Surprise, flock: you’re getting more posts this week!

As I mentioned in our last food review post, the blog was put on the back-burner for a bit as I focused on, well, life.

I’ll admit that I was fairly content to let the blog fade away, much like those before me. Unfortunately (or very fortunately if you enjoy these posts), the recent slew of AI-generated garbage that has invaded the Niagara Falls blogging space has set me off (particularly one on the Rainbow Centre that was so inaccurate that 2015-era Sheepie burst into flame).

So, I’m back.

Even though I’ve literally been spending the last three years or so daily inside of Niagara Falls State Park and the surrounding downtown space, I decided to play tourist last week when the temps hit 60. Of course, I started at the brand-new Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Niagara Falls Welcome Center.

The interior of the welcome center isn’t fully fleshed out yet, but the gift shop is open!

Interestingly, the bathrooms are gender-neutral in a very unique way. There is a row of floor-to-ceiling stalls. Each toilet is literally a water closet. There’s also a row of open sinks. Does it cause confusion with tourists initially? Yes. Is it a riot to watch that confusion? Absolutely.

The new welcome center gives off modern Power Vista vibes, mixed with airport modernism. It’s exceptionally sleek for the park.

Now, as of March 11, 2024, there has been a floating dock stuck at the edge of the American Falls for at least a month. It’s become a bit of a joke with local workers and guides.

As the story goes, it broke free somewhere in the Tonawandas, and floated the entire way down to the brink of Niagara Falls, where it caught a rock at the edge.

Of course, this reminded me to go pay a visit to the Old Scow, which has been jammed above the Horseshoe Falls since 1918.

I also spotted something hanging from the Skylon Tower, and since my camera has 60x zoom, I managed to catch the shot of the century.

Now that my fear of heights has been restored, I turned the camera around to the beautiful Mayan Revival reliefs on the Giacomo.

Peeking over Luna Island, the Cave of the Winds crew were beginning their spring construction in preparation for the solar eclipse in April.

And of course, the river and the Falls were absolutely stunning.

I wouldn’t be a tourist if I didn’t have at least one photo of the Nikola Tesla statue, but I was not going to sit in his lap.

I even took a walk through the nature trails on Goat Island, which are quite possible the most serene areas of Goat Island.

While I was at it, I also decided to do a little bit of birding. If you’d like to see how that went, check back tomorrow. I promise you there are some absolutely stunning photos of some fairly unhinged birds.

Thanks for hanging around, flock. I promise not to disappear for an entire year again (I hope).

-Sheepie ❤