Our 2019 Dakotas Trip

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.