Epic Road Trip, Part 5

Days 21 - 23:   Exploring the Niagara Region and Reviewing  Some History

We arrived in the Niagara Region with enough time to spend a few days exploring the area. We found a nice campground, about 25km west of Niagara Falls, where we set up for the next three days. Before we left home, Sandy researched some rides for us and determined we could cycle the length of the Welland Canal.

Welland Canal, Port Colborne 

Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are connected by the Niagara River. Traveling by boat between the two lakes would entail a rather dramatic drop over the Niagara Falls. The Welland Canal was constructed to bypass the falls and move ships through the 326 foot elevation difference between the lakes via a series of 8 locks.  All of the locks fill and empty by gravity, with no pumps required.  Initially opened in 1829, the canal has been widened, deepened, and straightened over the years to accommodate ever bigger ships.

The first day in the area, we hopped on our bikes and pedaled into Welland where we got on the paved multi purpose trail that runs the length of the canal.  We rode south to the Lake Erie end of the canal, at Port Colborne.

Pedaling along the canal

The Niagara Region is quite populated, so there are numerous bridges that move vehicular traffic cross the canal. To allow the ships to make their journey along the canal, these are “lift” bridges that open up to let the ships pass through. 

Lift bridge in position for land vehicles

Of course, the vehicular traffic is stopped while the ships pass through, but there are lots of signs warning drivers if the bridge is open so they can choose an alternate route.

Ship passing through an open lift bridge 

Lots of different goods are transported back and forth between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System, of which the Welland Canal is part.

A product of interest to us is wheat, a major crop in Alberta. The largest wheat transporting ship traveling through the canal has to pay a canal fee of $36,000 per passage. Sounds like a pretty hefty amount, but considering that she can transport  $11 million worth of wheat in a single load, I guess that ticket to ride isn’t too huge after all; it’s all a matter of perspective.

Some of this wheat is milled before transporting through the canal, as this big, old mill in Port Colborne would suggest.

Note how the mill dwarfs the rail cars 

As we made our way along the canal, we passed two different sites with docks for rowing clubs. Long runs of straight canal make a perfect place for rowers to train.  Although there were no rowers out this day, a group of cormorants where taking advantage of one of the docks.  Cormorants lack water-proofing oils on their feathers (odd, being that they make their living diving for food) so they have to hold their wings out to air-dry after fishing.

Cormorants on the rowers' dock

At the end of this day’s exploration of the canal, we stopped for a wee refreshment break. When I came out of the shop with our treats, I found Sandy in discussion with some fellow who seemed rather interested in my bike. I figured they were locked in negotiations and she was probably going to sell my machine on me! 

Turns out, this fellow has the same bike as mine, which is no longer in production.  He was telling her how much he loved his bike and how he wished he had another. Good thing I came out when I did; I could have been walking back to Boxy!!  Total ride distance:  62km

Is Sandy trying to make a deal for my bike? 

The next day, we continued our journey along the canal by heading north through St. Catharines to Lake Ontario.  As we were riding along the trail, Sandy decided to race a ship that was making its way through the canal. 

The race is on!

I am happy to report that she successfully caught and passed that ship and we reached Lock 4 well ahead it.  There is a viewing area set up at that lock where people can watch the lock accommodate a ship as it makes its way through the canal. 

Lock 4 full and ready to receive a north bound ship

On this day, a local volunteer was there to tell people about the canal system, how the locks function, and provide some information about the kinds of ships that work there.  The canal is open from April until it shuts down for maintenance the end of December.  In the nine months it is open, numerous ships of different types and sizes move various goods back and forth to Montreal. Many then head to the Atlantic to work on the ocean while the canal is closed.

Sandy directing lock traffic as the ship she raced moves into the canal (always the cop 😂)

After spending a considerable amount of time at the lock, we carried on with our ride. We rode the remaining length of the Welland Canal to its connection with Lake Ontario. Some sections of the trail passed through some pretty sketchy areas of town, but it was nice to see murals on some old warehouses along the way.

