Niagara Falls – Day 6

September - October 2023

Since we were ahead of schedule in New York, we added a second day in Canada. We visited the amazing Niagara Parks Power Station which also included a trip down to The Tunnel where we walked a half mile through an old water discharge tunnel to an beautiful, yet wet, viewpoint of the falls. We then took a ride on the Whirlpool Aerocar, a traditional Niagara Falls tourist attraction. Next was a drive to Saint Catharine's to see the locks of the Welland Canal. We rounded out the day, before heading back to the States, with a visit to the Port Dalhousie Front and Rear Range Lighthouses. It was a full day!

6-003 Nikola Tesla Statue
Nikola Tesla has a strong presence around here
6-007 Minolta Tower
This used to be the Minolta Tower but now it's simply the Tower Hotel
6-011 Skylon Tower & Window Cleaner
Look closely and you'll see a guy hanging off the Skylon tower cleaning the windows. Yikes!
6-013 Niagara Parks Power Station
The Niagara Power Station is a really fun atraction
6-015 Niagara Parks Power Station
The Niagara Power Station is a really fun atraction
6-018 Niagara Parks Power Station Entrance
Those are some serious doors behind that glass.
6-019 Fire Extinguisher
Not a exactly a grab and run kind of fire extinguisher
6-020 Niagara Parks Power Station
This is one of the most interesting power plants I've been in
6-024 Feeder
The old gear in this place, like these feeders, is fascinating
6-025 Governor & Mechanical Brake
This is a governor and a mechanical brake
6-028 Breakers
These breakers look like something out of a movie
6-029 Exciter
This big thing is one of the exciters
6-030 Niagara Parks Power Station
This is one of the most interesting power plants I've been in
6-031 Mom Taking My Photo
I asked my mother to take my photo and suddenly she really looked the part
6-035 Overhead Crane
You need some serious cranes to move equipment around this place
6-036 Telephone Booth
As. loud as this place was when it was in operation, this phone booth was necesary for communication.
6-038 Welder
That's a portable welder
6-039 Elevator
The elevator we rode is a little more modern than this
6-047 The Tunnel
The work they did on the tunnel to turn it into a pedestrian walk way is really impressive
6-049 The Tunnel
I see light at the end of the tunnel
6-050 American Falls from The Tunnel
We reached the end of the tunnel and are at the base of the falls
6-053 Horseshoe Falls
The view from the base of Horseshoe Falls
6-054 View from The Tunnel
It's a little damp down here, but the views are great
6-055 View from The Tunnel
The Maids of the Mist are passing right by here
6-056 Horseshoe Falls
The mist is blocking out a lot of the sun
6-057 The Tunnel Entrance
That's where we just came out of
6-058 Mom at The Tunnel
My mother is staying dry in her free blue poncho
6-060 Michael at The Tunnel
I think I actually look more stylish than usual
6-064 Maid of the Mist
So much mist and foam down here
6-068 The Tunnel Entrance
Heading back into the tunnel
6-069 Old Bricks in The Tunnel
There are some places where you can see the original brickwork inside the tunnel
6-070 The Tunnel Elevator
The elevator is headed down to get us
6-075 Swiss Chalet
All the times we've been in Canada, we've never tried a Swiss Chalet until now.
6-076 Chicken Sandwich & Poutine
Chicken sandwich and poutine at Swiss Chalet.
6-079 Whirlpool Aerocar
The Whirlpool Aerocar comes across the whirlpool toward us
6-081 Niagara Whirlpool
Looking out over the whirlpool as we wait our turn to board the aerocar
6-083 Whirlpool Aerocar
It's almost our turn as another load of passengers return
6-084 Whirlpool Aerocar Top
The fancy top on the aerocar is its signature feature
6-090 Niagara Whirlpool
Passing high over the Niagara whirlpool
6-092 Niagara River
The rapids of the Niagara River
6-093 Whirlpool Endpoint
Nearing the far side of the trip, but you don't actually stop here since this is in the USA
6-095 Whirlpool Aerocar Station
Headed back to the station on the Canadian side as more people wait to board
6-096 St Catharines Museum
We went to Saint Catharines to visit the Welland Canal locks
6-097 Welland Canal Lock 3
Welland Canal lock 3 is ready for a ship to enter
6-099 MV Frontenac & Homer Drawbridge
Good timing, a ship is coming now. It's the MV Frontenac
6-100 MV Frontenac
The MV Frontenac enters Welland Canal lock 3
6-101 MV Frontenac
The MV Frontenac enters Welland Canal lock 3
6-103 MV Frontenac
I'm glad we're upwind
6-105 Welland Canal Lock 3 Doors
The lock doors are closing
6-107 MV Frontenac
This is how the ship, MV Frontenac, sat in the lock when it entered.
6-108 MV Frontenac
This is how the ship, MV Frontenac, sat after the lock was flooded
6-109 Welland Canal Lock 3 Doors
The lock doors are opening for the ship to continue it trip thorugh the Welland Canal
6-111 Port Dalhousie Rear & Front Range Lighthouses
We took a walk out to the Port Dalhousie Rear & Front Range Lighthouses
6-113 Cargo Ship
A cargo ship steams by Saint Catharines
6-115 Port Dalhousie Front Range Lighthouse
We took a walk out to the Port Dalhousie Front Range Lighthouse
6-118 Port Dalhousie Rear Range Lighthouse
The Port Dalhousie Rear Range Lighthouse
6-120 Welland Canal Locks 4, 5 & 6
More locks along the Welland Canal. These are locks 4, 5 and 6.