The Accidental Boilermaker

 Is the last day of vacation still vacation? We had a decent drive ahead of us. But we packed up camp and said goodbye to Lake Ontario.  We found a great little family restaurant for lunch where we all enjoyed what we ordered and also stopped later for coffee in a cute little downtown in Ohio.  We made it home safely and started the process of putting stuff away and tackling laundry.

 Our last full day of camping the weather changed. It cooled off and the wind picked up. Jameson really wanted to try fishing on the Niagara River so we woke up early and drove to a public dock right next to the dam.  Evelyn fished a little too.  Neither had any luck. Back at camp, we at breakfast and then visited Fort Niagara. The area has a free shuttle that takes you to several popular tourist spots. There’s a specific route that runs from 4 mile creek state park to Fort Niagara so we thought we’d give it a try.  We all enjoyed the fort. It seemed to have the perfect combo of things to look at and things to read. The reenactors were very informative too. And it wasn’t blazing hot. Nate has decided every vacation now needs to include a trip to a historical fort.  We tried swimming in Lake Ontario again at a different beach. The wind and waves meant we didn’t really swim as much as wade and walk along the shore.  Evelyn and Jameson spent much of the evenin...

 Wednesday morning Nate had to take work call but it ended up being very short so that was good. After breakfast, we drove to Devil’s Hole State Park.  This was another hike down into the Niagara River gorge.  Devil’s Hole is a set of rapids along the river. We didn’t get a great view from the trail; there were too many trees. But it was another fun, challenging hike.  The power plant dam along the river also houses a small, free and air conditioned science museum. We were hungry so we didn’t stay long enough to do everything, but it was a neat place and fun to learn about how the river and dam provide power.  For the afternoon we planned on swimming in Lake Ontario. Finding a nice beach proved to be challenging.  We have been spoiled by Lake Michigan. Where we ended up wasn’t perfect but it sufficed. It was rocky with some sand and the water had some algae which no one enjoyed. We later learned you have to drive more than an hour to find sandy beaches. ...

Tuesday was the day we visited Niagara Falls State Park. We spent the whole day at the park. Again, it was hot so any chance we got to feel the spray or get wet, we took.  Anytime I told someone we were going to Niagara, they’d ask US or Canada?  We didn’t want to bother with passports so we stayed on the American side. Which was amazing in its own way, but I understand now why people say the falls are prettier from Canada. You do get a better view from across the river.  We decided to do all the fun stuff because we probably aren’t coming back anytime soon. Our first adventure was Cave in the Wind. There was a small museum room and short film about the history of the falls and the state park before you take the elevator down to the bottom of the Bridal Veil. The ponchos don’t do much here.  Once you’re on the deck, you get soaked. And hold on to your hat, it’s super windy. Being on the hurricane deck was overwhelming but exciting too.  Ponchos off, trying to dr...

 Monday morning we said goodbye to Lake Erie and headed to 4 Mile Creek State Park in Youngstown, NY.  The drive was only 90 minutes and we didn’t want to go straight to the campsite so we stopped at Whirlpool State Park for lunch and a hike. We all loved the hiking we did along the Niagara river gorge. Lots of steps down into the gorge, moderate to difficult hiking with ups and downs and big rocks. And gorgeous views.  We made it to the whirlpool. This was an out and back hike, so all those steps we went down, we had to climb back up. So we stopped to enjoy the view for a while.  Monday was also our 18th wedding anniversary.  After hiking, we checked into our site. 4 Mile is a really nice campground right on Lake Ontario.  We made it to all five Great Lakes! 

 It was another hot and sticky day. After breakfast we went for a short hike at the campground and tried to decided on an activity for the day. Since it was Sunday many places didn’t open till after lunch but it was too hot to just lounge around at the campsite and wait. We decided on Panama Rocks Scenic Park. When searching for things to do in the area, this place comes up frequently and is highly rated but Nate and I worried it wouldn’t be worth the drive or cost to get in. Not the case at all!  It is somewhat similar to Turkey Run with rock formations that don’t seem to match the forest they are found in. Unlike Turkey Run, you are encouraged to climb, explore and wander all over.  There are caves you can walk back into, some that lead from the bottom of the ridge all the way through and up to the top. We weren’t overly adventurous when it came to the caves and tunnels, but everyone did enjoy climbing on the big rocks.  After hiking and climbing we stopped for ice...

 Last Saturday we left for our camping vacation.  First stop was Lake Erie State Park in Brocton, New York. It was so hot and humid! We set up the screen tent first and then found the swim bag and drove to  the nearest beach.  The park did have lake access but we didn’t find it at first and after we did, the public beach we found was nicer.  Evelyn and Jameson have swam in Lake Erie before, but it was back in 2019 so they don’t remember.  These goal of these two days of camping was to say we’ve camped on and swam in Lake Erie.  After swimming we tried to stay cool at the campsite. Evelyn and Jameson browsed through a magazine trying to find a fun activity for the next day. We didn’t have a fire because it was so hot and we kept the rain fly off the tent.  After dinner, we found the park’s beach.  Good for walking along and skipping stones.  Jameson tried his hand at fishing on Lake Erie before bed.