Friends and Falls

In late October, a friend came to visit and we decided to go see Niagara Falls.  The 42 mile round trip was a bit out of what we could accomplish, so we stuck all the bikes on the car and drove across the Grand Island bridges to a park in Niagara Falls.  This is a great way to see the falls, especially if you have friends and family who don't ride much. The ride is pretty flat, and is only about 8 miles, round trip. Bikes allow you to ride around from vista to vista quickly, albeit due to the time of year, it was not extraordinarily busy.  Sometimes it is so crowded, you have to walk your bike a lot, but this is still better than walking everywhere.

Cave of the Winds, Niagara Falls

We took the trip to Cave of the Winds, which I had never done before and it was really, really cool.  You can no longer go behind the falls, because it is too dangerous, but they have built this weird boardwalk at the base you get to via an elevator.  The boardwalk looks like it was constructed by me and my friend, because it is just propped up against the raging torrent by 2x4s and a few 2x6s.  Many of the boards have been reused as they needed to be replaced.  The owners just cut them down and nail them in different places that need shorter boards. There are not any obvious spots where the structure has been morticed or drilled and anchored into the rock. It is just braced, but seems oddly stable. You can stand almost under some of the flow and it is like something out of Master and Commander; you are blasted by water and wind. You can avoid those extreme spots and are not herded along by anyone, so you can totally take your time. Highly suggested.