Sitting at the entrance to the Adirondacks in Upstate New York, in a pleasant family-owned campground. Road is close enough to hear, but not busy – except for the locals and the travelers stopping in at Granny’s, the ice cream shop out front. This is a nice little wayside nestled among pines, seasonal trees and I think eastern hemlocks – a little deeper into this RVP, there are two small ponds with RVs circled around them and a walking trail. And of course, had to indulge myself by having a decadent hot fudge sundae from Granny’s – and yes, it was a good as advertised with whip cream, peanut sprinkles and cherries on top! I had a nice break from the KOA I left this morning.
I figured I’ve driven around 4800 miles so far on this trip, and since I last posted, I’ve visited more of the UP of Michigan, stayed at a farm and spent the weekend in Niagara Falls. Another destination spot, on the “got to see in my lifetime” list. So, let’s catch up so far -tomorrow I will spend a few days in the Adirondacks, before heading into Vermont and Maine.
Along Lake Michigan and through the UP
After leaving southern Wisconsin, I headed up the western coast of Lake Michigan. Once again, I marvel at these inland oceans of fresh water. My first stop, where I decompressed from the family immersion, was at a nice state park in Wisconsin. I was a little disappointed to learn, after paying for my camp site when I registered online, that the state required another $34 fee in addition. Don’t understand how the system works, but don’t understand paying for a campsite, but then having to pay a fee to enter the park to get to the campsite? All that aside, it was a nice place, loved the campsite – set back in deep from the road and the dog beach was a walkable ½ mile away. There was a lighthouse present at the beach, but not necessarily the scenic type – but took a picture anyway. Here, both Audy and I got our feet wet in Great Lake #2. Afterwards, I read that many of the beaches of Lake Michigan were closed due to bacteria – luckily this beach/park wasn’t on that list. 😊
From there I wandered up into the UP and camp 2 different places and in between I visited Pictured Rocks National Park on Lake Superior – beautiful! The water was a turquoise blue you’d expect to find by a tropical island. But here, in this part of the continent that tends to freeze over during the winter, was this crystal-clear shoreline with wonderful views. And, they had a stamp for my NP passport! After this stop, I felt my inner wandering spirit and sense of adventure completely re-energized and ready to go again.
I spent my last few days in St. Ignace where the rainy weather allowed me time to plan the rest of my visit eastward. In Wisconsin, I’d take some time and plotted my journey to Niagara Falls, and this respite (even with some thundershowers), allowed me to research and book my adventures through upper New York state, Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island. I booked a weekend in a fun, east coast beach town in Connecticut where public transportation will get me from the RV “resort” to the town, the beach and the boardwalk. So, I’ll see how the east coast does Labor Day. Then I’ll begin reversing the time zones again heading west.
I did face one of those uncomfortable weather-related moments again. I chose this UP route knowing that I’d have to cross the Mackinac (also pronounced Mackinaw – go figure) Bridge to reach the mainland of Michigan. However, starting the afternoon before my departure, high wind warnings were being posted for the bridge, with instructions for high profile vehicles who wanted to attempt the crossing, The bridge authority warned they could close the bridge to my type of traffic if the winds got stronger. My thoughts – oh great, here we go again! So researched the alternative, to drive back south, down around Lake Michigan and stay in the Chicago area. This route would have added 333 miles to my trip to Niagara and would have eliminated my next Harvest Host site.
I decided to get up early the next morning to make the go/no go call, and thankfully the bridge authority was giving the “’all clear” for crossing (in my brother’s lingo – that’s a Code 4). So glad I waited to make the decision – I got to drive across this 5-mile suspension bridge high above the lake, and made it to the next stop, a farm as planned. Nice host, as usual, and after setting up the rig, was called over to the fence by a curious nanny got who wanted to know what I was doing on her property. Slept soundly after watching a few twinkling of fireflies over a glass of a delicious fume purchased at a winery in Wisconsin.
Niagara Falls – From Far Above and Down Under
A change of pace, to say the least. The KOA was crazy – so glad I changed spots after realizing the cheap seat I purchased was right off the freeway – and there was no fence between the RVP and this extremely busy road! So, I upgraded and got a sunny spot (thank God for A/C) with a spacious yard for Audy to play with his new favorite toy, Purple Dino.
