Niagara Falls

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We arrived at Niagara Falls at night, but we couldn’t resist walking down to the falls.  It was quite an experience to hear them but not see them.  Once we approached, they falls were lit up with colored lights- it was quite a sight to behold!  Jimmy was scared, and I have to say, not being able to see but being able to hear the rushing water leading to the falls and then the crashing waters of the falls was somewhat unsettling. 

We started our day the next morning visiting Niagara Falls State Park.  We did Cave of Winds which felt like a big accomplishment for all of us!  This is a series of wood platforms and steps that bring you up close and personal to the bottom of the falls.  I was anxious about this, but it was a magnificent experience.  I highly recommend!

We also did the classic Maid of the Mist voyage.  Beautiful views of the falls!  And it was a fun experience to get up close to the Horseshoe Falls as well on the Canada side.  We wouldn’t have had that perspective without this excursion.  If I had to choose between the two, personally I would choose Cave of the Winds.  A very unique experience!

We headed over to the Canada side.  We had several destinations in Canada, but we started by exploring the Canada side of Niagara Falls.  Now I have heard many, many people say they prefer the Canada side to the American side, but I did not agree.  Now don’t get me wrong- the Canada side was very lovely!  They have manicured walkways and a nice visitors center and such. 

I did prefer the American state park. Couldn’t really tell you why, guess it came down to vibe. 🙂

The American state park did have a hop on/hop off trolley you could ride. This was very affordable and very helpful as it is a pretty large park with lots to see!

We explored in town as well, which was very cute. Of course there are LOTS of options for food and entertainment for families. We were only there for two nights I believe, and the falls were our main objective so we did not explore as much of the town. You could definitely make this your destination for a vacation though it seems- lots to do!

It was fun to hear the kids talk about it and be in awe of it.  It was interesting to me which kids found which things interesting.  The youngest among us was a little scared, but once he figured out we wouldn’t be riding down the falls, he was able to let go of his fear and feel the awe of the visit. 

Kareem really loves Niagara Falls, and visiting here was really what spurned the planning for the whole trip.  He had visited with his parents I believe more than once as a child and then as an adult as well, and it definitely stuck with him!  I felt very proud to have brought the kids here- a national treasure!    

Kirtland Ohio Church Sites

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Our other stop in Ohio was the church history sites at Kirtland, Ohio.  We love historic sites, and the church sites are always so wonderful to visit. They are always free to visit as well!

At Kirtland, they have a really small but nice visitors center.  They show a film and there are some exhibits as well.  There are sister missionaries there to give tours of the six historic buildings available to visit.   

We did the tour and the kids were very interested in the historic buildings.  The ashery was of particular interest to them, as they showed us how they would burn wood and make potash and pearl ash there and what they did with those products. 

We also visited the temple in Kirtland which is owned by the Community of Christ, but we were unable to visit the visitors center as it was closed at this time. 

After exploring the grounds of the temple, we headed to Pennsyvania and spent some time by the lake.  We got pizza and ice cream and watched the sun go down.  A lovely end to a beautiful day.

Cleveland Rocks

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So I guess at some point I will blog last year’s summer vacation. Trying to get that done before this summer. 😀

We started our trip traveling through Ohio.  We made two stops in Ohio- Cleveland and Kirtland.  Originally, we had planned to go to Cuyahoga National Park, but we ended up doing a swerve in our itinerary and spent the day in Cleveland instead.  On the way, Kareem repeatedly played the song “Cleveland Rocks,” much to Jimmy’s delight and Lucy’s dismay. 

We started our day by visiting the lakeshore.  The kids were amazed.  When we said “lake,” they were imagining something very different and much smaller.  It’s like the ocean they said!  We had a perfect day for it.  We hung around the park, took pictures, and then headed down to the shore and they got to enjoy that a little bit.

After our lake time, we spent time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  This was something I have wanted to see for a long time, but I wasn’t sure it would be engaging for the kids, so we almost skipped it.  I am glad we went.  The kids enjoyed it much more than we thought they would- are you sensing a theme in my blog posts here?  Maybe I should rename this blog to “the kids enjoyed it much more than we thought they would.”

