Hamilton Ontario

We keep moving on. A stiff wind today added to the challenge. Whenever we were within sight of Lake Ontario, it looked wild with spray and serious whitecaps.

This morning I was able to speak for a few minutes at the earliest church of the Pennsylvania Dutch settlers in Canada, begun in Vineland, ON, in 1801. I was also able to meet friends of my parents, Reesors and Fretz's, still living in the area.

We're on a borrowed computer at the moment - - we'll get photos added to the last three blogs in a few days. Friends of ours, Donna and Bob Parker are hosting us in Ancaster for a while as we round the end of the lake. High recommended is "It's All Greek to Me", a little restaurant in west Hamilton.

We're still pretty well on schedule in these last weeks. See the March 31 post for the itinerary. And we still plan to meet with media on the days and places listed on the May 21 blog.

Another Good Day

Today was a perfect walking day; coolish and partly sunny and very little wind. At Port Dalhousie, part of St Catharines, Margaret and I met Monique and her photographer from the St Catharines Standard and did photos and an interview about the Trail of the Susquehanna and raising money for Sunnybrook. We also have been able to get in few extra miles to the west, so we're ahead of schedule again.

We've left rivers and fields and are now following Lake Ontario's shoreline. It was good to see the tiny Toronto skyline across the lake for a few minutes this morning. Home is getting closer! However we are on the North Service Road beside the Queen Elizabeth Way (6 lane expressway) so we're hearing the roar of transports rather than the chirping of birds. Local residents have insisted on high noise barriers in some places and they do work. I always thought they were made out of concrete, but on closer inspection they seem to contain recycled plastic. A web search revealed that the product is constructed of plastic and wood pieces, and made in nearby Hamilton, Ontario.

Tonight we celebrated our sixtieth wedding anniversay and also treated our hosts, Cathy and Reg and Linda to dinner at a ninth floor restaurant with a view of the Falls. The server after seeing my little business card about The Walk, came back and asked if she could photocopy it for others on staff. Seems they don't have long distance walkers coming in very frequently. And, I'll add, the garlic-red-skin-mashed-potatoes were excellent, too. (Sixtieth, you ask? Margaret and I were married five years ago but we celebrate our anniversaries monthly.)

The Trail of the Susquehanna continues along the edge of Lake Ontario for the next eight days. For those of you joining late, this is a walk for charity. Go to
http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca/ click Events, click Trail, click Donate.

Friends Join Us on the Walk

It was good to have two cousins from Toronto join us for the day walking from Virgil's new "Silks Breakfast" over to the Welland Canal lift bridge and into St.Catharines. Both Isabel and Edith have had numerous experiences walking in North America and in Europe. We heard details of trips taken cross country From village to village in France and into Spain. On some of these trips walking is combined with bus transportation, and luggage is moved from one night's lodging to the next. My speed is usually just over 2 mph (under 4 km/h). Edith can do 6 km/h

This part of the Niagara Peninsula has fruit trees, vineyards, and tree farms. There is no wasted space. Orchards and grape vines push tightly against homes and barns. We saw a grove of fruit trees growing in the border lands of an expressway interchange. It seems that the farm businesses and wineries are doing fairly well in this region.

After being in motels for over 50 days, it is good to be at the home of a friend for a while. (Linda Mooney and I worked together in Markham 15 years ago.) While I am writing this blog, my wife is glancing through the Zoomer Magazine, June, 2009, page 34. She reads out loud that walking has shown to reduce the chances of dementia in seniors. So I guess this walk from Pennsylvania has an additional benefit!

Through Queenston

Forgot to tell you about the dog rescue that Margaret saw yesterday. Suzie had gone over the wall along the Niagara River, and the owner, some police all dressed in rapelling gear, and a Humane Society ambulance were all at there to rescue the animal. We assume successfully.

