Western Pennsylvania and Ohio

When we left Niagara Falls area, we went on to Clarion PA to visit our friends there, Wayde and Emily. We were there for about 6 days and had a great time visiting with them, and checking out the area.

We parked in their great big garage. Wow, what a huge garage, they have hook ups in there and all. Their motor home was at factory service for repairs, so we had the garage all to ourselves.

They have a beautiful home, and very nice neighbors too, it would be nice to live in such a friendly area, and such a nice town too.

We drove up to Titusville PA to the Drake Well Museum, where the oil well was drilled that launched the petroleum industry in 1859. They have a great museum there with the original equipment on display, some still operating, and with films about how the oil well was started. We even drove through a very interesting small town named Oil City.

When we left our friend's house in Pennsylvania, we headed toward the factory in Elkhart Indiana, we had over a week to get there, so we stopped at a Thousand Trails Park in Jefferson, Ohio, just 12 miles from Lake Erie.

We spent 5 or 6 days there and just relaxed and rested, Joe even got to fish a little bit in the small lake at the campground. One day we drove up to Geneva on The Lake, they were having a motorcycle rally there in town, and there must have been over a thousand bikes there. We stopped at the city park and looked at Lake Erie, it looked like an ocean, it was so big!! We went to a couple of Farmer's Markets in the area, and a small car show at the city park in Austinburg.

Erie Canal, Lockport, NY and Old Fort Niagara

While we were staying at the Elks Lodge in Niagara Falls, we visited Lockport NY where locks 34 and 35 on the Erie Canal are still in operation. We went on a boat up the Erie Canal through the two locks and it was really interesting.

We also visited Old Fort Niagara, at the mouth of the Niagara River where it enters Lake Ontario. This fort dates back to 1726 and is a major historical site, and it is very well restored and maintained. They have actors dressed in era clothing and re-inacting those times, displaying tools and weapons and telling stories of the past.

We left Niagara Falls and are now heading for our friends house in Western Pennsylvania. We are looking forward to seeing Wayde and Emily and visiting with them again.

Niagara Falls, New York

We spent a little over a week in the Niagara Falls area, we stayed at the Elk's Lodge there. The people at the lodge were so nice, and there is a lot to do in the area, so we wanted to spend a little extra time and see more of the sites.
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Of course, the most important and popular things to see is Niagara Falls State Park. We saw Niagara Falls about 10 years ago and we stayed on the Canadian side that time, so we decided to go to the American side on this trip. We took a tour trolley around the State Park and checked out the park from the trolley first. One of the stops was the Three Sister's Island, we walked over a bridge to the island and took these pictures there, this island is located just a little from the falls on the American side.

We went to the American Falls next, these pictures were taken there and you can see the Canadian side from these pictures, the Canadian falls is also known as the Horseshoe Falls. You can also see (if you look very close at the last two pictures) the boat that goes under the falls, we took this boat last time we came to Niagara Falls. It is called the Maid of The Mist, you get very wet, it is also a rough ride on that small boat, but it was fun and quite an experience, however, we decided that once was enough.

This is one of the most spectacular sights in the world. If you have been to Niagara Falls I am sure you agree, if not, and you get an opportunity to visit this wonderful place, you will never forget it. Niagara Falls is truly amazing.