Friday,  June 14

Updated 5:00pm

Wednesday while at a visitor center on the way into the Niagara Falls area, we purchased a package that includes popular attractions and unlimited use of their bus transportation system, WeGo.  Yesterday we went back and used it. All the main attractions were a convenient 8 minute car ride from the Walmart where we overnighted in the motorhome. We got to our first attraction about 9:30am.

I was here when I was about 13 but, except for the Falls themselves, things have really changed. By comparison, it's like Disney World now. Lots of new side 'attractions'. Overall though, they've done a good job of making it efficient to handle the large volume of visitors  who constantly arrived by bus loads throughout the day (mostly Asians).

It was a cold, rainy, dreary day. We started by going to the IMAX theatre and saw a so-so show about the native American back-story of the Falls. IMax didn't really add much to the movie. Then we jumped on the WeGo bus and headed to the main visitor center and transportation interchange at Table Rock. There we saw a 3D-4D show that had many real effects like real rain, snow, splashing water all around us, etc. Very realistic and entertaining. We went on the walking tour of the tunnels behind the Falls and then on a Maid of the Mist boat ride. We saw the Canadian Falls from many perspectives, above, below, behind and in front. We also got very wet, despite the rain slickers (actually disposable plastic sacks) they handed out at every up-close venue.

We arrived back at the motorhome around 4:00pm, damp, tired and glad to be back. We turned on the TV, poured a glass of wine and had dinner. We decided to forgo visiting the America  side of the Falls in Buffalo, as we'd pretty much seen everything here in Canada.

Today we'll start the journey back home. Tentatively, we plan to drive to somewhere TBD as far as Elmira, NY and overnight there. We should be home some time Saturday, with a tentative plan to see the kids on Father's Day.

FLASH!!!
We left Niagara Falls, Canada between 9:30 and 10:00 am. We encountered long lines of traffic at US Customs and it took about 45 minutes to get through. We drove until about 4:00pm and, after stopping only to refuel, arrived here at the Buckhorn, Pa Walmart where we spent our first night 3 weeks ago. We plan to rest a little and wait until the Friday rush traffic dies down, then leave for home around 6:00pm. We should be home by 8:00pm. Tomorrow morning we'll go to the storage lot with both cars and empty the motorhome. Next weekend, I'll bring it home to our driveway, empty the tanks, wash it and give the inside a thorough cleaning. She served us very well, keeping us as comfortable as home and not failing in any way.

Canadian Falls as seen from Skylon Tower

Maid of The Mist boat

American Falls as seen from Skylon Tower

View of Canadian Falls from  viewing platform outside one of the tunnels behind the Falls

Skylon Tower

Zip line near Falls (not over it)

Zip line starting point

Thursday, June 13

Yesterday we went to the visitor information center and purchased our 48 hour  passes to the Skylon Tower, Maid if the Mist, Behind the Falls and an IMax movie.  We went up in the Skylon Tower, walked around and took a few pictures. We plan to go back today and do the other attractions. We might to decide not to visit the American side, instead head home.

Horse Shoe Falls in Canada

Maid of the Mist

American Falls

Wednesday, June 12

We crossed into Canada yesterday to shortcut our ride to Niagara Falls. We're about 2 hours away in a Walmart and hope to be at the Canadian Falls by early afternoon. It's 8:45 am and Barb's still asleep, so not sure exactly when we'll get on the road.

Still hoping to be home Saturday.

Tuesday, June 11
Gaylord, MI

Yesterday we crossed the Mackinac bridge and we're now in Upper Michigan where the "Upers" live.

When we arrived, it was very chilly and very windy. Today seems better.

They have these pastry wrapped baked meat pies here that thay call "Pasties". I bought one to bake later.

I decided to take the "shortcut" to Niagara Falls through Canada. We'll get into Canada this afternoon and hopefully be looking at the Falls on Wednesday, getting home in time for Father's Day.

Monday, June 10

We're back on Eastern time, so thst makes things a little less confusing. Also a sign that we're nearing the final legs of our journey.

Yesterday was a "down" day, after the previous night where we were fighting off mosquitos all night and got little sleep. We drove a few hours, arriving at this campground in Gladstone, MI near the Western shore of Lake Michigan. We emptied our holding tanks, filled up the water tank, got some nap time, had dinner, watched TV and generally recouped a little from days of hard driving and little rest. We were beat.

Today we're going to run some laundry at the campground's laundromat, get showers and resume the trek to the Mackinac Straits and bridge.

Sunday, June 9
Yesterday we drove about 3-4 hours to get 1/2 way  to the Mackinac bridge in upper Michigan. Our plan was to find a campgroumd or Walmart when we arrive, but it wasn't so easy. This is the "Land of 1000 Lakes" and that's about all there is. Tiny towns, lakes and "resorts" back in the woods. We stopped and pulled into a big parking lot to get our bearings and make a new plan, but couldn't find anything suitable. After pondering Google Maps and some Internet databases for a while, I was losing hope when I suddenly looked around and saw the solution right under our noses. We were in a native American casino parking lot. Casinos are notoriously friendly to RVs. I asked and was told it would be fine. Problem solved.

Parked at the Northern Waters Casino

We jumped in the Jeep and drove through some of the lake country. "Land of 1000 Lakes" is an understatement. Out here, it's all forest, lakes and hidden lake resorts. After a couple hours of this, we returned to the motorhome, had a light dinner and went over to the casino for a while. It was a fitful night; there are a bazillion mosquitos around here and they're somehow getting inside the MH and tormenting us. We'll be happy to move on.

Yesterday we left at about 11:00am and drove about 3 hours to reach Duluth on the shore of Lake Superior. We actually went a bit farther, crossing a bridge to a little peninsula of Wisconsin where we are now at a Walmart in Superior, WI.

After we arrived, we jumped in the  Jeep, and headed back to Duluth to check out the Duluth Trading Company factory store. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed. The store is not very big, is located in a somewhat run-down urban area with limited parking, and was poorly lit and dingy inside. We saw all of their well-advertised products, but we also saw a lot of common merchandise of the quality you'd see at Walmart. Sadly, even the common merchandise was priced at their premium levels and everything is made in Vietnam, Thailand or China. This is not what I expected from  a proud mid-western company like DTC. I'll gladly pay a premium for their unique quality product lines, but the other stuff demeans the whole brand. I gave my little sermon to the staff and we left, very unfulfilled.

On the way back, we stopped at an Applebee's for dinner, then back to the MH. Mysteriously, the satellite couldn't get a satellite lock, so we watched local TV from the rooftop TV antenna. Strangely, this morning when I tried the satellite, it had no trouble getting a lock.

Today's itinerary isn't set yet, but we're generally headed to the Mackinac bridge across the Straits of Mackinac which seperates Lake Huron from Lake Michigan.