Road Trip-1st Day

We planned to be on the road by 7:00 am, but, of course, it was 7:20 when we pulled out of the drive-way. Still, that's pretty close, so we were off to a good start. We headed down Route 7 in Vermont which runs past the Bennington Monument. The Bennington Monument is a Revolutionary War monument that looks just like the Washington Monument, a hollow obelisk with open window holes at the top level so those inside can look out. I haven't visited the historic place despite being so close. As of today, it is on my list of places to visit.

Then we drove on through New York uneventfully. Interstate 90 runs nearly in a straight line the entire distance that we need to travel and we'll drive just about 2000 miles each way on this road alone. In New York, this important commercial route parallels an earlier commercial route, the Erie Canal. There are markers alongside the highway announcing that you are entering the Erie Canal Heritage Corridor.

For many miles in New York, I-90 runs alongside rivers and canals that made up part of the Erie canal and even today there are working locks visible from the highway. The water is held level above and below the lock and boats are routed through narrow waterways where the water level is raised and lowered to lift or lower the boat. This keeps the canal flowing smoothly and makes it passable for barges that would otherwise be unable to travel here.

In western New York, the area along both sides of I-90 is vineyards. There are miles and miles of grapes in well-manicured rows. Given the relatively short harvesting period for grapes, it is hard to imagine that these vineyards could be harvested without migrant workers. It seems as though it will take hundreds of people to pick all these grapes when they ripen,but that those jobs would last only a week or two.

We arrived in Niagara Falls at about 2:30 in the afternoon, parked our car for $5 and walked across the bridge to Goat Island. As we looked down at the river below us, it is broad and relatively shallow, which means it runs very fast. A person in that torrent would have no chance to swim to safety before being carried over the falls.

We walked along the paths of Niagara Falls State Park which has no admission fee. There is a trolley that will take you around the park to view the sights for $2 for adults and $1 for children. We preferred to walk after spending all morning in the car. We took pictures from the pathways that run alongside the river and the falls.

Niagara Falls from the American side
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2011. Do not copy

We also went out on the observation tower which provides a view of the face of the falls. The base is completely obscured by mist at all times and walking anywhere near the bottom of the falls (on the roped walkways, of course) will get you thoroughly soaked unless you are wearing a poncho or other rain gear. The same is true for those who ride the boats that run tourists to the base of the falls: The Maids of the Mists.

Niagara Falls is an impressive display of the power of nature and of water. I have to say though, I expected it to be a bit bigger. The gift shop, in addition to the usual assortment of shot glasses, T-Shirts, and other touristy logo-gear, has historic facts about the falls, including a photo of a young boy who was rescued after being swept over the falls in 1960. It's hard to imagine that this boy could have survived the plunge. He was spotted swimming for dear life in a whirlpool at the base of the falls and was rescued by one of the Maids of the Mist boats, according to the signage.

Niagara Falls is a must-see attraction for anyone passing through this part of the country. You can spend $13 or $14 for the boat ride and $11 for the Cave of the Winds Tour, or you can spend absolutely nothing. The park admission is free and the trails provide a good view. For $1 per person, you can get access to the observation tower and the elevator to the bottom of the gorge to view the falls from downstream.

We spent between 90 minutes and two hours at Niagara Falls. It's not something I would travel four or five hours to see, but it's definitely worth a detour of a couple hours if you're passing by. It's one of the great natural attractions in the United States that you hear so much about, so just to get the chance to experience it for yourself is worth it, especially for those on a budget.

I should also mention that there are a number of luxury hotels surrounding the falls and at least two casinos (one on the American side). If you're combining those activities with a visit to the falls then it might be worth driving further.

When I have more time, I'll put up a more extensive slide show of the photos I took of Niagara Falls, perhaps when we get to Montana or, at worst, when we get back home to New Hampshire in September.

Niagara Falls Searchers Find the Wrong Body

Yesterday, I wrote about the young woman who had fallen over the safety railing and was swept over Niagara Falls to her presumed death. Searchers are still looking for her remains, but during the search, says a report by CBS News, a male body was found in the water below Horseshoe Falls. At present, authorities did not know the identity of this body.

Authorities told CBS that it was rare to have anywone swept over the falls themselves, but that more people are injured in the Niagara Gorge along the river below the falls. Parks Police Sgt. James Riddle says that people commonly ignore safety precautions in order to get a good photo or a better view. Unfortunately, too many of them end up with a much closer view of the bottom of the gorge than they intended.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time discussing tragedies like this, but I will say that where ever you travel, make sure you research the potential hazards and are prepared for them. Follow posted safety instructions and use common sense. I read about far too many hikers being lost, injured or killed in mountains and forests of New Hampshire. Most of those stories contain the words "...tried to take a shortcut..." and "...wasn't prepared for the weather."

• Hike Safe New Hampshire has everything you need to know to stay safe while visiting the White Mountains.

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Meanwhile, we are just a few days away from leaving for Montana. We've got most of the packing done and are finalizing our lists of things to bring. This afternoon, one of the house-sitters is coming by to get the full instructions package and to go over the responsibilities they'll have while we're gone. I'll also be outfitting the van with new tires and an oil change today. Not only should that help prevent trouble on the way, but it should help maximize gas mileage as well. As it's planned, we expect to spend about 9-10 hours of driving each day. We'll be using the Garmin GPS unit to help find hotels at the end of each day's travel.

We'll be hopping over to Vermont on Thursday night where we'll stay at my mother's house for the night. Bright and early Friday morning we'll all set out for our first destination: Niagara Falls. We expect to reach it in the early afternoon of Friday and we'll spend a few hours there having lunch, enjoying the view, and no doubt learning all about hydro-electric power and the history of Niagara Falls.

I'll post at least one detailed review of our visit to Niagara Falls with tons of photos, probably Friday evening from whatever hotel we reach for the night.  We hope to drive well into the evening on the first day to build up a little mileage buffer so we have the option to spend more time somewhere else later on.

Woman Swept Over Niagara Falls after Climbing Railing

As our family is planning a cross-country road trip, one of the stops we had planned was a visit to Niagara Falls. It's something that is on our way and that we haven't seen before. As one of the grat natural wonders of North America, it certainly merits a visit.

Today, however, I learned that a young woman was visiting the Falls on Sunday evening and fell into the river at around 8:30 pm, just about 60 feet upstream of the falls itself. The river current swept her away instantly over the falls. She is presumed dead, although as of Monday morning her body had not been found.

According to the report in the Montreal Gazzette, the woman climbed the railing to sit on one of the pillars with one leg on either side of the metal railing. She lost her balance as she stood to climb down again, says the report and fell to her presumed death. Surveillance video shows no signs of anything other than a tragic accident.

Accidents like these, however, remind us that when we are sightseeing, we need to be very careful and use common sense. Climbing the safety railing is never a good idea. It is after all the awesome power of Niagara Falls that makes it a tourist destination, a power that should be resepected.

Similarly, we are planning on a visit to Yosemite where as many as 19 people have died this year already, mostly from falls. Loose shifting rock along a cliff edge is extraordinarily dangerous. I spend considerable time in the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire and there are places here with similar conditions. We don't always think of a visit to a National Park as a dangerous activity, and with proper attention to safety it isn't. For those who ignore warnings and safety barriers, however, yesterday's tragedy at Niagara Falls is a reminder that they can be very dangerous indeed.