On Tuesday morning September 5 after a wonderful stay at my new friends John and Barb’s place. We parked up and started our travels eastward. But before more and that, there is one more thing I’d like to highlight. On Sunday morning we headed back into Grand Rapids to the John Ball Zoo. This is a very nice small zoo nestled in the hillsides of Grand Rapids. Get more information “here”. The main reason for going was to see the daughter (Bri) of one of John and Barb’s neighbors. Bri had the opportunity this summer to work at the zoo. She’s a young college girl, and got a summer job working with birds of prey at the “Realm of Flight Bird Show”. Here she is introducing one of the stars of the show. 
They had numerous birds of prey, and they flew back and forth right over our heads. 
They put on a wonderful entertaining and informative show. They gave information about the different types of birds, their hunting techniques and their habitats. She did a wonderful job at narrating and was very entertaining. 
Here she holds an owl and it flew across the audience. 
And here it is coming on its return flight back to her. 
We got to see this beautiful Bald Eagle. 
It was a wonderful and relaxing day at the zoo. We headed back home for an early evening and one last night together. The next morning we got packed up, said our goodbyes and headed out. Once again thanks to John and Barb for being such wonderful and gracious host and making me feel like part of the family. After leaving the farm we made our way east to the US Canadian border to cross into Canada at Point Edwards.
We arrived at the border midday and Patty and Steve after answering a few questions headed straight across the border. But I must look more suspicious because I answered the same kind of questions but then was asked to pull over for an inspection. They stopped me and three men went inside my rig as Maxine and I waited outside patiently.
They rummaged around through the cupboards and compartments, I believe looking for guns or some other contraband. But not finding anything after about 20 or 30 minutes they sent me on my way. We made our way about halfway across that part of Ontario.
And stop for a night near Woodstock, Ontario at “Pittock Conservation Area” This was a nice Park just outside of town on a lake with lots of seasonal sites. It was quiet in the park being a weekday after the big holiday weekend, but I think it would be quite busy on weekends. You can find more on the park “here”. The next morning we got up and headed out early heading back towards Buffalo, New York. At this border crossing it was quick and easy for me compared to coming into Canada. They did stop both of us and boarded our RV’s to make sure we weren’t hiding any people. Maxine wasn’t too keen on the border crossing guy coming in but after calming her down she greeted him in her normal fashion. Then we continued on to Letchworth State Park at Castile, New York.
We spent the next two nights there. It is a beautiful and large part covering 14,350 acres just 35 miles south of Rochester New York. It is nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the East. The Genesee River forms a large gorge and has several waterfalls on the river along the way. You can find more information here at their website. Here’s some photos looking in the Canyon and River Valley.
One of the ways I learn about places to visit are from other people’s blogs. Recently I saw a post on Nina’s blog “Wheeling It” she did a great story highlighting the park here. And a nice campground review at this link. We spent the day touring the park and the many of the lookouts along the river. Here’s one of Maxine and me with the Canyon in the background.
From this spot you look up River and you can see the upper falls way off in the distance in the middle falls in the foreground.
Here’s a little closer look you can see the railroad bridge crossing over the upper falls in the middle falls in the foreground. 
There are fantastic views everywhere you go. Here’s some close-ups of the middle falls. One from up top of the falls looking downstream. 
And here’s a couple nice shots looking back at the beautiful falls. 
One other interesting spot in the area that we visited was the Mount Morris Dam. This dam is used mainly for flood control downstream of the dam. There was a tour of the dam being held at 2 o’clock so we headed over to check it out. You’re not allowed to take pictures inside the dam but the tour is very interesting and informative. So I only have a few shots from outside the dam. This dam is controlled by the US Army Corps of Engineers. It’s a large structure that is used just for flood control and normally holds back very little water. As you can see in this photo looking upstream there’s no water in the reservoir.
But in spring or after heavy rains it will fill up very fast and then the water is released slowly. You can find out more information and see some photos when the reservoir fills up at this website. Here’s another photo looking upstream and you can see piles of rubble down on the river bed. 
Every year or so they will bring heavy equipment down into the riverbed and clean up the trees and other debris that float downstream. It’s hard to get a perspective from photos of just how large this dam is. Here’s a couple photos of the dam from the downstream side. 
Looking at the river this time of the year you would think that it would never fill up that reservoir, but during heavy rains in a matter of a few hours the river will rise 40 or 50 feet. Our guide did a wonderful job of educating us on the benefits of this dam here is a link to the Corps website. This park is wonderful and you could spend a week or more exploring it but, after only two nights stay at the park we were on our way again east.
And on Friday morning we packed up and headed a couple hundred miles to spend the next two nights at Gilbert Lake State Park. This is another nice New York State Park nestled in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. The whole day was off-and-on showers but was a leisurely drive without too much traffic. We arrived at the park relatively early before one in the afternoon. We got set up and decided to take a ride to the nearby community of Norwich. Norwich is home to the “Northeast Classic Car Museum”, so we decided to go check it out.
It has a large and wonderful assortment of hundreds of cars and motorcycles from the early 1900s and beyond. They are all beautifully restored and well displayed. And you could spend several hours taking them all in.
I will let the photos do the entertaining. There are a lot from the early 1900s. 
I wonder how much late these kerosene headlamps would put out.
There was a whole big sectional motorcycles.
I found this one particular interesting a Henderson’s motorcycle from 1930.
There was this unique steam powered car.
A whole bunch of Franklin’s made in Syracuse New York.
There were hundreds and hundreds of them in five big buildings I will bunch a bunch of photos together here for your enjoyment. Click on the individual photos to make them larger.
A couple of delivery trucks.
What I find interesting about so many of these old cars is how much would was using building them.
I was thinking this 1948 Playboy would be a good one to tow behind my RV. 
Or maybe this concept car.
This 1947 convertible would be fun also.
A cool 1981 DeLorean.
Or maybe a new full-time RV
Well that’s it for now, from here on Sunday we will be heading east to spend a week in the Boston area. There will be more the come on that later, but for now safe travels to all, Rick
On The Road with Maxine & Me 
Love the car pics! My fav is the red mustang – would prefer the coupe but it would do!
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So true 😏 there were alot of really nice cars ☺
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I love that old milk truck! I had that exact type of truck that used to come through my neighborhood when I was a kid in Detroit. Twin Pines Dairy. 🙂
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The canyon pics are just beautiful. That would be my favorite spot. I bet the smells and that sounds of the wildlife were amazing. Glad to hear that the weather has been nice to all of you. Thanks for sharing and keep safe.
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Love the falls!! Just getting caught up on your blog. For some reason I haven’t been getting notification emails but I resigned up so hopefully they will start coming again
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