The Niagara Review did a great newspaper report about the Susquehanna walk.
Much of today was spent following an old electric rail line which meant gentle grades.
The bright yellow pansies at the Horticultural Gardens entrance were outstanding.
The Sir Adam Beck generating station when built in 1930 was the largest in the world.
Gen. Isaac Brock had lots of help from the Natives to win against the Americans.
We had both made bets about good General's outstretched arm. We both lost.
(He was actually holding a "baton", which might actually be a lightening arrester.)
The narrow trail down the 200 foot Niagara Escarpment is a slippery creek channel!
Queenston looks like a very healthy village but it has no stores, only a tiny post office.
An arranged media meeting in Queenston was postponed to Thursday morning
The next few days will follow through the flat fruit farms of the Niagara Peninsula

One of today's sites was the Great Floral Clock beside the generating stations. Around the clock, clockwise, are the letters ARASKRAPNIAG (Niagara Parks). About twenty minutes later I saw another garden with the ten hour clock. As most Americans know, this country went metric over twenty years ago. The new ten hour clock - - twenty hours in a day - - had a hundred minutes in an hour. The advantage of the ten hour clock was that many things could now be done more quickly. Google the phrase "metric clock" to get details on how it works.

Niagara Falls - Canada

A wonderful sunny day of walking. Just north of Dufferin Island, the trail continued away from the road and close to the river and the raging Niagara current. Awesome! Photo ops at every turn. Twenty minutes later I broke through just above the falls and the Table Rock area. It was interesting to hear voices around me whisper phrases like "...All the way from Pennsylvania" when they read the T shirt.

Journalists from The Review met with us and they were able to collect the "Walk" story, without errors I might add. A couple of hours later, after checking with me by phone, they had the story on their website. Go to http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ for both video and text. It'll likely be there for less than twenty four hours.

Margaret and I had lunch at the Victoria Park upper restaurant with a gorgeous view of both falls, and then continued north. For half an hour the sound of the Niagara carillon filled the air - - American and Canadian patriotic songs and hymns. Beautiful. (Except when the tourist helicopters flew over!) At the Spanish Aerocar, now almost one hundred years old, we both decided to pass. I was on it once a few years ago, shamed into riding it by students!

Today's walk finished at a peaceful park around the other side of the Whirlpool, where we later returned for a delicious Coleman-stove-and-Chef-Margaret chicken with vegetables meal.

Getting Ready for the Final Push

(Go to March 15 blog for the original news release.)


It's been good to have a week or so off from the great walk. We've had a chance to catch up with some family and friends. And Margaret has worked in the garden almost every day.

It was with sadness that we saw that "Da Classic Scoop" lunch and ice-cream establishment had been torn down. The building was the Ringwood general store back in the mid-1800's, and doubtless was visited every week by my ancester George Brownsberger or his son Samuel. The building needed to be moved for a road widening, and even though the Town offered it for free to anyone who would move it, there were no takers. The interior had the original tin ceilings, sort of a 1950's diner decor, and hundreds of pictures of old cars, especially Caddys. And my favourite was the old wooden fog horn hanging from the ceiling. When the place was opened as an ice-cream shop in the 90's, kids could be lifted up to pull the rope to get a long mournful wail from the contraption. (Soon the rope was removed - - I guess the employees couldn't stand the noise.)

Melanie Calandra and I have been working the main streets of Stouffville raising awareness of the walk, and yesterday I did another interview at WhistleRadio, CIWS 102.7 fm. (To those of you reading this in Australia, try www.whistleradio.com)

One more plea to all of you living close to Niagara Falls Ontario, St Catherines, Hamilton, Oakville, Mississauga, Toronto, and Markham. Please contact your local radio and television stations and newspapers and let them what we're doing. We hope to be at the following places on time:

Niagara Falls, ON, Parkway at Murray, May 25th, 10:30-11a.m.
Lakeshore Bridge, Port Weller, May 28 4 - 4:30 p.m.
Lakeport at Lake, Port Dalhousie, May 29 11:30 -12 noon
The 1st Menn. Church, Vineland, 11- 12:30, Sunday, May 31st
Confederation Pk., Hamilton, June 1st, 3 - 3:30 p.m.
Hwy 2 at 16 Mile Creek, June 3rd, 4 - 4:30 p.m.
Hwy 2 at Etobicoke Creek, June 5th, late morning
Queens Quay at Bay St., Toronto, Sun., June 7, noon to 1 p.m.
McGowan near Markville entrance, Markham, June 10, about 10:30
Millard, east of Hwy 48, near the new bridge at 4 p.m.