Reproduction of an old advertisement
encouraging one to purchase locally made bicycles

We continued east along Lake Ontario and passed many vineyards, wineries, and orchards as we made our way to Niagara-on-the-Lake. After enjoying a very nice lunch there, we hopped onto another path, this time along the Niagara River, and rode south towards Niagara Falls.  This area is ripe with history, as many of the battles and events of the War of 1812 took place here.

Think of Laura Secord as the Canadian (well, we were British at the time) equivalent of Paul Revere.  Information she overheard and relayed about an impending American attack lead to victory for our side at the Battle of Beaver Dams. A quick summary is available here:  Laura Secord Heroine

Laura Secord Monument

We continued riding south along the Niagara River, up a brutal hill, and on to Niagara Falls. From there, we turned west to make it back to our campground. Total ride distance:  92km

Welland Canal on left, Niagara River on right

The next day was cool and dreary, so rather than ride, we went for a walk then drove into Niagara Falls.  Another important engagement of the War of 1812 was the Battle of Lundy’s Lane. This “was one of the bloodiest battles of the war, and one of the deadliest battles ever fought in Canada.” This was a strategic victory for the British as the much decimated American forces were forced to retreat.  

Lundy’s Lane, now a major entertainment section
of the city of Niagara Falls 

Of course, no discussion of the War of 1812 would be complete without mentioning Major-General Sir Isaac Brock who initiated the defence of Queenston Heights when the Americans came across the Niagara River to try to invade Upper Canada. Although he was killed in battle (before learning of his knighthood), as a result of his leadership and bravery, he remains a prominent Canadian hero. And, who knows, without his legacy, perhaps we would have lost the war and been annexed by the Americans!  For more info:  Sir Isaac Brock 

Sir Isaac is interred beneath the 185 foot column upon which his statue looks out over the Niagara River from Queenston Heights, the site of his final battle.

Brock Monument

The next photo shows Brock’s view of the Niagara River, with Lewiston, New York, on the right, the site from which the Americans crossed the river to begin their assault on Canada.

Niagara River from Queenston Heights

Days 24 - 26:  The Reunion!

The RCMP 1978 Troop 16 was an all female troop of RCMP recruits, admitted in only the fourth year the force accepted women as regular police members. A class of 31 completed the programme before being dispersed all across the country. They had careers of various lengths, achieved various ranks, and are all now retired from the force. All of them spent time on general duty, and some ventured into other areas of policing including highway patrol, under cover work, drug busting, pursuing child pornographers, catching smugglers, and chasing counterfeiters. This reunion celebrated the 40th year since they graduated. Of the 10 troop mates who attended the event, there were two who Sandy hadn’t seen since the day they left Depot.

Ladies of Troop 16, 40 years on!

For some reason, our hotel room served as reunion-central, so there were always extra people milling about.  The group spent their three days together reminiscing about their training days, sharing policing stories, and celebrating one another’s careers. And, of course, there was some time left over to do a little exploring of the Niagara Region.

Horseshoe Falls, the Canadian section of Niagara Falls,
the main attraction 

A good time was had by all, and plans are already in place to have their next reunion in Halifax, 2021.

Up Close to the Falls

After saying our good-byes, it was time for us to start the long drive back to Edmonton. More on that when we post the update for the final leg of this Epic Road Trip.

Epic Road Trip, Part 4

Days 13 to 19:  A Week in Dublin

What? Boxy is capable of transatlantic travel? Well, no, not Dublin, Ireland; Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus where Sandy’s sister, Cathy, lives with her husband, Harry.  Our original plan was to go to Sandy’s reunion first. As Dublin is only about 6 hours from Niagara Falls, we planned to pay a visit to Cathy and Harry afterwards. Since we left on this journey two weeks early, this part of the trip was moved to before the reunion.

With Boxy parked on their long driveway, we were guests in Cathy and Harry’s house for the length of our stay. Nothing against Boxy, mind you, but it was nice to have a little more space.  Other than one day when there was a terrific electrical storm with 3 inches of rainfall, the weather was fine. Okay, it was pretty darn hot with humidity over 90%. 

