Dennis Dixon is heading West!: Fall 2016 - Day 2: Super 8 Henrietta/Rochester - Niagara Falls State Park - Castellani Art Museum, Niagara University, NY - Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

Friday, Sept 16, 2016 - On the road at 8 AM, 1-and-1/2 hours west to Niagara Falls State Park, a few minutes north to the Castellani Art Museum at Niagara University, the over the border into Canada. 1-and-1/2 hours to Toronto (the Art Gallery of Ontario), then horrible traffic to get out of Toronto and up to Sudbury, Ontario (5-and-1/2 hours!):

424 miles; 12 1/2 hours

Niagara Falls State Park is a wonderful "Park" (from the state that brought you "Central Park"). It is a GREAT place to walk around, with the sound of rushing water everywhere! The northern part is seeing American Falls:

while the southern part is seeing the Canadian Falls:

Ellie and I saw this from the Canadian side when we drove back from Eau Claire, Wisconsin a few years ago.

The parkland is very nice:

BUT THEN YOU SEE THE FALLS!!

I paid $1.25 to go up on the Observation Deck (it is worth it!):

Other fun pictures include:
The rapids of Hell's Half Acre on the Niagara River right above the Falls (with St. Catherines in the distance):

Rainbow above tour boat:

The Canadian Falls:

and a nice look back at the American Falls:

I highly recommend visiting Niagara Falls!!

The just a few miles up the road to the Castellani Art Museum, Niagara University. They have some art-in-my-app, so I emailed them to see if anything was "available for viewing". I heard back from Michael J. Beam, the Curator of Exhibitions and Collections! and he said drop by - they are in an unopened gallery, but he will let me in!!

Albert Bierstadt - Red Mountain Peaks, n.d.:

and, back in the storeroom:
Thomas Hill - Vernal Falls, 1890

and a piece by Frederic Edwin Church that I did not know about!

Then over the Border into Canada!

and off to park right in front of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto! (Thank You God)

they had a Claude Monet - Étretat: L’Aiguille and the Porte d’Aval, 1885-1886 wood panel

and nice paintings by Otto R. Jacobi - Falls of Sainte-Anne, Quebec, 1865

(Canada's John Kensett)

Lucius R. O'Brien - Northern Head of Grand Manan, 1879

(Canada's William Bradford)

The architecture of the museum is pretty cool:

They have the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre

and a fun Andy Warhol - Elvis I and II, 1963-64 silkscreen

Traffic leaving Toronto (and in Toronto, for that matter) was horrible. And there was a "closed higway" north of Toronto, so I had to figure out an alternate route (not that easy without Internet on your iPhone). But checked in to the Super 8 in Sudbury, Ontario at 8:30 [after going through some Beautiful Country over the Key River and the French River on 400]. Thank You GOD for this wonderful Adventure!

Music today was from my big iPod:

starting in the cool of the morning with Pat Metheny Group - Pat Metheny Group, 1978

then back to the W's
Patti Smith - Wave, 1979

(only 3 songs are good)

Van Morrison - Wavelength, 1978

Bruce Hornsby and the Range The Way It Is, 1986

I remember listening to this cd (and his 2nd [Scenes from the Southside]) on the Island Queen over to the Vineyard when I bought my first cd player (SONY portable). It was SOOOOO COOL that I could hold the player in my hand, and move it around (even turn it upside-down) and the music kept playing and sounding great!

Pat Metheny Group - The Way Up, 2005