If you live nearby, drop down to meet us.

To donate, go to www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca , click Events, click Trail.
Or write a cheque to "Sunnybrook Foundation - Trail" and mail to
H366, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5

Margaret and I will be back on the walk starting Monday, May 25th.

People We Have Met along the Way

We've met some interesting people along the road:
* In Strasburg we went to a restaurant called Good and Plenty - fine Mennonite cooking and served family style at long tables with 12 people sharing bowls of food. We met a chiropractor and an emergency nurse from Arizona but who had both moved to Atlanta. They have a bucket list filled with derring-do for each of their birthdays - hang gliding, para sailing and more. The two have been friends since childhood and team up for holidays. Another couple at the table was from Corning, NY. We told them that we were going to take a break from walking in late April by going to see the glass museum in Corning. They have never been.
* We met other hikers from northern PA who were in Lancaster for a conference. She does endurance hikes once per week. They hike wilderness trails together. They told us a hair-raising tale of hiked during the late winter this year. They have often hiked the route which involves a loop of about eight miles with a corresponding number of water falls. They are experienced hikers but on this trip they almost made a fatal mistake by not taking their backpacks with them. They spent more time than they expected looking at the ice formations made by the falls - the one the furthest out looked like a cathedral. They got caught in the dark and had to hike out in pitch darkness. They didn’t reach their car until 1 am. They said they won’t be so foolish as to hike without their packs again.
* Early in our walk we came across a ‘real country’ farmer who said ‘What are you doing there?’ as we were parked looking at a map near his driveway. We called out that we were walking to Canada. He says, ‘That’s a long way! You better park up yonder. Cars just keep flying over thet hill there. I don’t really mind who parks by the house. Nobody really lives there. The owner lives in New York. I just have the cows in the barn.’
* Ron asked for a tee-shirt be printed ‘WALKING TO CANADA’. He already has one that says more about raising money for the Schulich Heart Centre but wanted a simpler one for the US. The proprietor said, ‘It’s free. Anybody who is walking to Canada doesn’t have to pay.’
* Many hotels/motels include breakfast in their rates. That’s a great way to meet people. We met:
* Pipers from Edinborough, PA going to pipe at the state capitol
* A PhD student who had to work full time while studying. He stayed up until 2 am to write more of his thesis. He has to defend it in two weeks. His topic is the use of technology to communicate between faculty and students. That‘s one thesis I‘d like to read!
* Another pair of ‘former’ hikers. They are now in their seventies and have settled down a bit. In their younger days they hiked a lot including a 1000 mile hike. Then they said that we had some great trails up in Canada. Maybe we’d heard of one - the Bruce trail? (Truth told Ron and I celebrated my birthday in the first year we were dating by walking a very small part of the Bruce Trail.
* And the many, many wonderful people who have stopped to see if we had had a breakdown or needed help.

Itinerary Revised a Bit

Click the March blog file (below, right) to find the original itinerary. Both the New York and the Pennsylvania portions were a bit shorter than I thought they would be, so we're already at home in Stouffville, Ontario, having a break. Also we have completed walking the Fort Erie, ON, to Dufferin Island section. These four days slightly revised:

May 25 - Through Niagara Falls on the Niagara Pkwy., to about the Whirlpool
May 26 - Continuing north on the walking path toward Queenston
May 27 - West through St. Davids and beyond
May 28 - North west to Port Weller

May 29 to June 11 - plans as previously shown in the March 30 blog.

June 11 - - Meet Ron at the new bridge on Millard, east of Hwy 48 at 4 p.m. for and End-of-the-Walk reception. Rain or shine!

We need publicity if the Heart Centre is going to benefit from this exercise. It would be great if you would call up your local television stations and newspapers and let them know what we're doing and when we will be near your town. Media can contact us by e/mail ron.brownsberger@gmail.com or perhaps use the cell phone number 416-835-2457

I would like to offer special thanks to Melanie Calandra for her work on publicity.

