Power Plant and Butterflies

We visited the Niagara Parks Power Station toward the end of our first day on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. We wished we had noted the recommended time of allotment of two hours earlier in the day. The building itself is impressive with eleven generators lining the length of the building. Then there is the Tesla Coil demonstrations throughout the day, approximately once per hour. It is visually impressive with the "lightning" timed to music. You can also walk the long tunnel where they used to channel the water back to the river. The observation deck at the end of the tunnel offered some amazing eye level view of the falls. 

Located a small distance from the falls, the Butterfly Conservatory wasn't nearly as crowded. Both of us enjoyed it far more than we expected. Perhaps it was the quietness after the roar of the falls for three days. Perhaps is was the small thrill of butterflies landing on you and holding your breath so you didn't scare them.  Whatever the reason, we found it very relaxing and a nice contrast to the loudness and busyness of the Falls area.

View at end of Power Plant Tunnel

Row of generators

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Those Amazing Niagara Falls

April 22 - 24, 2025

I remember visiting Niagara Falls as a kid when we came to visit my aunt and uncle. It was more than time to play tourist again. While we love shoulder season, this time it did put a tiny wrinkle in our plans. It was too early in the season for the boats.  Most begin their season in early to mid-May. Oh well. 

We spent an afternoon on the American side of the falls, visiting the Observation Tower and Goat Island. We signed up for the Niagara Parks Falls Pass and took two day trips to the Canadian side. Thankfully, there was no line to cross the border into Canada and only small waits in the late afternoon returning to the USA. Summer would probably be a whole different story.

Our pass included the Journey Behind the Falls. You walk in tunnels that end with portal views behind Horseshoe Falls. The sound is incredible. Already there were lines for viewing as everyone has to get a couple of photos. 

White Water Walk is a boardwalk that goes along the gorge downstream of the falls. The Class VI rapids (the most dangerous) are incredible to view as they churn through the gorge.

The Whirlpool Aero Car is a short cable car ride that spans the whirlpool area of the Niagara River. The river comes out of the gorge and pretty much makes a 90 degree turn. The whirlpool changes direction depending on  how much water is being channeled through the gorge. 

The Niagara Parks Power Station and Tunnel and the Butterfly Conservatory round out the last two attractions on our pass. They both were our favorite attractions for very different reasons. We'll cover those in a separate entry. 

American Falls in foreground

Observation Deck in the background

Harold and the American side Tesla sculpture

Scary rapids

Journey Behind the Falls

Foot of Horseshoe Falls

Top of Horseshoe Falls

See the viewing platform below

Harold and the Canadian Tesla sculpture

American Falls from Canadian side

Whirlpool Aero Car

There's the rainbow

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Niagara Aquarium

 April 19, 2025

My cousin, Joanne, and her family came to visit us in Niagara Falls. The forecast was a bit rainy and so we opted to visit the Niagara Aquarium. It was a good rainy day activity. A lot of other people thought so too! It was the Saturday of Easter weekend and everyone was looking for family activities. The aquarium got in on the act by hiding easter eggs in the various tanks. Count the eggs and turn in your counts for a prize. 

We're hoping for a better day to see the falls themselves! Ha!

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Emissions!

 April 17 - 18, 2025

About an hour into our travel day from Youngstown to Niagara Falls, Harold tells me that he's going to stop at the next exit to troubleshoot the check engine light that had just popped up - emissions malfunction. He calls Spartan Motors and the technician guides him through the diagnostics to determine the underlying code. 

The underlying code indicates that we will need to find the nearest Cummins Service Center. Diesel exhaust issues can cause engine derating issues. Essentially that means that in order to protect the engine, your speed can be reduced to 5 mph. Yikes! Now you're talking about a big rig tow.

The nearest service center happens to be back in Youngstown. So, we turn around and head back to Youngstown. At the facility, Cummins uses their software to offer an immediate assessment. Immediate assessment doesn't necessarily translate into immediate service. It just lets you know what the issue is and allows you to work with the service advisor on a plan of action.

Thankfully in our case, they were having a slow day, and we were able to start service immediately following lunch. Yeah! Still troubleshooting at the end of the day, we overnighted in their parking lot. We called to the campground to let them know that we'd be a day late. Thankfully, they chose not to charge us for the night.

Eventually, it was determined that our onboard software needed to be updated. The code that was giving us the issue had been fixed in one of the interim updates. Cummins still went through testing procedures to make sure the emissions system was functioning properly, and that there were no real underlying issues. We're glad it was just a software issue. However, we wish we had known about the software updates so we could have addressed them on our time without having to change plans.

Orange lamps

Glad that means something to someone

Handy little assessment gadget

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Packard - Light Bulbs to Automobiles

April 15, 2025

On yet another cool, rainy day in Ohio, we headed to the National Packard Museum in nearby Warren. It turns out that Tuesdays are the days that the volunteers show up to work on the cars. They are more than willing to open up the hoods, let you sit in the driver's seat, and talk all things Packard. 

The Packards were in the electric business, mainly light bulbs, which were built better and provided more light than competitors' bulbs, and electric cabling. When the brothers bought their first car, they were not overly impressed. They continually offered suggestions to the manufacturer, annoying him so much that he told them to build one themselves if they thought they could do better. So, they did. 

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A Christmas Story House

April 9, 2025

The first time I saw A Christmas Story, I wasn't overly impressed. However, it quickly grew on me, and recently, I was slightly dismayed to hear a niece and nephew proclaim it "boring." I've read the book, In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd. The humor keeps me smiling. So when we found ourselves an hour away from a Christmas Story House, we had to take the tour. If you're so inclined, you can spend the night. The house, along with the Bumpus House, are available as overnight accommodations. Let the movie memories begin!

"Ah there it is. My house at good old Cleveland Street"

"Right in the middle of our front room window."

"You'll shoot your eye out"

"I don't think that a football's a very good Christmas present."

"My mother, grabbing for her copy of Look magazine, would find herself cleverly trapped..."

"Well, that's just one plug too many."

"A pink nightmare"

"Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie."

"Oh for cripes sake, open up the damper will ya?"

"It was soap poisoning."

"...with the compass in the stock and this thing that tells time..."

"Oh, fudge!"

Now you know the reference if you've ever heard me tell Harold "You'll shoot your eye out!" That's much more fun than a flat, unequivocal, "NO!"

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