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Heading upstream from the Falls, the Old Scow soon comes into view - it's the rusting barge stuck against the rocks in the middle of the river. In 1918 the barge was being towed across the Niagara River when the lines snapped and the barge - along with the two-man crew - hurtled towards the Falls. There must have been an awful lot of praying going on, because - just 750m from the precipice - the barge caught against the rocks, and it's stayed there ever since. Pushing on past the Old Scow, both the Niagara Parkway road and the Niagara River Recreation Trail stay close to the river giving pleasant views over to the US. Nonetheless, this portion of the river is much less appealing than the stretch to the north - especially so beyond dreary Chippawa, where America's Grand Island divides the river into two drowsy channels. Further south, just 32km from the Falls, the Niagara Parkway peters out at Fort Erie , a small industrial town that also marks the end of the Queen Elizabeth Way linking Toronto with the American city of Buffalo. The one noteworthy site here is Historic Fort Erie (mid-May to Aug daily 10am-6pm; mid-April to mid-May & Sept-Oct daily 10am-4pm; $6), which overlooks Lake Erie from the mouth of the Niagara River just 2km south of town. The Americans razed the original fort in 1814, but it was painstakingly rebuilt in the 1930s as a Depression make-work scheme. The layout is similar to that of Fort George with a dry ditch, earth-and-stone ramparts and protruding bastions encircling a central compound, though here the outer gate is much more imposing, comprising a pair of huge double doors strengthened by iron studs. The central compound holds the usual array of army buildings, including officers' quarters, barracks and a powder magazine, plus a modest museum that explores the fort's bloody history.
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