Day 51 Oh Canada

Today was a gorgeous day for cycling. We left West Seneca, New York and made our way to downtown Buffalo. After 8 miles we arrived at the Peace Bridge.

We had our passports, vax cards, ArriveCAN app number and COVID test results. The guard took our passports and briefly looked at our test results. All he could see was NEGATIVE on our screen. He didn’t need anything else.

In Canada we rode on a quiet rode next to the Niagara River and saw genuine Canada geese.

Real Canadian cormorants.

Arriving at Niagara Falls from the West was a real treat. In the distance you can see the mist from the falls. You can also see a rainbow in the mist.

Then the river becomes full of rapids.

And then the river just disappears.

Niagara Falls is very impressive.

There wasn’t a lot of English spoken around the falls. Can you spot the two non-Sikhs in the photo below?

The Maid of the Mist is operating like always. The color of the rain ponchos was red today.

We looked at the floral clock.

To leave Canada we took the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. All told, we were in Canada for about 27 miles. After a 20 minute wait U.S. Customs was easy peasy.

Back in the USA we rode about 20 miles to Lockport, New York. Its name derives from a set of Erie Canal locks in the city that were built to allow canal barges to traverse the 60-foot natural drop of the Niagara Escarpment. The original canal had a set of 5 locks and now they serve as a spillway. You can see them in the photo below. The 5 locks were replaced with two large locks that are used today.

We got on the Erie Canal at Lockport. We saw about 20 boats heading towards us as we peddled on the old towpath.

The canal was an engineering marvel. At one location the canal makes a sharp bend and is about 75 feet above the Irondequoit Creek. Chad is on the canal and the creek and waterfall are below. Pretty amazing.