Cherie and I just got back from the most wonderful “staycation” we could have imagined. We cheated by basing it out of our families house in PA, and going to Niagara Falls for a few days. But overall it was a low key trip and we just checked stuff out as it popped onto our radar! We packed the car full of entertainment and headed to PA for our first stop.
Western Pennsylvania Laurel Festival
For our first day in PA we headed to downtown Brookville. Cherie hosted a booth at the Western PA Laurel Festivals Art in the Park. So we setup the pop-up and displayed her art for sale. She received many compliments throughout the day and even made a few sales! She event entered a few pieces in the art show.
Danielle was set up in a booth next to ours and spent the day giving clogging demonstrations. She’s planning to start offering lessons and so this was a recruiting effort for her. That night we enjoyed a show in the open air Cook Forest Sawmill Theater.
Altoona for the Day
Along with my parents we took a day trip to Altoona to visit the Railroaders Museum in Altoona. On the way was a stop at the Patton Wind Farm with 15 large windmills and a small pull-off to learn more about it. We drove around a little and managed to get permission to go onto someone’s property to get closer to the base of one. Windmills up close are always very impressive.
Not sure what to say about the museum. It was pretty neat and really did shed light on the history of railroads in America. I know that the impact of train travel in the region was significant, but I didn’t realize quite how significant! If you’re a train or history enthusiast it’s definitely worth the stop.
After the museum we booked it over to Horseshoe Curve, famous for the difficult route it traverses and the marvel of civil engineering it represents. We got there near the end of the day and watched the last train that would go through during business hours. Then we left and booked it over to the nearby Gallitzin Tunnel. One of the tunnels is closed now but the other remains open. We managed to see the same trail exit the tunnel and pass under the bridge we were on. Kind of fun!
Drive to Niagara
The four of us headed toward Niagara, NY. Unfortunately Cherie and I’s passports have expired, but in hindsight that forced us to enjoy what I suspect is the better side of the falls.
On the way up we actually hit several attractions but the most noteworthy was Eternal Flame Falls which we hiked to. It’s a natural gas leak that happens to come out in a pocket under a waterfall. I have no doubt it was originally lit by pranking teenagers, but today it’s an odd natural wonder. The hike wasn’t too difficult, but my mom and dad did struggle and decided not to go the whole way. The first half of the hike is through the woods, with the second half being down in the stream bed essentially. We had to climb over and under all sorts of debris from when the valley must flood, but we eventually saw the falls. Then you must climb and hike the whole way back out. We were probably there about 2 hours. We arrived into Niagara late, but made it to the falls just in time to watch the fireworks, the first night they fired them for the summer season.
Niagara Falls
Everyone seems to think that the Canadian side of the falls is better. And while I won’t argue that the horseshoe is more spectacular, after spending several days in the area I would much rather enjoy the American side more. The Canadian side has grown up into a Vegas of the north it would appear. While the American side is a collection of State and National Parks dedicated to enjoying the falls in all their natural wonder.
We chose to take a guided tour since it included discounts on admission to some of the attractions, included transportation, and would help us avoid standing in line. This turned out to be a great decision.
The tour started with a stop at the top. We got to go right up to the edge of the American falls. Then it was down to Goat Island and the Cave of the Winds. This was probably the most impressive way to experience the falls which you can only do on the American side. The power of the water as you walk through the falls on the Hurricane Deck really is an experience. We also learned that they take all the walkways down each fall because the winter ice would destroy them. Then in the spring a small team of workers reassemble them, often standing in waist deep rapids that are just above freezing. The feat of assembly and disassembly annually really is remarkable.
After the Cave of the Winds it was back to the bus and over to the Whirlpool State Park. The park really is a great spot to just get away from it all and relax. I’ve never been super impressed with the whirlpool itself, but it is impressive to think that they occasionally get boats through there!
After the whirlpool it was back on the bus and over to the Maid of the Mist. I had never done the Maid of the Mist, and experiencing the power of the falls from the middle of the river in a boat was truly humbling. Apparently you get to go slightly deeper into the falls if you take the American tour. The US Coast Guard is apparently more accommodating that the Canadian Coast Guard.