Donations are slowly coming in. A one-minute speech at Stamford Church last Sunday yielded about $600. Some donations have been arriving at the Foundation website www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca click Events, click Trail, click Donate, and I've heard rumours of a few pledges. Cheques made out to Sunnybrook Foundation, and marked "Trail", can be mailed directly to the Sunnybrook Foundation, H366, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5

For those of you who have pledged "by the mile", you'll be happy to know that the estimated total distance is more likely to be about 470 miles rather than the originally estimated 520. If you insist on donating by kilometer, then the number is about 750.

It is good to be home for a short while. Margaret is pleased with how the flower beds are coming along, and we have neighbour Kyle to thank for the excellent condition of the indoor plants and the lawns. And after fifty nights away, it's good to be back in our own bed!

Niagara River Historic Plaques

The words of all the plaques located along the river's edge are on the following sites:

www.niagaraparks.com/heritage/plaques.php

www.niagaraparks.com/heritage/plaques-south.php

The one at Netherby Road (south site) is of special interest to us because it tells of the migrations from Pennsylvania and Upper Canada. Ron

Niagara Parkway South

Today was spent appreciating the many fine, beautiful (expensive!) homes along the Niagara river. Many of these places appear to have been built recently, probably replacing small homes and cottages that were eighty to a hundred year old. One wonders why a couple with perhaps only two adult children needs six thousand square feet or more of living space. One home, ultra modern, looked more like a corporate headquarters for business! On the other end of the spectrum, it was nice to see how a few grand homes of the past, perhaps the early to mid-1800's, are being kept in mint condition.

We had our lunch and mid-day rest at a pullout beside the river. Once again it was so beautiful to enjoy the peace and absolute quiet in the area. The quiet moving river, no winds, a few birds, and no traffic noises for minutes at a time.

We continue to learn more about the history of this area. At one place, we read information about an electric suburban trolley company that took passengers from the Buffalo and Lake Erie steamships from a wharf near Chippewa down to Queenston to board the ships bound for Toronto.

A field south of Chippewa was the site of several battles between the American and the British during the War of 1812-14. It has been recently discovered that over 800 bodies (from both sides) are buried in this field. Of all the events at the site, the American almost won only one of these battles. The British usually benefited from alliances with Indian warriors.

At one point, we witnessed a killdeer frantically screaming and running along the grass in front of us. We obviously had travelled too close to its nest. The bird kept up the performance for several minutes before flying off in a wide circular route back to the nest.

When we finished the walking today, the mist from the Falls was on the distance horizon.
Pictures:
The mega house

The 'corporate' house

The well-kept house from the 1800's - For Sale if you are interested.

A little in the bank

The schedule was to go back to Stouffville for a break, but instead we're doing some of the walk north from Fort Erie. The trip north up to Niagara is mainly a walking/bicycle trail following the Niagara Parkway. It was a pleasure today to be on a paved trail - - full view of the Niagara River - - no noisy transports whizzing by.

There's a lot of history in the area. Plaques report the movement of escaped slaves before the American Civil War, the skirmishes between the British and the Americans during the War of 1812-14, the numerous ferry boats that crossed the river from after the 1790's. Did George Brownsberger take Bertie's ferry from Buffalo across the river? There were apparently seven ferries running across the river in the 1820s.

We had a great moment this afternoon when we saw about 35 little goslings being escorted by three or four baby-sitting geese down to the river while the rest of the parent birds were flaked out on the grass.

It was good to get the chance to speak for a minute about the walk at Stamford United this morning. This is the church where Margaret's father (now 100 years old!) was assistant minister for 24 years and continued to assist with services from time to time until five years ago.
Pictures:
Ron starting the Canadian leg of the walk

The plaque about the Bertie Street Ferry

The goslings and their caregiver

American Section Completed ! ! !