As with every other state on our US journey to this point, Ohio seems to be home to many rivers.  In 1913, a rain storm brought 6-11 inches of rain to various parts of the state. This resulted in serious flooding and significant loss of life. As a consequence, this small dam was built to control the flow of the Scioto River.  Good thing, as the dam is less than two kilometers from Cathy’s house, and the river runs right along her neighbourhood.

O’Shaughnessy dam, Scioto River

Despite the heat and wicked humidity, we did manage to get out for a couple of bike rides. A ride through Glacier Ridge Metro Park was recommended to us, so off we went. The greater Columbus area has a number of “metro parks” that are funded through tax initiatives. We rode through Glacier Ridge (not sure how it got its name) and passed a few others. They are beautiful nature reserves with multi use pathways for all to enjoy. Dublin is known as the City of Trees, and the parks are home to major projects to re-establish the natural forest species in these areas.

Riding through Glacier Ridge Metro Park

At the time European settlement began, 95% of the state of Ohio was forest. Much of it was cleared to develop very productive farmland. As with most of the states that we travelled through on this trip, cornfields now dominate the rural Ohio landscape.

There’s even a field of corn in the city!   

Ohio is also home to a number of bugs that are different from those we are accustomed to at home. The evenings are hardly quiet as the cicadas, which one hears more than sees, sound like loud buzzing from electrical transformers. Looking kinda like really stocky grasshoppers, they are harmless to humans, other than they might drive you crazy with the volume of noise a group of them are capable of generating.  And, according to Sandy’s nephew, Brian, they aren’t too clever and tend to fly into you, then bounce off to continue where they are going.

Cicada (photo from internet)

Another delightful creature is the aptly named “stink bug.”  Cathy practically flew out of her chair when we were on the deck to make sure one on the screen door didn’t find its way into the house. Apparently, when they meet their maker, they release a very vile odour.  Needless to say, we didn’t try to confirm the story!

Stink bug on the screen

While we are on the topic of creatures, we spent half a day at the Columbus Zoo.  Being after the long weekend, the zoo was pretty quite, human wise. Being over 90F, it was also pretty quiet, animal wise. Still, we had a good visit.

We were intrigued by the Flying Fox, fruit eating bats. These fellas are HUGE, with a body length of about 12 inches and wingspan of about 5 feet.  There were a number of them hanging, as bats do, upside down in their enclosure. We watched as they would stretch out their arms, then wrap themselves up in their “sleeves” to continue their naps.

Flying Fox, open

Flying Fox, closed 

Another huge creature we saw was the Aldabra Tortoise, the second largest land tortoise in the world. Two were on display, and as was we were checking them out, two volunteers came out to interact with them. The tortoises immediately stood up and moved towards them to get their legs rubbed and their shells brushed, which they obviously thoroughly enjoyed.  One was 52 years old, and the other 71, the oldest creature in the zoo.

Bubba, 71 years old, and over 500 pounds

And what visit to the zoo would be complete without checking in on the family?

Kate, Sandy, Cathy, and Harry

Okay, so that photo wasn’t at the zoo 😂, but I think poor Harry thought at times it was like a zoo around there.  He kept complaining that he was outnumbered by three women,  three Canadian women at that!  

We had a terrific time during our stay with Cathy and Harry. We enjoyed having lots of time to visit, see their kids and grandkids, tour around some, do a bit of shopping, and share many good meals.  Now, its their turn to come up to Edmonton to see if our hospitality can match theirs.

Canadian cherries. A special find at Whole Foods

Day 20:  Time to head to Ontario

With clean laundry and a few groceries, we got Boxy reloaded to make our way back to Canada. By the time we were out of town, we were into more pouring rain. After a couple of hours, the rain stopped, and soon we crossed into Pennsylvania.

Brian, Sandy’s nephew, was surprised we had never eaten at Chick-fil-A.  “They have the best chicken burgers,” he exclaimed. So, when we saw one of their outlets, we decided we better check it out.  Various chicken burgers and chicken fingers were on the menu. I had a spicy chicken burger, Sandy tried the chicken fingers. They were pretty good, alright, but the waffle style potato fries were a bit odd to us.

