New York - Niagara Falls, Ontario

On to New York we go.  New York has a population of over 19 million people and 8+ million of them live in New York City.  However the capital is Albany.  Upstate New York is very different from the busy, heavily populated cities.  The area once was part of Lake Ontario, so all the sediment from that lake bottom resulted in very rich farmland.  One of those farms is now Murphy Orchards which was previously owned by the McClew family and was part of the “underground railroad.”  The underground railroad was neither underground nor a railroad.  It was a network of people helping slaves get to freedom in Canada.  Prior to 1850 if slaves could make it to New York State they would be safe, but in 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act was passed (Millard Fillmore was President) which made no place within the United States safe – and it encouraged people to hunt the slaves down and turn them in.  This farm was one of the stops along the way.

Barn under which slaves were kept in secrecy.

Hole in barn floor through which slaves accessed a compartment in which to hide.

From there it was just a hop, skip, and a jump to Niagara Falls, Ontario.  You already know the population of Ontario – this is a test!  (Answer:  13.5 million)  Niagara Falls (the town) has a population of 83 thousand people.  Of course the main attraction is the coming together of 4 major waterfalls:  Horseshoe, American, Bridal Veil, and Niagara.  The first three are on the American side and Niagara on the Canadian side.  These falls are fed by four of the Great Lakes:  Michigan, Superior, Huron, and Erie.  After going over these falls the water then goes to Lake Ontario and on to the St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic Ocean.  

American side - left to right - Horseshoe, American and Bridal Veil

Niagara Falls - Canadian side

Look Closely - there is a DOUBLE  RAINBOW below the falls.