When we arrive at the KOA in Youngstown, NY, we leaf through the brochures while we have dinner. We discover that the falls are lit up at 9 pm every night and there is a fireworks show at 10. Well we have to at least see the falls illuminated so we head for the falls around 8 pm. We park at the Discovery Center (which is closed at this hour) and wait for the trolley to come back around. We board the trolley and head for the Observation Tower on the advice from the trolley driver for the best vantage point. This gives us a chance get an overview of the Niagara Park layout and plan our tour for tomorrow.
The falls have been illuminated for about 10 minutes now and the red colored lights have come up. The colors change, but the red shows up the best at this time of night. We are amazed that it is still so light at 9:30 pm and it doesn't seem to be getting any darker. I know, this photo is tilted, failed to align it before uploading. We are tired from the traveling today, and the trolley makes it's last pick up at 9:30, so we opt to forgo the fireworks and head back to the parking lot and get back to the RV park.
June 23: We visit Old Fort Niagara in the morning. The history of this fort spans more than 300 years. "During the colonial wars in North America a fort at the mouth of the Niagara River was vital for it controlled access to the Great Lakes and the westward route to the Heartland of the continent. With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, however, the strategic value of Fort Niagara diminished. It nonetheless remained an active military post well into the 20th century" Three flags fly daily above the parade grounds symbolizing the nations which held the fort. The fort was built in 1726 and occupied by the French. The British took control in 1759 during the French & Indian War, and held it throughout the American Revolution, but were forced by treaty to yield it to the United States in 1796. The fort was captured by the British in the in 1813 during the War of 1812. It was ceded to the US again in 1815. The US Coast Guard is the only military presence there today.
The entrance over a draw bridge. There was not a moat here, the fort is surrounded on the land by ditches and earth mounds to absorb cannon fire and assaults. The ditches were tiered and zigzagged to break up the ranks of the attacking forces.
Inside the Gate House, the pulley system for opening the draw bridge. This place is especially interesting since we both just read the book "Pillars of the Earth" which covered a time from about 1130 to 1177, and described the structures of castles and cathedrals and Churches in England. Many of the same building aspects are employed here.
The top of the redoubt just inside the entrance. The floor below this has the sleeping platforms for soldiers to have them ready at all times to man the cannons.
Looking out the redoubt to the entrance.
The "French Castle" while not actually a castle looks like one. This building housed commanding officers, soldiers, cannons, gun bays, a chapel, store house for general goods, gun powder room, and a large "conference room".
One side of a soldiers' quarters room where they cooked, ate and spent free time.
The other side where they slept, side by side, on a large platform, and stowed their belongings.
The young man on the left gave a musket firing demonstration. The good soldier should be able to reload his musket in 15 seconds, and it is quite a process. We learned that some of our sayings today come from the terms used when loading a musket. The hammer is covered with a hood after the powder is loaded into a well at it's base so that if it strikes the flint accidentally a spark will not result, then positioned at half cock until the soldier is ready to fire the weapon. This is so that the musket won't "go off half cocked". Not paying attention here could cause serious burns. The term "lock, stock and barrel" also originated with the musket. The uniform was also described. We have lunch and head back to Niagara Falls.
We get closer than this at the base of the American Falls, but the heavy mist makes it difficult to get a photo. Besides, we don't want to mess up the camera lens. The force of the falling water creates a wind that blows away from the falls. We don't get all the way to the top of this stairway, too windy, too wet. Even with the ponchos our pant legs get wet and the water blowing in our faces makes it hard to keep our eyes open. What an incredible sight from this position. When we get back to the entrance at the base of the observation tower where others have removed their ponchos we see that many still got their shirts soaked all down the front. 
At the base of the observation tower as we get ready to go back to the top.
The American Falls.
Looking down into the river from the top of the falls we see a rainbow. It is amazing how loud the sound is, and how much the noise is diminished when we walk back from the edge of the overlook.
The Horse Shoe Falls. The shape cuts deeper into the land than it appears to from the other side of the American Falls. It is impossible to get the entire scope of this fall to fit within the frame of the camera lens without getting too far back to get an unobstructed shot.
The mist from the Horse Shoe Fall is so thick that we can barely see the boat in the river below. We don't see how those on the boat would be able to see anything through the mist. From this point we get on the shuttle bus and head back to the parking lot and our van.