Lunch at Chick-fil-A

Our route had us nip across the north west corner of Pennsylvania.  The scenery was still rather similar to that which we had grown accustomed to on this journey through the States, with lots of trees and rivers, and still some corn fields.   We were only in Pennsylvania for lunch and a couple of hours before we crossed into New York State.  

The highway Harry and Sandy picked out for us to travel took us off the main drag (and toll roads) and along Lake Erie. The scenery, you ask? Trees, rivers, lakes, and … grapes. We passed many vineyards as we drove through the Erie Concorde Grape Belt. It was nice to finally see some crop other than corn!

Concorde grapes on the vine

We made out way through Buffalo, New York, across the Peace Bridge, and into Canada at the Fort Erie border crossing.

Crossing the Peace Bridge

Total number of states visited on this trip:  7

Next stop:  the Niagara Region.

Epic Road Trip, Part 3

Day 9:  St. Malo, MB to Itasca State Park, MN, USA

We left Manitoba via highway 59 which took us to a border crossing in the middle of nowhere, between Tolstoi, MB and Lancaster, MN (I know we hadn’t heard of these places, either).

  

After learning we were from Alberta, the US border guards were curious why we were crossing at this out of the way place.  “Because I’m a Winnipegger,” Sandy proudly announced, “and I have just been visiting my brother.” After the usual questions regarding what we might be transporting across the border, we were asked our destination. “Ohio,” Sandy replied. The first agent went to the back of Boxy to read out her license plate number, and when he returned, he told us we could proceed.  “Wait!” called out the second agent.  Oh my god, what have we done? Are we about to be denied entry? “What’s in Ohio?,” he asked as if wondering what we could possibly be up to.  Sandy responded, “Going to visit my sister.” He just shook his head as though no one ever goes there and waved us through.  Two old girls just carrying on with our adventure.  

As we crossed the border, clouds rolled in and we said goodbye to the sun we had been enjoying up until then.

Our first stop in the US was Bemidji, Minnesota.  What’s so special about Bemidji, you ask? Well, Paul Bunyan, of course! Sandy loved the family holiday trips to the area the Williamson clan took when she was a kid. The statues of Paul, and his blue ox, Babe, were built in 1937 and still attract many visitors, including the two of us on a cool, rainy day.

Paul, Kate, Sandy, and Babe

About half an hour from Bemidji is Itasca State Park, the home of the head waters of the Mississippi River.  At the time of its disovery, explorers and government surveyors had difficulty identifying the true head waters of that mighty river.  If you have been to Minnesota, you can understand why. From my observations of the state, it seems to be nothing but lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and forest.  In 1832, Henry Schoolcraft identified the lake that was the primary source of the Mississippi, and named it Lake Itasca, by combining the last four letters of veritas and the first two of caput, the Latin words meaning “true head.” 

We found a lovely camp spot, but had to eat inside Boxy while a pretty decent rain shower moved through. Fortunately, it stopped long enough for us to use all the firewood we bought on the way in, before it started raining again. 

Day 10:  Itasca State Park, MN to Spring Valley, WI

We got up bright and early the next morning to get to the headwaters before anyone else. 

Headwaters of the Mississippi River

As you can tell from the photo, it was a cool, misty morning.  Enjoy the video of me crossing the headwaters of the Mississippi. In my defense, the rocks were damp and slippery!

While walking back to our vehicle we had to cross a foot bridge. Crossing at the same time was a little turtle. When it got to the edge of the bridge, it reached out with one foot, but couldn’t feel anything there.  It then reached out with its other foot and still couldn’t feel anything. Finally, it reached out with both front feet, and seemed to think, “What the heck, I’m going for it!,” and over the edge it went, dropping about 10 feet down to the foliage below. Brave little thing. We showed its photo to an attendant at the tourist information booth who identified it as a baby snapping turtle. As cute as it was, apparently they can be rather nasty when they are older and much bigger. I guess they have earned their “snappng” name by their rather unsociable behavior!

