Niagara Falls - Breathtakingly Beautiful

It has been years since we saw Niagara Falls and then only from the Canada side when we were in Toronto for something related to Rich's work. Yesterday we visited them on the America side...awesome.

What I loved most was the emphasis on the Falls themselves. Niagara Falls State Park is absolutely stunning! The park hugs the rim of Niagara Gorge, borders the American Falls, and continues up the river allowing visitors to experience the falls closeup. That keeps the commercial tourist stuff up the hill and away from the natural magnificence that we came here to see. The Canada side though is jam-packed with touristy stuff like Ripley's Believe It or Not, casinos, arcades, and lots of other touristy junk. As so many things do, it made me proud to be an American. I hope that someday you all can experience the America that Rich and I are so fortunate to be seeing now. At the very least, I hope you enjoy seeing it through our eyes.

In this photo we are in Niagara Falls State Park standing at the top of the American Falls with Horseshoe Falls in the far distance.

This photo was taken later in the day on Goat Island which is a part of Niagara Falls State Park. The rim of Horseshoe Falls is visible in the background.










Some of my favorite photos from our amazing day at Niagara Falls...

The Whirlpool in the Niagara River taken from Whirlpool State Park. Note the yellow and red open-air aerial tram that traverses Niagara Gorge from the Canada side.

A view of the Niagara Hydroelectric Power Plant. The water really is this beautiful shade of green/teal.

The New York State Observation Tower soars above the American Falls and the Niagara River below. The next three photos were taken from the farthest extension of the Tower.

Looking away from the Falls, this is Rainbow Bridge which connects America and Canada.

In this photo you get a small glimpse of Niagara Falls State Park and just how close you can get to the American Falls.

The American Falls are to the left and Horseshoe Falls in the distance. The boat is Maid of the Mist and the next few photos were taken from that boat.










As you board the Maid of the Mist you are handed a bright blue rain poncho, a very thin plastic thing. It was hot and humid so I didn't put mine on...I got drenched under the falls, which was actually very refreshing. The poncho did come in very handy for wrapping around my camera during the heaviest sprays. Still, you will see lots of water drops in these photos and the movie below.

American Falls with Bridal Veil Falls to the far right. For scale, notice the tiny little people climbing steps to go behind Bridal Veil.

This is not a beautiful scene but it does help convey the churning waters at the base of Horseshoe Falls. Our boat went quite deep into the semi-circle of those great falls so the mist obscured the falls themselves.







This next photo is perhaps my favorite of the day. It was taken from Maid of the Mist as we moved away from Horseshoe Falls...have I said breathtaking yet???

After disembarking the boat we walked into the circle you see at the bottom of the following photo to get even closer to the base of American Falls. Again, when you get close to the falls, the mist is a challenge for getting photos. Returning to the top of New York State Observation Tower, I took this final photo of American Falls with the mist of Horseshoe Falls in the distance.

Leaving that portion of the Park, we drove over to Goat Island where we had a fabulous mid-afternoon lunch at the Top of the Falls Restaurant. From there we walked down to the top of Horseshoe Falls. The remaining photos were taken on Goat Island.

This photo shows just how heavy the mist can be when you are on Maid of the Mist. Our boat had gone even deeper into the horseshoe than this one did.











This shot looking down Niagara Gorge shows American falls and Rainbow Bridge from the top of Horseshoe Falls.

Nikola Tesla was the inventor of the three-phase system of alternating current distribution and in 1896 the first distance transmission of AC current took place from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, New York. This monument honors his influence in the utilization of Niagara Falls for the generation of power.

Rich has often talked about Tesla and his many, varied inventions...a brilliant mind.









After several hours last evening of attempting to download photos to complete this post, I finally gave up and accepted that there was a problem with Verizon or Google or something...grrrr  This morning has been better but still very slow.
I'll close this post with a movie of the falls that was taken from Maid of the Mist. Even with all the water splashed on it yesterday, my camera is working perfectly...love that G-9!

Lovin' Life ~~ In Awe of Nature

Bev