Fort Niagara and Lockport

After two days of overwhelming beauty at Niagara Falls, we decided to venture inland to see some of New York state. On the way, we stopped in Lewiston at the Earl W. Brydges Art Park, where they have a fenced dog park. We had read good reviews of the park, so decided to stop and let Sasha run a bit.

Sasha immediately made friends with a four month old Frenchie named Roger who is owned by a young Canadian fellow attending school in the US at Niagara University in Lewiston. Roger hadn't had a lot of "play training", so Sasha set about remedying that!

After a little time getting to know Sasha, Roger went for it! And Sash enjoyed the playtime as well!

Every now and then they would take a break. The temp was about 86 F, so they drank lots of water and found shade where they could.

It seems that Roger and Sasha became BFF's!

Just north of Lewiston, at the juncture of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, sits Fort Niagara. On the Canadian side, Fort George was, until 1812, the British counterpart to Fort Niagara. In fact, the two forts exchanged cannon fire across the river for years. Fort George was burnt to the ground during the War of 1812, but Fort Niagara survived, and all of the buildings are restored original structures.

Fort Niagara is not dog friendly, so we didn't enter the park. From a vantage point a short distance away, however, we got a glimpse of the Fort's placement near the shores of Lake Ontario.

The vantage point is a restored lighthouse that is open to visitors. I climbed up the winding stairs to get a couple of photos, and started down hoping that I wouldn't fall!

On the Niagara River side of the lighthouse, the Canadian side is somewhat clearly visible.

A short drive to the town of Lockport, south of Rochester, returned us to our friend, the Erie Canal. We had been advised to visit Lockport so that we could visit the historical downtown and the Canal Museum. Turned out that downtown is not so inviting, and the Canal Museum just wasn't worth the stop. We ordered a couple of salads from the Niagara Produce of Lockport Market, and went down the street to the Canalway Park where Sasha could join us for a picnic along the canal.

All in all, a quiet day compared to the last two, but enjoyable none-the-less! Particularly the fresh peaches from the roadside stand south of Lockport!