Funny story about this new toy we picked up at a PetSmart. When Audy was a pup of about 5 months, he had a similar toy. He carried it on walks, he slept with it, he rolled around the floor with it. It was his favorite toy ever, until one day it wasn’t. I think this was the first toy he destroyed after he’d had it a month or two. The temptation to rip out that squeaker was too much and he gave into his inner wolf and tore into it without mercy. He’s treated all stuffed animals the same since, I call them his 5-minute toys, but now he has a purple dinosaur again. And he is playing with it, running, jumping for it, sleeping with it. Upon command, “bring it”, he gathers it in his mouth and carries it into the rig. When I let him out in the morning, he turns to look at me until I throw Purple Dino out to him. Perhaps he believes his original toy has come back to life, and he wants to treat it with as much love and respect as possible until his inner wolf comes out again?
I experienced Niagara Falls over two days. The bus into downtown Niagara City was only $2.00 and dropped me in front of the visitor center – which kindly provided me with a walking map. The biggest challenge of the city was staying off the roads that ended up in Canada – which was generally only one block away at any given time.
The first day I saw the falls from above, words to describe them include awesome, powerful, beautiful, scary, spectacular, pristine and unbelievable. So many different angles, shots and sections – American Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Falls and more. The water is rushing by, down below me at approximately 35 MPH, and the volume I saw was only at 50% capacity – they have diversion upstream and can lower or raise the river volume for many reasons, including rescues when needed. It was hot, humid and just standing close to the edge to look at the falls left me saturated with damp hair and clothing. A special treat – I once again, in this park, saw and heard people of all colors, genders and languages experiencing what I was at the same time. Made my heart feel good seeing diversity again. Felt the sameness of our shared human experience.
And of course, when there is a restaurant in the park that has the name “Top of the Falls”, well it’s a given that you will have something to eat and drink there. Of course, the menu was a quick table turnover menu – burgers and chicken strips that comes out faster than your drink. That was okay – I was sitting at another vantage point of seeing the great mist driven high into the clouds by those mighty falls. A new favorite – the Niagara Splash. Blue. Coconut rum, lime juice, coconut water, club soda and blue tint to make it special! It was. Toggle the photos below to see the before and after!
After spending the last hour shopping, I took the bus home to enjoy the rest of the day. This is when I ventured into the pool of dangerous children. It was late afternoon; 90 degrees and the water was cloudy. There were two pools to choose from, I think I may have chosen unwisely. I went to the nearest, newest body of water and immediately knew it was a mistake. Due to my pride, I couldn’t show my fear, there were too many inebriated parents trying to disown their wound-up children all looking at me, wondering if I had the guts to do it. Deep breath, disrobe and place towel, belongings in an empty chair. Cautiously approached the pool steps, planning my zig-zag strategy for getting to a least occupied space. Actively reading the frenetic body language to see which path might have best outcomes. Adjust, redirect, spin and push through.
Made it to the far side of the pool with only 2 near misses and one collision, human bumper cars per se. Thought I was in a safe spot, until another little girl about 5 thought she would also claim the spot for her jumping practice. After my 5th drenching, I pointed out to her that the other side of the ladder was clear – that might be a good spot for her to jump? She immediately got out and ran to her father and sat down. I though I was being nice ☹. Oh well, after 5 minutes, I just pushed my way back through the crowd – at least most kids were apologizing for their unintentional body contact with me – dried off and gave up. But I held my head up high – I went, I conquered, and I got relief from the heat. No shame here.
The next day I went back to the Falls for my Maiden in the Midst boat ride. Here’s a learning. There are approximately 61 tour companies for the falls, however, you don’t need a tour company to ride the boats! You just walk up to the ticket booth, buy your tickets and get in line for the elevators to go down, be handed your rain poncho and go to the next available boat! Of course, I found this out too late and spent $20 more than needed to have the tour guide snap my picture on the observation deck…
No matter how I got there – I got my wish. I rode to the bottoms of the falls where it was its own climate of mist, rain, wind! I loved it! The noise was deafening, and my glasses immediately became useless. I couldn’t see my photo shots clearly enough, so I just would point at the shadowing landscape in front of me and hope for the best. I wanted to do more photos but found the closer to the falls we got, the rockier the boat became and holding tightly to my camera, my glasses and the rail was all I could manage. It was fun for everyone from the Canadian boats to have and yell at us – I felt the love. And I was adopted for the tour/ride by Ronald and his wife and grandchildren who were visiting from the Menominee reservation in Wisconsin!
It was a glorious experience, one where you really feel spirit, alive, earth’s power – and of course, very, very wet (despite the thin plastic rain ponchos provided). I wish I had gone a second time, but was hungry and a bit low on energy, so I opted for a Lemon Drop and Ceaser Salad at the Hard Rock Café.
As I am preparing to post this blog, I’m happy to report that Hurricane Erin has veered away from the North Atlantic coast where I will be in a few days. I’m hoping the other storms brewing out there off the coast of Africa do the same or peter out, at least until I can see my beloved Rhode Island and turn inland again.
Namaste