~Saturday, August 21, 2021~
Day 433
How sweet of Shane to make us a lovely breakfast of country style potatoes, eggs, bacon and bagels. That should definitely do the trick for a day of hiking! And we’re really missing those as of late.
So Jeff, Shane, Sadie and I packed up the car and headed out to explore more of the Niagara Falls area. One of the trails we had in mind was the Niagara Glen Nature Reserve. About 10 minutes into the drive, Jeff looked up the address only to find that it was on the Canadian side. Oh no!! It’s all Shane’s fault (kidding). We were really looking forward to this one since it got rave reviews. With Canada and the U.S. split right down the center of the Niagara River, it’s hard to keep straight what attractions are on what side. But we have heard that Canada’s city, also named Niagara Falls, is supposed to be stunning. Let’s be honest. Canada completely lucked out here with the better vistas. On the Canada side, you can see all three waterfalls from their edge. But even though the U.S. side doesn’t have the panoramic views like Canada, the U.S. side does allow you to get up closer. In any case, I think it’s worthwhile visiting both sides, so we will definitely be back another time to experience the other as well.
O.k. Next on the list…..Devil’s Hole. Plenty of parking made for an easy start. This 2.5-mile hiking trail to the Niagara River is a medium level forested hike down into the gorge. You can continue to the Whirlpool State Park by way of an old rail bed. The trail down was a bit challenging with many large rocks and tree roots to watch out for and the speed of the water is amazing as it travels by you at about 22 mph.
Along the way, you can’t help but be distracted by the many speed boat tours going by (something we definitely want to look into). We ended at the junction of the Devil’s Hole trail and the Whirlpool Rapids Trail. Sadie even found a watering hole on a set of rocks above the water. It was also a good spot to cool our feet down.
Another grocery store run this time for dad’s homemade chili. Two of Shane’s favorites are dad’s homemade spaghetti sauce and the chili. Since Jeff recently made the spaghetti sauce, he decided on making the chili instead. And it was delicious!! After dinner we played a game of Fastrack, with dad being the winner. I guess he deserved a winner since he made the chili...right?