Friday, June 4, 2021
I woke up early in Syracuse this morning. I started driving right away towards Niagara Falls. The 2-hour drive had a couple of pit stops along the way. One for Axl to do his business and one for a coffee and some breakfast sandwiches at Tim Hortons.
I was excited to make it to Niagara Falls as soon as I could, it had been quite a few years since I had been there.
I met my friend Rae at the casino next to the falls. She had a small dog that got along well
with Axl. We walked towards the falls and I was amazed by the amount it had changed. It's such a spectacular view. Just being at the falls is so powerful. It is so majestic. There is a definite force of nature that is spiritual in a sense. I was awestruck by the beauty and power of Mother Nature.
I was able to take a lot of photos, and I enjoyed the walk in the park.
Rae gave me some great ideas on where to visit in Buffalo. One of the things I wanted to do was to get buffalo wings so I went to a place called Duffs and ordered some wings and french fries, of course, I washed it all down with a Diet Coke.
I did a Google search for dog parks in the area, and I found this spectacular dog park for Axl to run. It was kind of like a combination of dog park slash people park. It was quite relaxing.
The dogs were able to run free and Axl met some dogs his size and ran like crazy with them all. He was in his glory. We stayed there for about an hour before I decided to go exploring some abandoned buildings in the area.
I was told about an old church in a run-down part of town that had burned and I was intrigued so I headed there just to find it all locked up and there was no access to the inside. There was a hole in the door so I was able to stick my camera lens in and get a few shots of the tragic mess on the inside. Buffalo has a lot of churches but this one was dignified and grand. I wished I could go inside.
I discovered an island called Silo City which had a rebirth that was up and coming. The strange part of this place is that there are all these old, abandoned silos from an industrial era that is long gone. Yet tucked away amongst these giant abandoned buildings there were new local establishments like a bar, a small park, a soccer field. Some local theatre company was using this behemoth structures as a backdrop to certain productions. It was a mix of old and new. It is nice to see locals trying to resurrect an area that had long been forgotten. I was able to walk into one of the silo buildings and it was scary and eerie. The chill in the air went right to my bones as I entered the massive silo and let my eyes adjust to the darkness.
I was able to get some pictures of the inside of this structure but I have a sense that I woke some old souls by trying to capture this moment. I want to go back and explore this area some more and ask more questions about this location.
I finished my night off with another trip to Niagara Falls to see the dignified force once again all lit up at night.
I was not disappointed with the second trip there. The crowds were lighter. As the cool Buffalo air mixed with the mist from the falls started to wander in, the night spectators slowly started to dwindle.
I had a wonderful day packed with amazing views and wandering exploration. I am going to stay in Buffalo for another day to explore more of this unique destination.
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