Ed & I decided to explore Ottawa. We found
Rideau Falls – twin man-made falls located at the end of the Rideau
Canal where it runs into the Ottawa River. We crossed the bridges over
both falls and strolled through the park between them. Downtown,
concrete barriers surrounded the U.S. embassy– a sign of the times
since 9/11/01. Next, we came to the Canadian Parliament, a Gothic
building with turrets and copper roofs. Senate offices are contained in
similar buildings placed perpendicular at each end of Parliament. In the
center square is a green with an Eternal Flame directly in line with the
main entrance to Parliament. Turning back, we passed the stone
Chateau Lauriat, now a luxury hotel in a castle.
Ed & I were anxious to get away from rain, so the next day we decided
to press on toward Niagara Falls, as better weather was forecast to be
coming from the West. We checked our Map ‘n’ Go software to find two
campgrounds between Ottawa & Niagara that turned out to be
excellent choices. Our route took us south across the St. Lawrence
River and back into the U.S. in New York State. We followed the
southern shore of the river to Clayton, in the Thousand Islands region.
At Merryknoll Campground we had a site high and dry on a hill with a
view of the river. Thousand Islands actually has nearly 1800 islands, as
we learned on a 2-½ hour lunch cruise/boat tour. They range in size
from a knoll, named Tom Thumb, to the large islands with private
mansions in the group known as Millionaire’s Row.
Boldt Castle
George Boldt, owner of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in NYC, built the
largest mansion for his wife, Louise. But in 1904, nine months before
completion, she died of consumption at the age of 42. Boldt Castle fell
into disrepair until 1978, when the Thousand Island Bridge Authority
acquired the estate. All tour proceeds are used to continue stabilizing
and renovating the estate. Their goal is to eventually refurbish the
castle as Mr. Boldt had planned. Legend has it that George Boldt also
is behind the origin of 1000 Island salad dressing! While cruising in the
region aboard his yacht, the steward served a new dressing on the
luncheon salad. Boldt was so pleased with its taste that he decided to
have it served in his hotels, naming it in honor of where it was first
prepared. The ingredients of the dressing include mayonnaise, chili
sauce, chopped eggs, pickle relish, and chopped parsley - which has
never been my favorite! After the boat tour, we drove a few miles to
the town of St. Vincent’s and the lighthouse at the point where the St.
Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario. From there, the deep blue
sparkling lake stretched to the horizon and was our first glimpse of one
the Great Lakes. Eventually, we would see all five lakes, but on this day
we were content to explore the shoreline, driving up and down various
points of land, until we cut across the peninsula to return to Clayton.
The sight of numerous abandoned farms made us wonder what had
happened economically to depress this region.
The next morning, we set out for Lake Bluff Campground, in Sodus Bay,
NY, continuing to follow the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Summer
finally arrived and we actually had our first opportunity to go swimming,
spending a relaxing afternoon poolside with a novel for me and a nap
for Ed. At the suggestion of the campground owner, we investigated
Chimney Bluffs State Park, just ½ mile away.
Chimney Bluffs
The bluffs along the edge of Lake Ontario have been worn away by
erosion, but because of sandstone mixed in with dirt and sediment, a
number of sand-colored monoliths have been left standing hundreds
of feet tall! We climbed up the bluffs to view the stone “chimneys” from
behind and then walked along the lake shore to get a different
perspective.
Moving approximately 130 miles west, we reached Niagara Glenview
Tent & Trailer Park, two miles north of Niagara Falls. The weather was
hot and humid during most of our four-day visit to the Niagara region,
so our views of the Falls were typically hazy. Nonetheless, who could
fail to be impressed by the two separate waterfalls, American &
Canadian, that make up Niagara Falls? I was continually reminded of the
awesome power of water - from the Flume in NH, the Canyon of St.
Anne in Quebec, and the greatest, so far, here at Niagara. Although I
had been here before, I learned a few new things.
Niagara River and Gorge
The Niagara River connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and 12,000
years ago, the falls were seven miles down-river from their present
location. Today, the Falls continue to erode about one foot per year, yet
less than before approximately half the water was diverted for electric
power generation. Thirty-four million gallons of water per minute flows
over the Falls in summer and two to three times that amount in winter!
Ed & I have seen the Falls from ever conceivable angle. (The old Judy
Collins song “Both Sides Now” came to mind! “I’ve looked at the Falls
from both sides now, from up and down, and still somehow...I really
don't know the Falls at all”.) We took a boat tour on the “Maid of the
Mist” www.maidofthemist.com, which took us alongside the rock piles
at the base of the American Falls and into the basin of the Canadian
Falls. The mist and spray were so thick that we could just barely see
the top of the Falls at the edges. We had dinner at the top of the 775-ft.
Skylon Tower www.skylon.com in the revolving dining room that makes
one complete rotation per hour. We enjoyed comparing notes on our
travels with fellow RVers from CT seated at the next table. The
following day, we took the “Journey Behind the Falls” tour, walking
through man-made tunnels drilled under the Canadian Falls. It was
exhilarating to exit onto Table Rock right alongside the edge of the
horseshoe falls, where a solitary goose was feeding in the grass and
enjoying the spray that was falling on us like rain. We then ventured to
the end of two adjacent tunnels and actually looked at the Falls from
behind, watching the water flow over the opening in the rock!
In the evenings, the Falls are illuminated with colored lights.
Sometimes the American Falls are shown in rainbow colors. The small
falls right next to the American Falls are referred to as the Bridal Veil
and are always illuminated in a different color from the rest of the
American falls. To cap off the scene, fireworks are held every Friday
and Sunday night at 10:00 PM. Although only about 15 minutes long, the
works were shot off one right after the other in glorious bursts of
colors!
Along the Canadian side of the Niagara River, the Niagara Park Service
www.niagaraparks.com maintains approximately twelve miles of green
parks and beautiful gardens. The Mosaiculture Garden consists of
three-dimensional sculptures covered in plants. Our favorites were the
cat, the bears, the Eskimos, and especially the pony. The pony had long
grass for its mane and tail. We toured the grounds of the 100-acre
Niagara Horticulture College by horse and carriage through rose
gardens, herb gardens, vegetable gardens, perennial gardens and the
arboretum – all maintained by students. The horticultural school is so
exclusive that only 36 students were admitted for 2002, but upon
graduation, students have their pick of industry jobs. The Butterfly
Conservatory is a large greenhouse filled with tropical plants and
waterfalls and innumerable brightly colored butterflies gliding all
around!
Blue Morpho butterfly
Most of the species raised are from Africa and South America,
including the blue morpho, whose iridescent blue wings can only be
seen when the butterfly is in flight. When it lands, the wings fold
together, showing only its brown camouflage, making the butterfly a
challenge to photograph! The curator of the Conservatory has started a
program to reestablish the 5”-across Swallowtail Butterfly, native to the
US and Canada but nearly extinct due to destruction of their habitat
and the use of pesticides.
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