Niagara Falls

Another fun day. We left our campground and felt like we were driving down 0 Ave. We were on a little hill and could see right down over the farmland, then it felt like 32^nd Ave as we passed a subdivision just like Morgan Creek but with smaller lots. We followed the QEW through Burlington, Hamilton, St Catherine’s and into the Niagara area. We’ve never see so many wineries, about 40 just along the freeway. We parked at the very far end of the Niagara Parkway and walked along, overlooking the Falls which are on the Niagara River, the international border between Canada and the US. The falls were formed by a retreating glacier about 12,000 years ago. The thundering Canadian Horseshoe Falls are 177’ high and 2,215’ wide. You stand just feet from the top and are just dripping with the mist, a welcome treat after the muggy Toronto humidity. We walked all the way down to the other end, to the dock where we took the boat ‘Maid of the Mist’. It is just opposite the American Falls which we went over to see. Then we headed right up to the Canadian, dressed in our blue rain slickers and still getting soaked by mist. We were surprised how turbulent the river was, as we went very close to the falls. The area is filled with beautiful gardens. On top again, we saw a rainbow over the Maid of the Mist below.

HippoToronto Tour and CN Tower

We had lots of fun today. We drove into Toronto to the Yorkdale Shopping Center and jumped on the subway down to Union Station right by the waterfront. There we took the Hippo Tour, a 90 minute narrated tour of the city on an amphibious bus, Henrietta. We saw all the sights and got all the details from the Hockey Hall of Fame, Yonge St., the longest street in the world, past Hospital Drive with 3 of them, through Chinatown, U of T , past the Canadian National Exhibition and more. I went on a Band trip at 16 and we played at the CNE so that was fun for me to see again. The next step was into the water, through the marina by Ontario Place, an amusement park and Concert area, right next to Lake Ontario.

Next, we spent 58 seconds going up the CN Tower, the tallest free standing structure in the world when it was built in 1995 but outdone by Dubai in 2009. We enjoyed the Observation Deck with incredible views for 100 miles (160 km)on a good day. We were surprised by the canopy of trees you could see below in the housing areas. We looked over Lake Ontario, where we’d been and the entire city. We looked down onto the Rogers Center, home of the Blue Jays, their baseball team. The tower is hit by lightening about 75 times a year but has copper strips going down the tower into the earth to a grounding spot. There is the world famous glass floor; I just managed a peek at it, 256 sq. ft. of glass, strong enough to hold 14 large hippos. The tower is built to withstand an 8.5 earthquake. Very interesting day. We left the city at 4:45 and traffic was heavy but it only took us 45 minutes back to the RV Park.

Milton, outside of Toronto

We left Barrie at 10 to miss morning rush hour and that worked well. We went over to a Petro cardlock in old Barrie for fuel and it was interesting. Some lovely old brick houses, not very wide. We went down Hwy 400 past small farms and lots of hay and corn. We went onto the 407 to bypass Toronto to get to Milton where we are staying. Little did I know it’s an ETR, electronic express toll road so the bill is in the mail. Lovely road and less traffic so maybe it wasn’t so bad. We’re staying at Milton Heights Campground, a treed shady park with very narrow roads, $28.80 with a Good Sam discount, so not bad and only 45 minutes into Toronto, which is Ontario’s largest city, the 5^th in North America and very diverse, over 140 languages and dialects are spoken in the city.

Barrie, ON

Hot and humid for our walk this morning, then R and M headed east while we went south on hwy 69, headed for Toronto. We’re going down the east side of Georgian Bay, often called the 6^th great lake. Now I know what they mean by the Canadian Shield, gnarled pines clinging stubbornly to expanses of striped rock. They say there are 30,000 islands along this stretch and I believe it. It is very pretty and there is water everywhere. Small lakes are covered with lily pads, now blooming with white star shaped flowers. We pulled off in Barrie, in Wal-Mart, built by the SmartCentre Group who did the new one at 24th at home. As usual, we're at the far side of the parking lot. This was originally a landing place for the aboriginal inhabitants on the west side of Kempenfelt Bay and later fur traders. It was an important connection along the Nine Mile Portage, a vital supply route during the war of 1812. Rivers which we went over today were also routes for the Voyageurs. You can’t miss the history every mile you go.

Away to Sudbury

We started off as R as M fueled. We’re following St. Josephs Channel, inside Manitoulin Island while the other side of it is Lake Huron. This island is the largest freshwater island in the world and is 110 miles long and 3 – 50 wide. There are lots of small farms along here with rolled hay standing in the fields. We passed Bruce Mines, a small town, which had the first copper mine in Canada. We also passed 2 bearded men in old fashioned clothing driving their horses and buggies. There are some Amish people around here. We caught up to each other and lunched in the small town of Massey, parked right on the main street. We kept seeing Inukshuks on the rocky outcrops along the way to Sudbury, where we parked behind Wal-Mart, our favourite spot. They are always on the main freeway and easy to find instead of winding down some tiny gravel road to a lake with soft ground. Sudbury was originally an offspring of the Canadian Pacific Railway, but developed as a lumbering community before becoming a world-known center for mining, smelting, reefing and geological science. It is the result of an amalgamation of 7 neighbouring towns in 2001 and contains more than 300 lakes. M and I walked, then shopped. I got 2 shirts, shoes and a skirt for $34.00. Why not?