Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, one of the 7 wonders of the world. Standing on the American side with the American Falls in the foreground and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side right behind me.

The sign says the average temperature for Niagara Falls in the summer is 67 degrees. Well, it has been in the 90s for the past 2 weeks and even topping 100. So much for averages.

Looking down at the Maid of the Mist boat from the top of the Sheraton Hotel in Canada. We had lunch in the Fallsview Restaurant.

When you go out on your Maid of the Mist boat tour they give you a poncho, because you will get wet. The Maid in the Mist has been providing services since 1846. Back then they provided a ferry to cross over into Canada and back since there was no bridge. Once the bridge was built they turned it into a tourist attraction, offering rides to those visiting the falls.

The Skylon Tower in Canada. Our tour included a ride to the top. You get a great view of both Canada and America.

Looking through the fence down on Horseshoe Falls from the top of the Skylon Tower.

Looking across to the American Falls.

I zoomed in on the above picture and saw these people in yellow ponchos walking out near the falls. This is the Cave of the Winds tour. I went on in when I was here in 2002, but did not go on the tour this time.

Over on Goat Island on the American side, looking upstream from the falls. Even though the water is only a few feet deep, they say a person cannot stand against the force of the water.

And yet this duck was out there swimming and diving for his supper.

Standing at the bottom of the American Falls you get a real feel for the power of the water falling over the top.

I had met up with a number of my WIN friends, and Ernie, our host for this gathering, planned a wonderful, guided tour. Thanks Ernie.

Several of us went back another day for more sightseeing on our own and to stay and view the falls at night with the pretty lights.

After our sightseeing adventures we stopped for some dinner. We were at the upstairs restaurant and had a great view of the falls and all the people.

Following dinner we all decided to share some dessert.

Once the sun set and the lights came on, we went back down to the walkway along the falls to view the lights. Every few minutes they would change colors. This is Horseshoe Falls. The reason you can't see any lights or falls in the middle is because of the mist.

The view of the American Falls from the Canadian side.

Earlier in the day we stopped downstream along the Niagara Gorge Rim to look down on the Class 6 rapids.

There is a place where you can go down to the river level and walk on the boardwalk to see the rapids up close. These waves and troughs can get as large as 20-30 feet high and they continue for about 1 mile. They attempted to provide a tourist attraction of rafting the rapids, but in the trials runs only 1 of the 2 rafts made it through. The other raft flipped, killing 6 people. Sorry folks, but no white water rafting these rapids.

Although in the 1990s a daredevil floated down these rapids with 3 life jackets on and survived.

We also visited one of the Daredevil Museums, the Three Sisters Island, the power plants and many other interesting sites in the area. Way too much to put in this blog. I guess you'll just have to come visit yourself.