New York, We'll Miss You (Sort Of): Wolcott - Niagara Falls

Long time since I've gotten a chance to really sit and put a post together, so we've got a lot of ground to cover. In this post, we'll talk about our last days in New York!

Reaching the Promised Land:

Our map told is that there would be 90 miles or so of bike path in our future. After the drudgery of the Adirondacks and their continued hilled presence in the days following, we were super looking forward to this. And after one more long, hot day (in which we passed the house mortgaged to fund the first printing of the Book of Mormon!), we made it to Palmyra, where The Erie Canal Trail was to become our route. We were very pleased to finally arrive! We spent only 4 miles on the trail that day, as our stopping point of Macedon was right around the corner. We got to camp for free under the pavillion by the fire station - woo! We also met a cyclist going Eastbound, which was cool!

(It's FLAT!)

We also learned that the postal service had lost a package we had expected way back in Severance, NY...so that was a drag. Eventually it'll find us? Or find its way home?

But we did get to sit and enjoy the sun setting over the Erie Canal, which was a really pleasant end to the day:

Dodging Stormy Weather:

The next day was pretty tempestuous: very fast moving storms surrounding us as we rode along the canal, doing our best to outrun the rain and thunder before we crossed into its path. We did a pretty good job of it, avoiding getting too wet and only really needing to stop and wait out the rain once. It was a bit harrowing, though - not to mention the frequent rain making the gravel trail increasingly difficult to get much traction on. It was a long day, but we made it over 70 miles to the town of Middleport, where we had a much desired food resupply waiting for us at the post office. We also saw a few blue herons and an osprey!

(The Canal)

(Taken during lunch under a bridge)

Middleport also had public showers, which was sooooo nice.

(Early morning canal)

Leaving New York (and the USA)

The next day, we got our second flat tire, but managed to replace the tube fairly speedily. And then we reached the end of the Canal Trail at Lockport, which had an incredible lock system that was around 5 stories high!! We got to see a boat go through the locks, too. Crazy stuff.

(From the Trail)

(From Above)

Then it was more street riding, an uphill battle with some pretty serious headwind. Soon enough, though, we crossed into the Tuscarora Indian Reservation, which is only about 3 miles wide.

Then it was time to cross the America-Canada border. Traffic was a little scary during this point just cuz we didn't know for sure where to go. And it seemed like the people working the border weren't super sure either, since we got some confused  looks. But it was easy enough to enter Ontario, and then we were in Niagara Falls!

(The best pic we could get of us entering Canada - the toll booths!)

Purely by happenstance, it was Canada Day (July 1) when we arrived. So the Falls and surrounding parks were pretty crowded and busy! Turns out Canadians celebrate national holidays in the same manner we do - barbeque, flags, fireworks, sightseeing. We stuck around and saw the fireworks over Niagara Falls, which felt like a pretty good way to end the day.

The Falls are pretty insane to see in person. And thus ends our New York stretch! Next, we tackled Ontario