"...At the foot of the horrible Precipice we meet with the River Niagara, which is not above half a quarter of a League broad, but is wonderfully deep in some places...
"...It is so rapid above this Descent, that it violently hurries down the Wild Beasts while endeavoring to pass it, to feed on the other side; they not being able to withstand the force of its Current, which inevitably casts them down headlong above Six hundred foot."
--Father Louis Hennepin, 1678
If Father Hennepin, in his wondrous account of Niagara Falls, meant that animals swept over its crest fall over 600 feet into the waters below, I'm sorry to say that's a bit of a tall tale. However, a certain amount of poetic license may be more than justified in this case if one is expected get the full feeling of this place. Somehow it doesn't seem enough just to say that 100,000 cubic feet of water fall 176 feet every second off the combined lengths of Horseshoe and American Falls...though that statistic by itself is almost unfathomable.
If Father Hennepin, in his wondrous account of Niagara Falls, meant that animals swept over its crest fall over 600 feet into the waters below, I'm sorry to say that's a bit of a tall tale. However, a certain amount of poetic license may be more than justified in this case if one is expected get the full feeling of this place. Somehow it doesn't seem enough just to say that 100,000 cubic feet of water fall 176 feet every second off the combined lengths of Horseshoe and American Falls...though that statistic by itself is almost unfathomable. To really communicate what it feels like to stand so near such a force of nature you've got to throw in some plummeting wildlife and add a few extra hundred feet of height, because the thought of anyone underestimating such a spectacle...
...seems almost sinful. Of course, the falls has in fact experienced its share of plummeting wildlife...if you count humans in the tally that is. This daring lady, Anna Edson Taylor, was the first to go over intentionally...
...and in July of 1960 this 7 year old kid, Roger Woodward, went over the edge in nothing but his swimming suit after a boat he was in capsized above the Horseshoe. He SURVIVED and was rescued by the crew of one of the Maid of the Mist barges that perpetually float tourists up into the powerful spray of the Falls. 
So, by this point I'll bet you're wondering how I ended up at Niagara Falls in the first place. Well, after our failed attempt to attend Bill Nye's lecture I spontaneously suggested to Rob that we could visit Niagara Falls instead. To my surprise he was game, and in less than an hour we were on the road.
How's THAT for a plan B!
I was a little worried that the place would be so obnoxiously touristy as to spoil the beauty of the falls, and there was plenty of that to be sure.
With the American side clogged with glitzy hotels edged right up against the parkland and the Canadian side lit up with Vegas-style casinos, it appeared that any intent to uphold park designer Frederick Olmstead's original vision of the place (see poster at right) currently exists almost exclusively on park placards inside the movie theater. Maybe if they keep advertising the sentiment it will eventually come true.
I was reminded of Edward Abbey's dislike of National Parks (see a previous post about him HERE)--his feelings that they just meant perpetual development in and therefore destruction of the very lands they sought to "preserve". He felt that great natural monuments should remain completely undeveloped and available only to those who could muster gumption enough to venture bravely and carefully into their wild interiors. I'm not quite so militant in my views about preservation--I think it's wonderful that many people are able to more easily access some of our nation's most beautiful natural areas through the park system--but I couldn't help but wince just a little at Niagara's overwhelmingly touristy ambiance.
Still, I should come down off my high horse 'cause I couldn't quite resist taking advantage of the park's offerings either.
The Maid of the Mist for example...Rob and I were both in agreement that we couldn't leave without trying on one of those awesome blue ponchos and venturing out underneath the thundering cascade. Here's where I'm going to mostly stop talking for a while and let you sit back to enjoy some pics...
I'm thinking, "Man I'm hot...no really...It's roasting in here!"
And we're off!
Oooo...Ahhh...
...Wait a sec...where's all that wind coming from...AHHHHH!!!
...did we just get transported to Antarctica?
Oh man...my lens is all wet.
Oooo look... a rainbow! I sure hope these pictures turn out...
So much for staying dry. Guess I should have tied my hood on...
Looking back toward American Falls, Rainbow Bridge, and the towering observation deck...
Oh man...here we go again!
Home again, home again...
So, the sign says all this foam floating away from the falls is natural...a swirling meringue of decaying plant tannins and calcium carbonate...
Yum?
And here is what our voyage into the mist would have looked like to the hundreds of spectators clustered around the rim of the falls...
***Note to future travelers to Niagara Falls: Yes, the Maid of the Mist is worth the $13.50...there's a good reason it's been in operation since 1846! And if you're still looking to get wet again when you're done (and on this particular day we weren't) go ahead and don another stylin' poncho and take a walk through the Cave of the Winds...looks like it's a BLAST...literally...
After having a picnic dinner along the river's edge Rob and I walked over to Goat Island to get a closer...well, at least a drier look at Bridal Veil and Horseshoe Falls. The clear light of the setting sun shone through Bridal Veil and illuminated a carpet of grassy green plants beneath its rushing cascade...
...and as we neared the Crest of Horseshoe, a tower of mist rose like smoke from the gorge. 
As the sun set behind a skyline of expensive hotels and high-rise casinos, the light set the scene afire...
...and in the fading glow of evening we posed for a couple of obligatory romantic photos to commemorate our impulsive adventure. And NO...we did not buy t-shirts!
What a sunset, eh?
I really want to visit there. You tell such a great story. You 2 are so stinkin' cute!
ReplyDeleteYes. I think it's high time he made an honest woman of you.
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