At a total of 302 miles, the U.S. part of the long walk is done! Today started out nice, sunny and warm in West Seneca, but by noon the weather was cold, extremely windy and blowing rain. When that started, we just happened to be at Main Street and Swan in downtown Buffalo so we treated ourselves to a free street-car ride. I love trains and trams - - we've done street-cars in San Diego, San Francisco, Amsterdam and other places. By the time that little break was over, the blue sky was again in view. Walked through the central round (I was going to call it the central square, but in Buffalo it's round.), gingerly walked past a huge crane that was swaying in the wind, and by 3:30 we were at the bridge and into Canada. Margaret's a bit like me. We like the States and its people, but, we do sing a few phrases of O Canada when we return.

And for the first time in 48 nights, we're not at a motel. Instead, we're in the home of friends. Margaret's sister and husband are at a place on the Niagara River near Queenston Village. Pleasant, quiet, relaxing.

Margaret occasionally asks me if we're writing a book after this thing is over. What we've posted on this blog is only a tiny fraction of the stories we could tell. And, I have more than five hundred pictures on file to help to bring back the memories. I'm also on my second trip diary so..., maybe.

Pictures:

A buffalo in Buffalo

The streetcar at Swan and Main

The Peace Bridge - did it look sweet!

To East Aurora and West Seneca

The walk continues - - partly in rain, partly in sun. Today was quite sunny and was as warm as we have experienced. As of tonight, we are less than 15 kms. from the Peace Bridge, so the New York state portion of the walk will likely be completed late tomorrow afternoon. Once again this is a bit earlier than I had planned. The routes I chose for walking are not always the routes that MapQuest might suggest - - often the expressway routes are longer as they circle around towns and cities.

Highlights? A beautiful old school house converted into a wood craftsman's showroom. A tavern built in the 1830s on the site of an Indian trail used by pioneers. Several more concerned people asking if we need assistance. Signs in front of several homes shaped like a dove and reading "PeacePrints". Many trees in full bloom. Sidewalks.

Late this afternoon we went into town (Buffalo) enjoyed a coffee in the Elmwood Village area and later went up to Hertel and stopped in at the Shadows Lounge for dinner and jazz. The grouper was excellent, the spinach dip was amazing, and out on the patio a jazz group - - Jim Bohm on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Dave Calire on keyboard (with bass) and vocals. Talented twosome. Well done.

Pictures:

The outside of the schoolhouse, now an artist's workshop

Blooms

The jazz group we heard tonight

Chaffee to Holland

Each day has its own variety. This morning was sunny and got to comfortable warm quickly. Certainly makes walking easier. It's great to see the countryside dappled with apple blossoms and now the lilacs and cherry trees are in bloom. And, er, what was that smell? The farmers are of course fertilizing their fields but the smell was worse than that. Then we saw it. Garbage mountain with trucks steadily taking more in. At the top there was a digger and some trucks were adding soil. One wonders what folks will think of our middens a few hundred years from now!

We had more ups and downs today. Ron was able to benefit from the down hills moving toward Buffalo. I got a few up hills as I walked to meet him. When that happens I repeat a mantra to myself that goes something like - 'another muscle on, another pound gone'. It seems to work.

Anyway by mid morning we were ready for a break at the Zider Zee Restaurant. We tried for green tea but tea was fine. Ron asked if I'd noticed the clientele. I said, 'All guys, why?' He said, 'Now look at the two waitresses.' (They were rather comely ladies - - boldly displaying their womanliness (Ron says!) - - in their late twenties, early thirties.) I do love the twinkle in Ron's eye. Now in fairness there was ample parking for trucks and this is a busy trucking route.

Our afternoon walk was mainly through Holland. Ron kept looking for a windmill but there is only a small one in the town park. This weekend is their tulip festival. There will be a parade and a breakfast - typically for a small town you have to know where it is, rides and a BBQ and dance behind the fire hall. Lots of tulips are out and waving prettily in the wind.

