October/November 2021 Vacation Day 6 · · PAGE 13.

October 31 2021:  Sunday continues with a ride along the Niagara Scenic Parkway that will connect to NY route 18 on the south side of Lake Ontario.  This will complete our viewing of all FIVE of the Great Lakes of North America. This area is a residential area near the Niagara River with this street leading to the parkway.  There will be a lot of driving today, so there will be a lot of Google Earth Images with some of my photos later in the day before reaching our next Hotel in Watertown, NY.

This intersection on Whirlpool Street marks the beginning of the Niagara Scenic Parkway and a connection to NY route 104 that handles commercial traffic.  This ends the residential area and begins limited access to the Parkway.

Obviously a place ahead for hikers who want to get closer to the Niagara River.

The Parkway itself is mostly isolated from other roads.  Those tar strips in the concrete pavement below the asphalt layer makes this road a bit rough.  This October 2020 Google Earth image shows the fall colors we came to see in our 2021 journey.

At this point in our ride this morning we are adjacent to the Niagara River flowing north toward Lake Ontario.  This is what the folks see up on NY route 104.

This Google Earth Image on NY 104 is about midway across the dam that generates power on the American side of the Niagara River.  That bridge across the Niagara River is the connection of Interstate 190 to route 405 on the Canadian side of the river.  Canada has a similar dam and power plant on the other side of the river in this same area.

On the north side of the dam is this intersection that goes to the US Customs and Border locations to cross into Canada or return to the USA.  This is also the north end of I-190 going south from here.  Our route is left of here as we continue on the Niagara Scenic Parkway.

This aerial view of this border crossing shows the simplicity on the Canadian side handling ONE major road.  The USA side deals with multiple roads coming to this location.  We missed all of this since we traveled on the parkway adjacent to the Niagara River on the American side.

This section of the parkway has private property on the East side of the right-of-way and beautiful fall colors all around from October 2020.

Up ahead is an exit from the Niagara Scenic Parkway.

Here is that exit to the power plant on NY 104 and more.

The Niagara Scenic Parkway is down lower to the river and gives a better view of the I-190 bridge to Canada route 405 on the left side this image from Google Earth.  This image also shows the dam on the Canadian side at the left edge of this photo.

This view of the Niagara Power Project sign has a street light blocking the view of the lower case "T" in the big sign above both highways.

This 2020 image from the North end of the dams shows wonderful fall colors.

Down the home stretch is not just for horse races.  It appears there is only one more turn in Niagara Scenic Parkway near the end where it connects with NY route 18.

The Niagara River is visible at the left side of this image as it nearing Lake Ontario.

This is the last major EXIT from the Niagara Scenic Parkway.  Route 18F doubles back to Fort Niagara State Park where the Niagara River ends.

Since I mentioned Fort Niagara State Park above, I wanted to use Google Earth to see what is there.  The end of the line for the Google Earth camera car shows this light house at the parking lot near the old fort.

The remains of the old Fort Niagara can be seen from the parking lot looking north.  USE THIS LINK to discover more about this historic location.

This is the real last exit from the Niagara Scenic Parkway.  It goes to a nearby campsite as you can see by the sign.

Finally, the end of the Niagara Scenic Parkway where NY route 18 becomes our route heading East across upstate New York.  You can see we have come 20 miles from the Niagara Falls area to get to this next highway.  It is now 10:16 AM as we exit the Scenic Parkway and get started on our trip Eastbound on NY state route 18 from the Niagara Falls area.