Niagara Falls Grand Island KOA

I was really excited to get to the Niagara Falls  Grand Island KOA.  I had never worked at a KOA even though I have stayed at plenty of them over the years.  I found the KOA computer system a little bit of a challenge to learn but Ginny was very patient with my questions.  Ellie really seemed to enjoy her walks there.  It is a really big RV park and until we got really busy we enjoyed some great walks!  For a few weeks we were the only ones in the RV park at night.  Ginny the manager lived off site.  We opened on April 1st but there were not many campers yet. Since I arrived early I got to help get things ready for the season.  We cleaned cabins, the laundry, game room, store and a couple of the restrooms.  We also moved canoes out of the laundry room where they were stored for the winter.  We also checked in a lot of new inventory for the store. 

It sure was neat to be somewhere I had never been before for the season.  I was able to visit Niagara Falls before everything totally thawed out!  When I crossed the river going to Niagara Falls I noticed that there were big chunks of ice floating in it.  It was a beautiful day and as it was early April I almost had the place to myself!  I love seeing the sights in the off season!  This was just the first of many times I would visit the falls.

Sometimes work was challenging but that is the way I prefer it.  I never got bored while working at the Niagara falls Grand Island KOA.  This KOA is located on Grand Island which is between Buffalo New York and Niagara Falls.  You have to cross a bridge and pay a toll whenever you return to the island.  The island itself is very pretty and has some shopping so I did not have to leave the island often. 

We really had a good staff that year.  Everyone worked hard to make sure the guest had a wonderful experience. 

My cousin Nancy flew in to visit me for about 10 days in late June.  We had a wonderful time doing all the tourist things!  It took us two days to "do" Niagara Falls one on the US side and the other on the Canadian side.  Both have their appeal.  The US side is much more natural however the Canadian side has the best views of the falls. 

Nancy took this picture of me the morning we visited the US side.  The rainbow is right over the horseshoe falls.  It was a beautiful day and we made a full day of it.  After this we did the Cave of the winds.  They even give you disposable shoes!  We had to take an elevator down to the river then walk along a trail to the base of the American Falls.  We were glad to have the disposable shoes and ponchos!

Bridal Veil falls is the falls on the right. The American Falls is on the left.  You really appreciate the power of the falls when you see them from this view point.  I would say that Nancy and I saw the falls from just about any view point other than going over them in a barrel!  You really have to be a nut case to do that.  A few have done it and lived to tell the tale but not many. 

After doing the Cave of the winds we had lunch there in the park then hopped the trolley over to the visitors center. There we watched a movie about the falls and then we took the Maid of the Mist tour!  Wow talk about fun and wet!

The Maid of the Mist goes right to the base of the Horseshoe falls where it sits until just about everyone has had a chance to get good and wet. It also passes right in front of the American Falls.  It is well worth the time!  I think everyone needs to do it at least once. 

The next day we pulled out our passports and went over to Canada.  We walked across the bridge and walked down to the first visitor center and bought ourselves a pass that included the people mover.  Then we hopped a bus down to the Horseshoe Falls and the Journey behind the falls.  Wow, we had to schedule the time to go behind the falls.  Once again we were given ponchos to wear.   You know when you are given a poncho that you are going to get wet!  Nancy behind the Falls!  Gee, look at that view and we walked all the way down there for this!

 This is my drowned rat look!  We were on the deck right beside the Horseshoe Falls!  From here we took the people mover and went up to see the flower clock.  We had to stop at the botanical gardens first and catch a different people mover to get up to the clock.  There was only us and a couple on the bus so when we got off the driver told us he would wait for us if all we wanted to do was take a few pictures!  That way we did not have to wait for another bus to come along!

The clock was interesting but we enjoyed the views from the people movers and the people movers themselves just as much!

We ate at a little cafe with a beautiful view of the Falls.  It was neat to sit out on the patio and watch the falls. The food was good too!  We even managed to stay late enough to see the falls at night. 

Nancy planned her trip around my days off so we were able to take advantage of as many as possible. 

Our next trip was to take a cruise on the Erie Canal.  We went over to Lockport and took an interesting cruise on the Erie.  Wow, how great was that!

This was taken from the top deck of our boat as we were in the lock.  It was amazing how fast the lock filled!  The gates are operated by gravity! 

From the boat we saw a couple of interesting bridges. This was a road bridge.  It raised straight up so the boats could pass under it!  It was not very big.

This is an upside train bridge.  It was built this way so the taller boats could not go under it.  The trains were losing business to the boats on the Erie Canal and this was their way of fighting back!

After the Cruise we ate lunch at a picnic table near the river and watched the boats.  Then we took what they called the cave tour.  We ended up walking along the path that you see on the right side of the picture.  The "cave" was actually a conduit that was built to divert water to make power for the factories that stood above the river.  We were told that in the hay days of the canal that there was a seven story building at street level.  It was an interesting tour but you better be in pretty good shape to make the walk down to river level!

From there we went up to see lake Ontario!  It was the last of the five great lakes for me to see!  We went to Olcott  to the end of the road where we discovered a neat little light house and shopping area. 

From there we traveled on to Fort Niagara.  We were happy to find that it was still open and not very busy.  This was a very impressive fort!  I am glad we were able to see it on such a beautiful day. 

Other than dodging a red coat here we had a great visit to the fort! The fort is in a great location and we enjoyed walking the grounds and looking out over the water!

I wish I could share all of the pictures Nancy and I took.  We had a great visit and a wonderful time seeing some of the sights in the area.  One day we even went down to Jamestown and visited the Lucille Ball museums.  While it rained a lot that day we still had a good day.  I look forward to cousin Nancy visiting with me again one of these days.  We can have fun doing nothing and if you throw in a little sight seeing we have a great time.  I appreciate her family letting me borrow her for a few days!  I hated to see her leave. 

My friend Bo also visited one day while I was in New York.  She had traveled across the country to go to a Hi-Low rally in New York.  We visited the Power Vista.  It is a great display that explains how the power of the river is harnessed to make electricity.  The view of the river from up there is great.

I really enjoyed Bo's visit. She wanted to eat at the Anchor Bar in downtown Buffalo.  Home of the buffalo wings.  So I said sure if she could find it.  I know everyone who knows me is gasping right now!  Me in a bar!  Well, hey it was on her bucket list!  Besides we did not eat in the bar itself we passed through it into the dining area. I must say I was pretty disappointed the wings were not as good as I had at a local place on Grand Island.  It was an interesting trip driving to the Anchor Bar.  We went through what looked like a ghetto.  The GPS got us there but we were a little uncomfortable for awhile. We took another route home!  I enjoyed Bo's visit even though it was brief.  She was able to park her trailer right next to mine in the Workamper area of the KOA.   I appreciated Ginny letting her stay there. 

I made a lot of friends working at the KOA in New York state.  I must say I still miss them.  I have made a lot of great friends workamping and plan to continue as long as the good Lord lets me keep traveling. 

My next blog will be about my trip to Mexia from New York.