Once again we are impressed by the kindness of people. Today it was warm and safe enough for Ron to wear his 'Walking to Canada' tee shirt. A couple in a car had not seen the slogan but saw us walking on their way to and from breakfast. They stopped to make sure we were OK. Later a teen in a car did see the tee shirt. He wound down his car window and asked if the slogan was for real. We told him what we're doing and he said, 'Cool!' That kind of reaction is great.
Pictures:
Margaret climbing a hill

Ron climbing a hill

The town windmill

The Fifth of May

We walked more than eight miles in Sandusky, Arcade and Yorkshire, NY. Lots of sidewalks now with towns quite close together. Some of the features of today included getting Toronto area radio stations in the van, Toronto TV stations in the motel, and stopping at a Tim Hortons. A local church is offering free oil changes to single moms on Saturday morning. Great idea!

This afternoon we headed to Lewiston - - we don't usually go over 190 kms. round trip for dinner but this was another anniversary. At The Silo a diet Pepsi. The Silo is an old coal storage unit (round, 40ft high) used back in the days of the Lake Ontario steamers - - does anyone remember the original S.S.Cayuga? An entrepreneur converted the top if it into a restaurant/snack bar with a view. We enjoyed chicken 'n pasta and beef dinners at The Landing, right across the river from Margaret's sister's place near Queenston. Drove around Lewiston a little and through Artpark. Cute town with lots of changes since I was here the last time. Then off the the American Falls. I'd never done the U.S. side before. (Margaret had.) Quite impressive especially when viewed from close up.
Pictures:
A beautiful historic railway station in Arcade. It is in use with an historic train

The Silo in Lewiston

The American Falls

The Last Week in the States

We pushed past Rushford Lake today and made it to mid Sandusky NY. Those of you following on the map can see we're about halfway through New York State toward Buffalo and the Peace bridge. Today some hills, then mainly level walking along side rivers and abandoned rail beds. We've moved from Rte. 243 to 98. There aren't many motels in the rural area, so we're spending the week at a clean EconoLodge in Blasdell, just south of Buffalo. Margaret is particularly pleased that 'Buffalo' is being used in more of our conversations!

Rural western New York is much more populated and has more farmland than what we experienced in Northern Pennsylvania. There are still some very small, somewhat dead, towns where people must travel long distances to buy food. Some of the towns we have gone through have a large 'mini-mart' which will have a limited range of products. There are so many empty buildings along the road, evidence of many broken business dreams. On the other hand, we often pass a home or small garage with a sign ouside saying people are plugging along with a sucessful small business. Like "Dave's Used Books"- - a single car garage near the highway loaded with an estimated 5000+ titles. We have to remember that 9% unemployment means 91% are still working.

One interesting building we passed this afternoon was Salem Little White Welsh Church erected in the 1850s. It was built on a dry stone base with no mortar between them. It reminded us of the Mennonite Meeting House in Altona which I help to maintain. In fact there were two ladies there this afternoon giving the building its spring spruce-up. Like the Altona church this one is not in regular use but this building has been designated as an historic site.

Since retiring I've had an interest in buses. While working for Transtario, I got to drive four types, two of which were beautiful up-to-date models. Walking along the roads for the past weeks, I've seen many old vehicles in varying stages of disrepair. This afternoon there were two near the road - - the one looked like a parts source, and the other the probable mobile home for a country singer. If these vehicles could talk, there would be some interesting stories to tell!
Pictures:
A lake near Freedom, NY

A former railway bridge. Much of the old track area is a snowmobile track

Two old buses

A Busy Sunday

We usually try to squeeze in a church visit each Sunday but perhaps today was a bit ridiculous with three!

The tiny of village of Houghton probably has a population of less than 200 without the college counted in. The only church in town, Houghton Wesleyan, has three services each Sunday morning. The first one is at 8:20 (for the convenience of people walking across the state, of course.) The three hundred seat place was more than half full, the band was excellent (piano, flute, guitar, bass, drums, and vocalists), the speaker was good, and we were out and walking along Rushford Lake before ten.

Early afternoon, we headed back to St. Patrick's hall in Belfast and enjoyed a community roast beef dinner. Bowls on the table; pass and help yourself. Some conversation with couples from nearby Rushford lake. The lowest-sugar pie was the pumpkin which was real good. A treat I've frequently seen in Pennsylvania has been peanut butter pie, (Margaret wouldn't let me touch it,) but today on line I found a low-sugar version which I must try when we get home.

