The Maid of the Mist

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The first order of business today was to buy our "Adventure Pass" from the Niagara Parks kiosk. The pass is worthwhile: it includes discounts on all of the falls attractions as well as the parks and historic sites operated by Niagara Parks. They will also make reservations for you on popular attractions. We scheduled our Maid of the Mist ride right away. The entrance to Maid of the Mist is near Rainbow Bridge, so we were right there and walked on down to the river. The wait was not long and we were shortly donning our blue plastic ponchos and boarding the boat. From there it was straight into the mist! The boats take you right up to face the Horseshoe Falls. You get wet. The ride is definitely not to be missed! (Boats leave from both the American and Canadian sides of the river).

Next was the Journey Behind the Falls. We walked further on along the embankment to Table Rock for this tour. The Journey takes place under Table Rock and right at the falls. An elevator took us down below the Table Rock complex. Then, a series of concrete-lined tunnels led us out to the edge of the Horseshoe Falls. You stand on a covered deck (but you get wet anyway) to look right at the middle of the falls. Another tunnel path leads to a viewing ports to look, in fact, behind the rushing water.

We enjoyed lunch at the Table Rock Restaurant, with a view of the falls and the rising mist. The Falls Incline Railway is a funicular at Table Rock Centre right at Horseshoe Falls. The funicular links Table Rock Centre with the Fallsview Tourist area above.

In the afternoon, we went to see IMAX film about Niagara: "The Falls Movie: Legends and Daredevils". The film is a dramatization of key events in Niagara Falls history. The vignettes begin with the legend of the Indian maid Lelawala (the Maid of the Mist), and continue with the origin of the Maid of the Mist tour boat, Blondin, the 19th century aerialist who crossed the gorge on a tightrope, and the story of Annie Taylor, who was first to go over the falls in a barrel, in 1901. The film is a little overdone, but fun to see. A helicopter-mounted camera takes the viewer for a thrilling simulated ride over the falls in true IMAX style. Several real Daredevil contraptions are on display around the theater lobby. Daredevils, those who attempt to ride over the falls, are real folk heroes in Niagara. (There is a Daredevil Museum across in Niagara Falls, NY.) There are stiff penalties for those who attempt it--and there are those who do not survive the attempt.

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Photos

Maid of the Mist III
"No one should omit to take the Trip in the little steamer, the Maid of the Mist, which starts near the foot of the Elevator descending from the end of Prospect Park, steams up the river nearly to the foot of the Horseshoe Fall, and touches at a wharf on the Canadian side The view it affords of the Falls is one of the best to be had; and the trip is perfectly safe".--Baedeker 1922 IMG_1419

Into the Mist
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Horseshoe Falls at River Level
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American Falls
American Falls from the Maid of the Mist. IMG_1423

Rainbow Bridge
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Table Rock
Table Rock Point and Horseshoe Falls.
"...Table Rock, which affords an indescribably grand view of the Horseshoe Falls. Beautiful rainbows are seen on the spray in the afternoon. The roar of the water is deafening".--Baedeker 1907. IMG_1463

Rainbow Bridge from Table Rock
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American Falls from Table Rock
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Horseshoe Falls from Table Rock
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