Niagra Falls - a truly legendary force of nature! We both saw it many years ago but we were still completely fascinated during our entire day at the Falls!
Our first stop was the world famous boat journey to cruise the powerful churning waters near the base and "Explore the Roar" on the Maid of the Mist. We got our logo rain ponchos and took tons of photos from this spectacular perspective.
After you get off the boat the walk up to the Crows Nest is only a few steps away. We were very glad we kept our ponchos instead of recycling them immediately. You can see the stone walkway up to the Crows Nest and the start of the American Falls coming down right behind us.
We took the pedestrian bridge (in the background) across the American Rapids to Goat Island. The American Rapids really gives you a perspective of the incredible pace of the water flowing into the falls. They told us if you fell in you only have 3 minutes before you are over the falls.
A view of the American falls from Goat Island with a view of the Luna Island Observation area.
On Goat Island we walked up the tall wooden stairway to the Cave of the Winds. The staircase takes you right up to Bridal Falls. Believe it or not they take this wooden staircase down and reinstall it every season. This major attraction provides you with, not only a poncho, but also a pair of sandals and you carry your shoes with you. You truly experience the intensity of the falls when you are just inches away on the Hurricane Deck!
After spending lots of time exploring the American Falls we walked over to the farthest end of Goat Island to Terrapin Point for a great view of Horseshoe Falls (top photo) which is actually in Canada. The bottom left photo is a view of the Horseshoe falls from Maid of the Mist but with 681,750 gallons per second (2,509 tons of force) falling over the Horseshoe falls the sheer force of the water creates a very dense mist. The daredevils who go over the falls, go over Horseshoe falls because there are too many rocks at the base of the American falls.
You can really see the rocks at the bottom of the American falls in this "after and before" photo comparison. They diverted the flow to see if there was anything that could be done to reduce erosion or remove some of the rocks. It was decided it was best not do do anything, but this is a neat photo!
We ventured over to Canada for a different view of the falls and to enjoy a wonderful dinner. The Canadian side is similar to Branson, Missouri with lots of activity and crowds. The American side is more park like.
We even stayed until 10 PM for the Fireworks show. The US puts on the fireworks and the Canadians illuminate the falls at night. It is a wonderful partnership.
As you can tell, we really enjoyed this stop but it is time to move on to Alexandria Bay, New York.
You can really see the rocks at the bottom of the American falls in this "after and before" photo comparison. They diverted the flow to see if there was anything that could be done to reduce erosion or remove some of the rocks. It was decided it was best not do do anything, but this is a neat photo!
We ventured over to Canada for a different view of the falls and to enjoy a wonderful dinner. The Canadian side is similar to Branson, Missouri with lots of activity and crowds. The American side is more park like.
We even stayed until 10 PM for the Fireworks show. The US puts on the fireworks and the Canadians illuminate the falls at night. It is a wonderful partnership.
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