One Lap

Date: 10/19/2013

Day: 23

Location:  Niagara Falls, NY

Miles Today: 62

Total Miles:  4721

A Latter Day Miracle,  Niagara Falls, Lunch,  Seen on the Road

She's here!

The Mrs. Colonel arrived in the right place, at the right time and after an overnight, cross country journey involving three airplanes.  There were no glitches whatsoever.  (And she brought The Best Cookies In The World!  One of her many specialties.)  None of the airplanes even hit a deer.  The Colonel did not mention that expired and partially disassembled deer are common on the roadsides of Michigan.  Like salt rust in fender wells, and wine of questionable utility, hitting the occasional deer is part of the charm of living in that part of the country.  While Michigan is is charming enough to merit a revisit, the charm of ambient dead deer the Colonel does not appreciate.

Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls Experience is an odd combination of something really impressive and worth the cross country journey, along with something flat out, dismally, tacky.  Everything but the falls themselves would be improved by adding style points imported from Fisherman's Wharf.  There are far funnier Tee shirts in California.  After wading hip deep through tack, and the bored purveyors of it, the falls themselves are fully as striking as one expects them to be.  The Niagara is broad, fairly shallow and scary rough, bounding over rocks and snags.  The Park Rangers trust the stability of the local rock formations enough to put railings only a few feet from the 'rushing torrent.'   And there is the marvelous moment of inevitability when the clear green river slides over the cliff into a cloud of white fog.  All very much what you want it to be and something everyone needs to see, at least once.

Looking over the American Falls towards Canada

The river just .. disappears!

 

 

 

Oompa Loompas boarding the Maid of the Mist.

Many Oompa Loompas headin' for a misting.

 

 

Forget the falls a few feet downstream, this is scary water!

Most folks look at the falls and see a natural wonder.  Fair enough; but they do not recognize the long concrete power house on the far side where George Westinghouse built the first big hydroelectric plant in the US.  No need for a dam; they piped the water in a tunnel from above the falls to a point just below and through turbine generators.  This valley, the Hudson River Valley, was where electrified American industry got its start.  Not unlike Strobridge in England where an earlier chapter in industrial evolution was written.



 



 

There are, as one would expect, many tourists here, even this late in the season, even in today's fairly steady rain.  Many of our fellows seem to be east Indians and from their dress, folks visiting, not residents.  This creates a pleasant international flare.

There are also lots of people smoking here.  It is sad to watch people hurting themselves; like seeing a bulimiac heading for the restroom or a cutter seeking privacy.

 

Lunch

There is a significant resident Italian population in Niagara Falls, so it was Italian for lunch.  We went to Michaels' a place that, unknown to us, deep fries their calzone.  They do not fold over pizza dough and bake it, which is what we expected.  The crust was lighter than usual and expanded in the hot oil, not sweet, but with a texture a little bit like a donut, golden and with the calzone stuff inside thoroughly melted.  They produced a wonder.
 

Seen on the Road

We did not stay here.

We stayed here, actually.  Less atmosphere, cleaner sheets.

 

The Moonlight Motel in the moonlight.

The Lord, perhaps, regrets that He is not presently at home.

Tomorrow, another go at the falls, and a run through some New York wineries.  No looking down the nose will be permitted.  Once on a trip to New York, at Sardi's, the Colonel identified himself as a northern Californian and asked the sommelier to recommend a local wine.  That worthy said, "I would prefer not to; how about some Chateau Montelena Cab?"  True story.  All the Colonels' stories are true.  Mostly.  (Thank you Mr. Twain.)