Day 28 - You Can't Visit Niagara Falls Without Getting Wet!

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aaaToday was our first opportunity to be the quintessential lazy tourist on this trip. We had a pre-planned tour and we purposely didn't schedule it until 10:30 so we wouldn't feel rushed in the morning. Our only responsibility was to show up in our hotel lobby at 10:30 and the tour company would take it from there. We slept in a little as the place we picked for breakfast - The Third Street Pub & Retreat didn't even open for breakfast until 8:00. So we wandered over at 8:15 for breakfast, which was really good. We will have to go back for breakfast tomorrow. After breakfast, we hung around the hotel, catching up on email, and generally just goofing off until 10:30 when the tour van showed up.

There was one other couple from our hotel, but they also picked up from other hotels in the area, so our entire group was 19 people and our Tour Guide - Carl. Carl was a good guy, been giving tours for about 12 years and was 1 year away from retirement and buying an RV and wandering the country. The tour is about 4-5 hours long and hits most of the high spots on the American side. We started by heading to Goats Island and a trip to the Cave of the Wind. I'm not really sure why they call it a cave, though technically it must be one. It's really just a boardwalk and a set of steps that pass under and along side a section of the Bridal Veil Falls. Before you go down the elevator to the boardwalk, they make you take off your shoes and socks and they give you disposable sandals to wear along with a yellow poncho. So we put on our sandals and headed down in the elevator where we put on our ponchos before stepping out on the platform. The falls were really impressive, MUCH larger than anything we had ever seen anywhere else. The amount of water involved is staggering.

Most of the boardwalk at the Cave of the Winds is reasonably dry, with most of the water from spray just in the air around the falls. But there is one area where the falls actually run over the top of the boardwalk, and you will get your feet and pant legs wet in that area. The other area though is called the Hurricane Deck and it is REALLY windy and full of spray in that area. We only stayed on the edges of it for a few seconds and we got pretty wet. Of course some of the kids and more adventurous adults stood right in the middle and got soaked. Jody and I had both been wet before, so we had a good idea of what being wet felt like and decided that being wet for the rest of the day while we tried to dry out over the next few hours was not how we wanted to spend the rest of our day so we only stayed on the deck long enough to understand the experience. The whole thing took about a half hour before we were riding the elevator back up to the top. We both really enjoyed it, and being a weekday in late June, the crowds were not bad at all. Carl had given us an hour at Cave of the Winds, and we still wanted to visit the observation areas.

So we took the elevator back up to the top, and headed to the left to see Bridal Veil Falls, and the American Falls from the top. Then we made a quick stop in the gift shop for t-shirts - none that we especially liked and we headed to the right to Terrapin Point to see the Horseshoe Falls. These were really huge and impressive. We took lots of pictures and even a few videos along the way. We really enjoyed this section and were ready for the next part of the adventure.

It was getting close to lunchtime, so Carl took us over to the Visitors Center where there was a local hot dog vendor where we could catch a quick bite to eat, visit a souvenir shop, and use the restrooms in the Visitors Center. Jody & I each had hot dogs and sodas, and headed over to the souvenir shop for t-shirts. Sure enough the selection was much better here and we were able to find ones we liked. We were there about a half hour for lunch when Carl picked us up again and took us over to the Maid of the Mist Boat Ride.

The Maid of the Mist is really the best way to see the falls up close. This is another time they give us blue ponchos this time, because if your visiting Niagara Falls, you're gonna get wet! The boat was not too crowded and everyone found a spot at the railing to take pictures. First stop was the American Falls which are much more impressive from the river. Even though the American Falls are on the American side, they are not easy to see from the American side. Next, we pulled alongside Bridal Veil Falls and the Cave of the Winds which also looked impressive. There were times that there was some water spray, but mostly we were able to stay reasonably dry. We were able to get some very good pictures from the boat, and even a few videos.

But the final destination on the Maid of the Mist is Horseshoe Falls. Horseshoe Falls is an unbelievably large U-shaped waterfall, hence the clever name - Horseshoe Falls. They actually drive the boat into the center of the horseshoe so that there is noting but waterfall at the front and on both sides of the boat. The roar is deafening, and there is mist everywhere, but it is such an awesome experience. The power of the water is evident all around us. They remained in the center of the horseshoe for a good 5-10 minutes. It was plenty of time to get all the pictures and videos we wanted. The boat was not overly crowded we were able to take pictures from both sides and the front. It was really the most awe inspiring experience of the trip so far.

When we returned to the dock, we had the choice to ride the elevator back up to the top or climb the stairs along side the American Falls. We decided we were too lazy to climb all those steps, but convinced ourselves it was that we wanted to get up to the observation deck quickly. So we took the elevator up, and headed out onto the observation deck. Since the American Falls are not easily visible from the American side, and to prevent Americans from having to go to Canada to see the American Falls, they built a huge tower that has an observation deck cantilevered out over the river. This gives a reasonably good view of the American Falls from the American side. While we were up there we saw something that we though was funny and a little unusual. There was a group of Buddhist monks in full regalia -orange robes, sandals, shaved heads, etc, just like they've been wearing forever. But each of them had an iPhone, snapping away at pictures and videos, It was an interesting juxtaposition of old and new culture. There was also a group of Mennonites, but they didn't have any iPhones.

After the observation platform, there was another gift shop - what a surprise! Sure enough we found a couple of good Maid of the Mist t-shirts there also. Looks like we'll be set for shirts for the next couple of days. We met back at the bus again for a journey up the Niagara River to a place called the Niagara Whirlpool. Carl gave us a lecture there about the origins of the Niagara Falls and the upper and lower Niagara Rivers. He explained that the Niagara Whirlpool is a leftover artifact of a river that split into 2 forks where one of the forks had been closed off when the glacier receded about 12,000 years ago. The rapid water movement prevented the second fork from closing off and the result is a 90 degree bend in the river. Since rapid moving water does not normally like taking 90 degree turns, the result is the Niagara Whirlpool. We took a bunch ov pictures and a few videos of the whirlpool, and in the videos, you can clearly see that the water at the near shore is moving right to left, and the water at the far shore is moving right to left.

In addition to the whirlpool, we could see an aerial tram being operated on the Canadian side. Evidently this tram has been in operation as a tourist attraction since it was built in 1901. The cables span across the whirlpool, and we were able to see it in operation while we were there, and the 1901 tram is still an open car, not the typical closed tram we are used to seeing. Too scary for me!

On the way back to the hotel, Carl passed by the hydroelectric powerplants still in operation today. While the early plants were built directly on the shores of the Niagara River, the modern plants are more inland and are powered from water diverted to the plants rather than being allowed to pass over the falls. Carl reminded us that as impressive as the falls might be with the amount of water involved, to remember that about half the water destined to go over the falls is diverted to the powerplants, and that at night after the tourists have gone home, even more water is diverted which lowers the water level in the Niagara River by about 3 ft, to be returned to normal in the morning when the tourists return.

We made it back to the hotel at about 3:30 in time to head back to the room, clean up, rest for a little bit, and head out for dinner. Tonight we just walked down the road just a little to Tony Roma's where it was pulled pork sandwiches for both of us. Tomorrow should be another touristy day. In the morning we plan to take the free shuttle over to Fort Niagara and visit a few other sites along the trolley route. At 5:00 we have booked the Canadian Twilight Tour which retraces some of the experiences of today except from the Canadian side and in the early evening. Fortunately we brought our passports on this trip.

0.0 Miles Today

4333.4 Miles Total

0.0 Gallons Today

106.633 Gallons Total

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