Today we took a trip to visit the campus of Notre Dame University.  It is a beautiful campus spread out over 1,250 acres.  It was originally established as an all-male institution in 1842.  The university enrolled women undergraduates in 1972. It currently has an enrolment of almost 12,000 students.

The Basilica is a Roman Catholic Church on the campus of the University and serves as the mother church of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the United States.  It is a beautiful church of Gothic Revival architecture that was opened in 1888.  The basilica bell tower is 218 feet high, making it the tallest University chapel in America.  It was breathtaking entering such a magnificent ornate structure.  The stained glass windows are stunning. Mass was very moving.  The choir, made up of all female students, was wonderful.

Basilica

Basilica

We recently had the opportunity to visit the The Recreation Vehicle and Manufactured Housing Hall of Fame located in Elkhart, Indiana.  The RV/MH Hall of Fame displays many different pop-ups, trailers, motorhomes, photos, and memorabilia dating as far back as 1913.  It’s very interesting see the technological progression from the primitive 1913 Earl Trailer and Model T Ford to the 1958 Airstream ‘der Kleiner Prinz”, a 10 foot fully equipped prototype Airstream, to the 1985 prototype of the iconic 1986-87 Bounder.

It was interesting to see the primitive units and how small and sparse they were.  Most had no bathroom facilities at all.    There are many units on display and all in amazing condition.  Be sure to make it a stop if you are in the Elkhart area.

We spent a few days exploring both the US and Canadian side of Niagara Falls and all I can say is WOW!!!

Niagara Falls is actually made up of three distinct falls, the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls which is in the US and Canada.  The power of the 750,000 gallons of water per second falling from the three falls is absolutely breathtaking.  You can actually feel the ground shaking from the power of the water.

We visited both the US and Canadian side of the falls.  The US side is a more natural setting with a park on Goat Island.  This is where you can visit “Cave of the Winds” which is an elevator which takes you down to the bottom of the American side of the falls where you can walk on a wooden walkway right up to the falls.  The New York State Observation Tower in Prospect Point Park offers visitors a unique perspective for viewing the falls.

The Canadian side is more commercialized for tourists and has a better view of the Horseshoe Falls.  You can descend into tunnels which take you behind the Horseshoe Falls.  The Skylon Tower on the Canadian side rises over 700 feet above the base of the falls and gives you a great view of the falls and Niagara gorge.  Both sides have boats, Maid of the Mist on the US side and Hornblower on the Canadian side, which take you right up to the bottom of Horseshoe Falls.

If you haven’t been to Niagara Falls you must add it to your bucket list.  The Falls are a true wonder of nature.

Cave of the Winds Video 

After picking up our motorhome, which was in for routine service at our dealer, we are continuing our journey throughout upstate New York.  We’ve visited many towns and interesting places including the Vanderbilt Mansion, the FASNY Museum of Firefighting, Woodstock, Rhinebeck, the Thousand Islands region of NY, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.  We are now at Niagara Falls and will be visiting both the US and Canadian sides.  After this stop we are leaving NY and will be moving on to Ohio and then Indiana.

New York State is beautiful with miles of rolling hills, corn and dairy farms and a surprising number of  wineries.