No tags yet.
2018 Road Trip part 2 : NIAGARA FALLS
Niagara Falls : beyond powerful and amazing -- some of mother nature's finest work. Photos just don't do it justice but that did not stop us from taking a million shots!!! The rainbows, the mist, the roar of the falls, the rushing waters are impressive and memorable. During our visit we attempted to view the falls from many different angles.
We spent a few days on the Ontario side and another day at the US State Park side. The falls are definitely best viewed in full from the Canadian side. The Niagara US State Park is beautiful and offers several unique vantage points.
Queen Victoria garden stretches along the Niagara gorge and is impeccably landscaped with colorful plants and flowers (they must have gardeners as talented as Disney!!)
At JOURNEY BEHIND THE FALLS we got very very close to edge of horseshoe falls (without getting too wet). First we descended 125 feet down to 130-year-old tunnels through the bedrock to view portholes built behind the falls. There is also a 13 story high observation deck. You can feel the vibration and hear the roar of the Horseshoe Falls before you see it. The tunnels were claustrophobic but manageable for short time period.
Two Niagara boat options were available - MAID OF THE MIST (US side) and HORNBLOWER (Ontario side). It would be hard to view the falls without seeing one or two boats passing by constantly. Our boat ride into the falls was a wild & unique experience that we will remember for a long time ! The sound of the waterfall was roaring and the boat moved further and further into the mist of horseshoe falls. The boat lingers in the mist for what seems to be a very very long time so it was quite windy & wet -- exhilarating ! Being at water level definitely provided a different perspective of the falls and river!
The Skylon Towers at 775 foot tall providing a spectacular sweeping view of both falls at once! Most spots you can see either the American Falls (on left - US side) or Horseshoe Falls (on right - Ontario side). We spent quite a bit of time gazing at this view! Of course we took some time out for drinks in the revolving restaurant with a most incredible view.
American Falls-
Horseshoe Falls
The yellow elevator cars on the Skylon Tower are called BUGS! We could see the yellow BUGS constantly moving up and down the tower from our hotel room. The close up of the tower was taken from our room.
Illumination ! At night the falls are illuminated with rotating colorways-- the illuminations allow the falls to be viewed even in the dark all night long. This was also a nice to view from our room.
Fireworks are set off over American Falls each night at 10 pm -- every night we watched from our hotel room windows for a very comfortable vantage point! This photo was taken from the room.
Room with a view ! Our hotel room was located on the 31st floor of the Hilton Fallsview--- the view was amazing and allowed us to see the falls almost the entire time we were awake. We were very happy we made decision to stay at this location. The building seen in photo between the falls is the Fallsview Casino attached to the Hilton. We did visit the casino and play slots for a small amount of time but honestly couldn't wait to get back outside to the falls!
The Niagara Whirlpool Aero Car soars across the turbulent Niagara whirlpool of the Niagara River which is formed at the end of the Class 6 rapids where the gorge turns abruptly counterclockwise and the river escapes through the narrowest channel in the gorge.
The Aero car has been in operation since 1916 and is suspended by six cables over the water-- a little crazy for someone not keen on heights! We were told it has a perfect safety record! The operator explained that if we had to evacuate the car it would take up to 8 hours (so thankful that was not necessary on our ride!)
The historic cable car actually crosses the international border line between Canada and the US a total of four times each trip due to the way the river elbows.
The Niagara Falls State Park offers great views of the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls and across the river to Ontario side. We stopped at the US observation deck, Goat Island, and Luna Island.
