Niagara Falls,
New York and Canada
My family and I were just
outside Sackets Harbor, NY for a Vacation/Family Reunion and
discovered that we were only about 4 hours from Niagara Falls.
So we decided to spend our last day in NY driving to and enjoying
Niagara Falls.
This photo is taken from
the American side looking at horseshoe falls toward Canada. We
arrived about 1:30 pm on a Saturday. It was a little cloudy.
We walked down the steps
to the crest of the falls. The roar of the water drowned out
all sounds around us except for the people that were speaking
very loud to each other to be heard. The mist would occasionally
blow toward the crowd in a cooling breeze.
Looking beyond the crest
the mist gets very heavy. The water is moving about 22 miles
per hour at the crest of the falls. Here you can barely see the
visitors center on the Canadian side.
Here you can see a Maid
of the Mist boat ride that gets you very close to the bottom
of the falls and in "a lot of cool water" (mist). The
boat is all blue because all the passengers are dressed in blue
rain (mist) gear. Almost like a see of penguins.
Looking from the same vantage
point on the American side, we look toward the "American
Falls".
If you were on an aircraft
looking down on the falls, you would see that there is an island
of land in the middle of the Niagara River. The water splits
and forms the American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.
We are on that island viewing both of the falls.
A short walk , still on
the island, takes us to a better vantage point of the American
Falls.
From here we can walk down
to the observation lookout in the foreground of this photo.
We have crossed over into
Canada and are now standing again at the Horseshoe Falls. If
you go to the falls in the summer, be prepared to wait in long
lines as much as 30-45 minutes to clear customs when
going from the US into Canada. As you can see, we lost some of
our light and it is now almost entirely overcast. In fact, right
after I took this picture, we had about a 30 second shower.
Another look at the Maid
of the Mist boat close to the falls.
Here is a better idea of
just how close to the bottom of the falls the boats actually
get. Even though you can get mush closer to the crest of the
Horseshoe Falls from the American side, the view of both of the
falls is much better from the Canadian side.
From here you can see the
full horseshoe of the falls. That little dark thing at the base
of the falls in the mist is the Maid of the Mist boat. Right
under where this photo is taken is the outlet for the Hydroelectric
plant that is here at the falls.
From the same vantage point
as the above photo, I turn to take this photo of the American
Falls looking back toward the US. To the left of the falls
you can see the Rainbow Bridge that crosses into Canada.
As the Maid of the Mist
boat travels back from the Horseshoe Falls, it passes the American
falls. It can not get as close to this falls as the other due
to the rocks and debris at the base of the falls.
If you look closely at
this photo, to the right of the falls down close to the river,
there are rows of yellow. These are people in yellow rain (mist)
gear. On the U.S. side at the American Falls and on the Canadian
side at the Horseshoe Falls, you can get all geared up and take
an elevator ride to the base of each falls. There you get the
most close up, and wet, experience of the falls from any vantage
point.
I regret to say that we did not
have enough time to do much more than visit both sides and enjoy
the spectacular views of the falls. There are very many things
to do while at Niagara Falls. This is a photo of Skylon Tower
and a little cafe/restaurant. We went to see if we could get
a bite to eat before rushing off to Syracuse to catch a plane
in the morning.
When I get back in that area again,
I will make sure that I have at least a full day to enjoy and
experience all the splendor of the falls and the surrounding
area and stay in the evening to see the light and laser show
of the falls at night.
If you would like more
information, visit
www.niagaraparks.com
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