September - October 2023
On a foggy day 3 morning, we drove to Lockport to visit the Erie Canal Discovery Center, Flight of Five Locks and walk around the town before boarding a boat to cruise the Erie Canal passing through locks 34 and 35. Then it was, once again, back to Niagara Falls for dinner at Top of the Falls and a walk around Goat and Luna Islands.

Day 3 started out a little foggy

Day 3 started out a little foggy

We started with the Erie Canal Discovery Center to learn about the canal

This is a model of the Flight of Five locks that we'll see later

This mural depicts Lockport in a different era

The interactive video that attempts to simulate riding a lock boat is really creative.

You can learn how to operate a lock

My mother made a friend

The Flight of Five locks are on the left and the modern locks are on the right

The Flight of Five locks are a marvel of engineering for their era

The Flight of Five locks are on the left and the modern locks are on the right

The Flight of Five locks have manual wooden doors

Looking up the Flight of Five locks

The modern Erie Canal locks (34 & 35) are far different than the Flight of Five

The modern Erie Canal locks (34 & 35) are far different than the Flight of Five

The modern Erie Canal locks (34 & 35) are far different than the Flight of Five

The Lock Tenders Tribute Monument is one of the coolest monuments I've seen anywhere

The Lock Tenders Tribute Monument is one of the coolest monuments I've seen anywhere

Can you spot my mother in with the lock tenders?

I'm not sure if this photographer liked me horning in on his territory or not

I think I fit in pretty well

So many buildings in Lockport make use of canal stone in their architecture

Our lunch was ice cream from Lake Effect Cream. To answer the obvious question, it's black sesame.

Lockport, New York

We signed up for a cruise through the Erie Canal

An old canal tugboat

Headed toward the Flight of Five by boat this time

Headed toward the Flight of Five by boat this time

We're using the modern locks (locks 34 and 35)

We're using the modern locks (locks 34 and 35)

The lock begins to flood

The lock doors open

The double leaf doors open on lock 35

We continue our trip along the Erie Canal

These are the locks we passed through

Fall colors were starting to appears along the Erie Canal

Not sure what the story is with these buildings but they made for a nice picture

Headed back down the locks

We're locked in the lock

Lock 34 is opening up to let us go on our way

They call this the upside down bridge

Just a cute little church along the canal

Many old canal buildings still remain

Old Lockport City Hall

Dinner at Top of the Falls comes with a really nice view

Dinner at Top of the Falls comes with a really nice view

Terrapin Point is right in the mist of the falls

We unknowingly had one of the last meals of the season at Top of the Falls

The mist blocks out a lot of the sun at Terrapin Point

Looking over Horseshoe Falls

A rainbow from American falls with the observation tower and Rainbow Bridge in the background

The old Niagara Power Plant

It's amazing how dense the mist from the falls can be

American Falls

The Maid of the Mist is always full

Another Nikola Tesla statue

Bridal Veil Falls are tiny compared to the other falls

This mallard duck was just swimming around at the top of the falls without a care in the world

At the top of Bridal Veil Falls

Those rocks at the bottom of American Falls are no joke

I'm sure Cave of the Winds is fun, but I'll pass on standing under a waterfall in a poncho.

Umm, should someone tell these Canada geese and seagull about the waterfall?

Up close and personal with American Falls

Leaving Niagara Falls State Park for the day