The Niagara Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and The Niagara Parks Commission has teamed up to present a guided tour of the Niagara Glen Nature Area and a star-gazing event on Saturday, May 18th.

The free hiking tours take place at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Springtime is a great time to see the return of local birds in the glen and new growth such as the Red and White Trilliums.

Between 1- 3 p.m., visitors will be able to safely view the sun through “sun scopes”. Later in the day telescopes will be set up at approximately 8 p.m. to view the skies (provided the skies are clear).

The Niagara Glen Nature Area is located about a five minute drive north of the falls along the Niagara Parkway.

At the foot of Clifton Hill is a lovely outdoor garden area known as Oakes Garden Theatre. The garden was built in the 1930’s and up until last year there was a covered area around the top of the garden. A few months ago the roof of this area was removed. I can’t say that I don’t dislike the new look. 
This is a favourite place for workers in the nearby souvenir shops, restaurants and hotels to have their coffee breaks.
 Here are a few shots of before and after the roof was removed. I’ve also included a few shots of the early springtime flowers found here.

The island that separates the Bridal Veil Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls is called Goat Island.

It got its name after John Stedman in 1778 rowed his herd of Goats to the island to protect them from wolves. But the bitter winter killed all the goats except for one, Old Billy Goat. British soldiers hearing the story nicknamed the island Goat Island. The name stuck. Prior to 1778 the island was called Iris Island because of the large volume of Iris plants that grew here. I have to admit, I like that name better.

While we’re in that area the nearby Luna Island which separates the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls gets its name from the fact that at one time this was the best place to see a Lunar Bow (a night Rainbow).

Now, don’t you feel enlightened?

Here’s one sure fire sign summer is about to begin. The 20th anniversary of Canada’s longest running fireworks display begins this Friday, May 17th with a spectacular display of fireworks over the falls at 10 pm. These displays continue every Friday and Sunday and holidays at 10 pm. In addition to the fireworks there will be live entertainment before each display at 8pm under the illumination tower in Queen Victoria Park. Also, there will be nightly illumination of the falls.

Mark your calendar for a ton of fun at the falls this summer. 

On my regular bike ride I looked this afternoon into the Niagara River just north of the Rainbow Bridge and spotted that construction for the new $32 million docking and storage facility for the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls N.Y.is now underway.

The construction is taking place at the top and at the bottom of the old Schoellkopf Electric Power Station. This station was put out of operation when it collapsed on June 7, 1956.

The new facility is scheduled to be open in the spring of 2014. It will include a winter docking area for two boats, an elevator, enhanced access for hiking trails and a public observation deck.

I’ll keep you posted with its progress by posting a few photographs every few weeks. 

New Incline Railway Scheduled to Open the  end of this month

The folks at The Niagara Parks Commission tell me that the incline railway that transported people from the falls to the Fallsview Tourist area since 1966 has been removed and a new $7 million improved system is scheduled to open at the end of May. This new railway system(the current one was seasonable) will remain open year-round and allow people with disabilities and families with stroller’s full access to the rail trip.

There’s also some repaving of roadways in the park.

Most of the old road surfaces have been removed in preparation for the new paving that starts today. Along one patch I came across a section in front of the Illumination Tower of the old red brick road built in 1908 that ran from the foot of Clifton Hill to the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. This roadway was a big feature of the park until it was covered over in the 1940’s.