After a rest at the inn, we returned to the church across the road to attend part of an organ recital. A number of talented musicians each played one or two pieces on a new and very impressive instrument - - built in Montreal, by the way. And, we still got in some more walking in before supper.

Other highlights? - - We saw a field of vultures this morning and Margaret saw a couple of deer near the edge of the woods this afternoon. And we have each lost 10 pounds so far!
Pictures:
The church organ we listened to this afternoon

The Inn we are curretly at

Vultures in a tree

Half-Way Home!

For those just joining us, we're walking from southern Pennsylvania to Stouffville, ON, Canada for Sunnybrook Hospital Heart Centre. Go to the March 09 blog files to see the original news release and the tentative 2 1/2 month itinerary. Go to http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca/ click events, click "Trail..."

Hey! Today we celebrated half-way home! That is, if the trip is about 500 miles, we just completed 249 at Caneadea. Close. For those who are following the route, the only change we've planned is that after East Aurora we intend to follow Route 16 right into the middle of downtown Buffalo and then we'll take a couple of city streets to the pedestrian entrance to the Peace Bridge.

Another beautiful day to be on the road. For a short time I was able to follow a trail, a former railway bed, that parallels Rte. 19. It's signed for snowmobiles but looks like it's been used by hikers, cyclists, and horseriders during the spring. I imagined being in a coach car of a steam train in the early 1900's looking out over the Genesee River, which we have been following for the last five days.

At another point we saw a large number of tall trapezoidal pillers. New York State's own Stone henge? Possibly the footings for a massive high-level railway bridge. The hills on each side of the valley were about a hundred feet high!

The pattern continues. Margaret lets me off, drives ahead about 2 kms. and finds a safe place to park the van. She walks back to meet me, therefore doing almost as much walking as I do.
We keep in touch with a pair of 10 mile range radios. After I had started walking on one leg this afternoon, I get a call, "I've found a peaceful place to park." It was the Oramel cemetary. Peaceful, yes. But still the roar of the occasional passing traffic. In the grave yard, Jimmy James lasted only 53 years 1950-2003 but his marker is a chainsaw art bear instead of the standard marble. There must be a story.

There are differences between PA and NY. In northern PA there were 'POSTED' signs everywhere and in fact it was difficult at times to 'step into the woods'. In NY there are still 'POSTED' signs but there are also access signs posted to allow anyone to reach a river and fish. 'Tis the season as they say and we have seen lots of fishermen in hipwaders trying their luck.

Pictures:
Ron at the half-way point in Caneadea

The walking trail

The bear memorial

A Conestoga Wagon

Belmont, Belvidere and Belfast

Great walking conditions again today - - fairly level and weather a little cloudy with occasional sun and a brief cloudburst mid-afternoon.

The frequent plaques tell us that this area was settled in the 1850s. One sign indicated that the first townhall meeting was held in the Willis home in 1852. We're supposing that our forebears used the now Hwy 15 route and cut across country closer to Rochester. Too bad they didn't know this route. Most of the route for the past two days has been very level. Also we are surrounded by farmland rather than the wooded hills we had in northern Pennsylvania.


During the cloudburst this afternoon we took a detour into the historic village of Angelica. There are some lovely old houses, a library and cute little stores. The town square is round with - - count them - - five churches in the circle. (Ron says that Circular Quay in Australia is square.) There are lots of hiking and bicycling trails around the town as well as evidence of a small artistic community. There will even be a Murder Mystery event (family friendly) at the local inn next weekend.

My least favourite part of the day was seeing a snake slither away from the road into the grass - black, about two feet long and about an inch in diameter. Ron reassures me that it was only coming to the heat of the road but I continue to dislike things that slither. Ugh! Ron's worst moment was when a loose dog barked and ran circles around him. He doesn't trust any dog if the owner isn't right there. And talk about heart rate! We try to avoid moments like these.

Tonight we are at a newish, clean inn in the little village of Houghten right next to Houghten College. We were delighted to find internet access which
we hope to have until we reach the border.
Pictures:
A lovely covered bridge

The Genesee River

The main street in Angelica

My 59th (month!) anniversary flowers