Anyway. I was excited about it myself, so maybe some of my enthusiasm rubbed off! 😀

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was not huge, but it was pretty extensive.  I liked how it was set up chronologically.  There was TONS of memorabilia.  Apparently, they rotate what’s in the exhibition halls because they have such a large collection.  It was very exciting and cool to see the things, and it was very fun to hear the kids get excited when they found someone they were a fan of.  They had a lot of Elvis stuff, and we had visited Graceland in the past couple years, so they loved that.

Aside from the halls of memorabilia that thrilled and excited us, we also visited an exhibit where the kids got schooled in making their own rock music.  This exhibit was for any age, and you could learn and play on real instruments.  It was very cool!  They also had an exhibit just about famous guitars and the evolution of guitar music.

We got to visit the actual Hall of Fame as well, which was thrilling.  And it was visually stunning as well.  We found all our faves including, of course, Paul Simon.

It was a gorgeous day outside too, and we enjoyed walking around.  There was a surprising amount of things to see and do around the area as well. 

In the end, we all agreed that despite our differences about the actual song, Cleveland rocks! 

Pecos National Historical Park

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Pecos National Historical Park was high on my list of must visit places in New Mexico. First of all, I really needed to visit the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Paul Simon mentions them in his Hearts and Bones song, and I’ve always kind of romanticized it and thought if I was ever in the area, I would definitely visit them. And hike in them.

Also Pecos NHP is full of lots of history and I had read that it had some of the best pueblo and mission to explore in the area.

It is located in the beautiful Glorieta Pass of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. These are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains and the mountains Paul Simon mentions in his song “Hearts and Bones.” I have always kind of romanticized them and wanted to visit. It was gorgeous.

This Historical Park is comprised of a couple of areas. We visited the mission and had the experience of descending into kivas and exploring the pueblos. Absolutely fascinating and a sacred experience.

I had been a little nervous to do it in front of everybody of fear of falling, but I did finally go and I was so pleased to have done so.

The kids, of course, worked on their junior ranger badge. We also visited the museum here which has artifacts of the many eras that Pecos was significant.

It was super interesting as the Gorieta Pass has been used to traverse the mountains in this area for thousands of years. As they say on their website, “Pueblo and Plains Indians, Spanish conquerors and missionaries, Mexican and Anglo armies, Santa Fe Trail settlers and adventurers, tourists on the railroad, Route 66 and Interstate 25…the Pecos Valley has long been a backdrop that invites contemplation about where our civilization comes from and where it is going. Thousands of years of this rich history is preserved for visitors at Pecos National Historical Park.” It is really a unique experience!

We also did some mountain hiking which I think is so beautiful. It had been overcast for the beginning of our Pecos visit, but the sun came out for our hike. The hike was just what I was seeking and it was totally gorgeous. The kids really enjoyed it too. Lucy had been worried about seeing cactus- we saw some on our hike and she was pleasantly surprised!

moments before Jimmy’s branch broke :I

Petroglyph National Monument

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Petroglyph National Monument was one that I was really excited about visiting.  I didn’t know much about it ahead of time, but I knew that there were thousands of petroglyphs at the site.  It was definitely a solid stop!

We started at the Information Center where the kids got a video intro to the site and got their Junior Ranger booklets.  This area was mostly outdoors with a very small info center and shop.  The amphitheater for the video was outside, and maybe it was due to Covid, but the rangers were set up outside under a canopy.  Petroglyph National Monument is pretty widespread, and there are not a ton of stops or services around.  We had several choices of hike, so we chose to do the one with the most petroglyphs on view and then, if we had time and stamina, we would do the Volcanoes Day Use Area (more on that here!). 

We started at the Rinconada Canyon Trail.  Again, this area is widespread, and this trailhead parking lot was within a residential neighborhood.  The trail was amazing.  We walked along the escarpment of this canyon with sweeping views of the canyon and the city.  But most importantly, views of hundreds of petroglyphs very clear along the way. 

It rained just a tiny bit while we were out, but the temperature was perfect. It was all kind of dramatic- I loved it. 😀

The trail was sandy and there were lots of little spurs to explore.

I felt a lot of emotions viewing these petroglyphs left by people years ago for us to explore and interpret now. It was a really special visit that I enjoyed a lot.

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