At the end of the boat ride we got to enjoy the falls from the top of the observation tower. The view from the tower was beautiful on the day we were there. Really just everything that day was beautiful!
After the tour we decided to go check out the Three Sister Islands. We took our time there and I got to take some time to try and get some not as touristy pictures. I tried my hand at some longer exposure water pictures of the rapids as well as some sunset pictures from one of the bridges.
As it got dark we decided to get dinner at the Anchor Bar, home of the original buffalo wing! We all dutifully got buffalo wings. They were great, and we all had our fill. We probably ate 60 wings between the four of us.
We didn’t have much time after dinner though before we wanted to be back near the falls for the fireworks show. We had spec’d it out and I wanted to get pictures from Luna Island. It’s a small island within the American falls. I’m happy to say that some of the pictures I got I’m really happy with. I wish I had had more time to enjoy this picturesque place! We spent the whole day almost outside and just enjoying the falls in well designed parks that didn’t distract from the natural beauty all around.
On our way back to the hotel we nerded out a bit and stopped at the Niagara Power Project Intake Liftgates. Apparently they divert up to 375,000 gallons of water PER SECOND toward the Robert Moses Power Plant Reservoir a few miles away.
Back to Pennsylvania
Before heading out of town we swung by the Robert Moses Power Plant Reservoir. Basically it’s a big holding tank if you will for the water they collected over night. That way they can create power during the day with water that was sucked off the river when most tourists were asleep! There wasn’t much to see here per se, but the earthen walls that hold it back are impressive from all sides.
We had breakfast at a Tim Horton’s. Apparently that’s a big deal. We got our picture with who I assume was the Manager and Regional Manager who were having a business chat in the parking lot. They caught us taking pics and decided to hop in with us!
We didn’t make it far out of town before we stopped at the Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride. The cave is really a man-made tunnel from back in the day used to power factories. It is largely empty now, save for the one end which you can tour by a small boat. Apparently they filmed parts of Sharknado 2 here! We also checked out the lock here which is on the Erie Canal. It’s always neat to see a modern lock in operation.
Brookville, PA
We spent the last few days of our vacation in Brookville. While I thought the week would calm down at this point the highlights just kept coming! We visited my Aunt Brenda at her work at DeMans in downtown Brookville. She works in the shop upstairs where they make trophies and other awards. In addition to getting to see the old elevator from the turn of the century she showed me a pantograph. A mechanical engraving machine used to reduce your movements when engraving. The operator follows a stencil in one scale and the engraver head moves through the same motions just with shorter throws in all directions. This was so cool to see in person!
The next day I got to tour Miller Welding and Brookville Equipment. I’d heard of both since they are both big employers in town but had no idea exactly what all they did. Miller Welding manufactures big steel assemblies. We saw guys welding JLG manlift frames. They were the size of a small car with 4+in walls on all sides. I can only imagine how long it takes to cut, bend, and weld those assemblies. Their facility was very impressive to this mechanical engineer!
Next stop was Brookville Equipment where my Uncle Harry and Cousin Tyler work. We got the special tour from them. They make train locomotives, restore rusted busses, and even design and build those buses with the accordion middle. I kind of knew this before the tour but seeing it in person was really neat. You haven’t seen a paint booth until you see one that has a locomotive in it!
We rounded out our week with a stop and Double Diamond Deer Ranch, which is apparently a thing. We took Becky’s kids along, as well and Danielle and my Mom. I had never hand fed deer before. If you’re in the area it’s worth the stop. They have a surprising amount of deer and their pens just keep going and going. We enjoyed the play area out front with the kids too.
Before we left we got to go back into Brookville and get pictures of Cherie next to her ribbon. She won third place in the Professional Fine Art category for her Chameleon piece. Talking about art we also got one afternoon to go out and just take some photography of the countryside. We ended up on roads I wasn’t familiar with. That was kind of the point!
My Favorite Images from the Trip