Baby Snapping turtle 

Upon making our way out of Itasca State Park, we stopped to have a look at the Mississippi River as it starts its 2,552 mile journey to the Gulf Coast.

The Mississippi doesn’t look very
mighty at this point

Our destination this day was Minneapolis, Minnesota, where we hoped to do a bit of cycling  on some routes Sandy had researched before we left home. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side, so we dropped in to check out the Mall of America, built by the Ghermezians, the same family that built West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton.

Time for a little shopping

As we left the mall, heading to its twin city, St. Paul, it started to rain harder and harder. Wisely, Sandy decided to pull over into a parking lot to avoid driving in the downpour. Excellent decision! The rain started to pound down, and the wind rocked Boxy back and forth. Good thing we decided to abandon any thoughts of a bike ride that day!

We crossed into Wisconsin and made our way to a rustic campground, well off the beaten path, at Eau Galle Lake near Spring Valley.  Apparently, we were in Amish country, as evidenced by this sign.

The weather had been dreary all day, and the storm we had in St. Paul caused a number or trees and branches to come down in the campground. Again we had rain in the evening, but still managed a short session around the campfire after the rain stopped… and hoped there would be no big winds in the night to bring any timber down onto Boxy!

Boxy nestled in in the trees

  

Day 11:  Spring Valley, MN to Belvidere, IL

The warm temperatures, combined with overcast skies and drizzle, made it rather humid for the likes of us, so we just kept carrying on as we continued to abandoned thoughts of short bike rides.  The thing we noticed since we crossed the border was all the forests, lakes, ponds, and rivers. No wonder it’s humid!  And the crops, you ask? Absolutely no wheat or canola anywhere, but field after field of corn with the occasional field of soy beans. And why all the corn? One reason is to feed the dairy herds that produce the cheese the region is famous for.

Maybe this moose has had too much cheese! 

This day saw us cross in to Illinois to be met by this rather disturbing statistic.

The Illinois scenery remained much the same:  forest, lakes, corn fields, repeat.  Again, it was overcast with the heat and humidity beginning to be rather stifling. We found another campground that, once more, was off the beaten path. We had showers, did our laundry, and returned to Boxy to have our supper. In no time, we felt ready to head back to the showers; it was so humid, the moisture was condensing on our skin and our arms were soaking wet. Finally, it started to rain (again) and we thought that would ease the humidity situation.  

Boxy has a TV and DVD player, so we settled in to an evening of popcorn and a murder mystery. It began raining so hard, for a while we could not hear the TV over the pounding rain. After about half an hour, the rain eased off but continued through the night. Trust me, we are SOOOOO glad we decided to upgrade from out tent to Boxy!!!!

DVD in Boxy to escape the rain

Day 12:  Belvidere, IL to Dublin, OH

When we arose the morning of day 12, we almost wondered if we would be able to get out of the campground. The ground outside Boxy squished when we walked on it, it was so saturated with water, and there were huge puddles every where.

After the rain

Our original plan was to drive about a couple of hours west of Indianapolis and do some cycling. Again, the weather and the humidity was against us, so we just carried right on through Illinois and across Indiana.  We only stopped long enough for stretch breaks, short walks, and to find a Geocache in each state.

Once we hit Indianapolis, it was only just over 3 hours to the Columbus, Ohio area and Cathy's place in the suburb of Dublin, so we decided to have a quick supper and keep on going. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but here goes. The scenery was mostly forests, rivers, and corn fields. And the humidity was beginning to be almost unbearable.

As we passed through Dayton, the setting sun created some beautiful colours in the eastern (yes, I said eastern) sky. It looked like we would be getting yet more rain before we got to Dublin.

Eastern sky at sunset

We pulled up to Cathy’s house at 9:30 PM, safe, sound, tired, and a day early!  Cathy and her husband, Harry, invited us to stay and visit with them and their family for a few days. Here’s hoping the rain stops, the humidity settles, and we can get on our bikes for a few rides.

Stay tuned for Part 4 when we report on how all the family togetherness worked out!