Summer 2003 Northeastern US Roadtrip

Day 17 - Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

This is my second most favorite day of the trip, I believe. Seeing the looks on JJ's and Venus' faces when they first saw the falls was remarkable! None of us could tear ourselves away from the edge, always wanting to look at the raging river pouring over the falls. The mist falls for more than a mile away from the falls and rainbows are always appearing and vanishing.

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Beneath the Falls is deafeningly loud. Pictures are difficult because of the constant mist in the air.

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We stayed on the Canadian side because that's where most of the touristy stuff is.

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The falls have travelled about 3 miles in the past 12,000 years.

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At one point in its' travels, it took a 90 degree left turn, as it is doing now on Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side.

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Where this left turn occurred is where the whirlpool is located now. The river stumbled upon an old river bed that had been covered up by a glacier debris.

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There is nothing so peaceful as sitting alongside a rushing set of river rapids.

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There is nothing so violent as a rushing set of river rapids. Below the tram car is the whirlpool and point of the river's left turn.

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Rainbows appear during the day and colored lights appear during the night.

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Day 17

Thursday, July 17th Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada written 11:00 PM

Drove to Queen Victoria Park and parked. Went to the Table Rock Journey Behind the Falls down 120 feet below the falls and got very wet from the mist. Then we walked dwon the road to the Maid of the Mist boat ride and took a ride on it to the base of the falls and got wet again. But it was very cool. Then we walked a very long way to the Great Gorge where we went down 230 feet and walked right along side the rapids. Canadians seem to be less fearful of people getting off the paths so we explored the rocks up to the edge of the river. Very loud, large, incredible rapids! Three people have tried to swim across, one died. The first person over the falls itself in a barrel was a woman in 1901. Then we walked farther to the Spanish Aero Car to ride across the whirlpool, Venus was actually ready to do it, but it was closed due to high winds. So, disappointed, we took the People Mover back to the Table Rock area, did some souvenir shopping and went back to the hotel for the Jacuzzi. Talked to a coulpe from Kitchener, Ontario for awhile. They said prices are so cheap here now because of the SARS scare in Toronto affecting tourism here also. Lucky for us.

We ate dinner at the Rain Forest Café on Clifton Street, an amazing restaurant with fake thunderstorms, gorillas, snakes, elephants, etc indoors. They also had a live lion, Samson 10 months old, in a cage outside. Finished just in time for 10:00 PM fireworks by the Maid of the Mist area. I sprained or broke my left little toe, making it hard to walk, at the pool earlier, so Venus and JJ left me behind to see the fireworks. Lucky this didn't happen at the beginning of the trip. Venus is arranging all of our souvenirs for our return trip. Her favorite souvenir is a bottle of water on a holder that goes around her neck. Easily amused, like me.

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