Niagara Falls

Last night we made it to within an hour and a half of Niagara Falls, but a pounding thunderstorm - with rain so heavy we could barely see the road - convinced us to stop and spend the night in the small town of Dunkirk.

Heavy rain was predicted again for today, but all we got was a fairly steady drizzle. And when you're at Niagara Falls, where the air is already saturated with mist from the falls, what's a little extra moisture?

Nikolas Tesla Monument. He built a power plant at the falls (below) harnessing water to generate electricity, a major achievement at the time.

We had some difficulty finding our way to the visitor's center; there was a distinct lack of signs and GPS kept pointing us to an empty field. You'd think a park that's been in existence since 1885 (the first ever state park) would be used to telling people where to go. They've only been open since Saturday for the 2014 season, so that may have something to do with it. Benefit of the doubt, eh?

Niagara River, above American Falls

Once we got parked and found the tram, we were good to go. Cave of the Winds is still closed due to snow and ice, so we missed out on that.

The 45-minute Legends of Adventure movie was good;
View straight down from the observation deck, which is the same height as the falls. Teeny, tiny little people down there.
the Observation Tower, the best place to see all the falls, was great;

and the Maid of the Mist boat was fantastic - definitely a must-see.

See how tiny the boat looks down by the falls?


It holds 600 people, so it's not that small. The falls are just that big!

The view from the boat was amazing, even when most of it was obscured by mist.

By the time the ride was over, our hands were frozen,


we - and our cameras - were drenched,

and we couldn't stop grinning from how great it was.

Tonight we're staying in Niagara Falls. Tomorrow we head out again, although we aren't sure where to. We've hit our trip goals - Philly, DC, and Niagara - so anything else is just gravy.

For those who, like me, don't already know, there are 3 main falls at Niagara. American Falls is smaller, rockier at the bottom (no one has ever survived going over this one), and all on the US side of the border.

Bridal Veil Falls is next, and is the smallest of the 3. Horseshoe Falls is biggest - it's the curved one you see in most pictures - and 9 out of 16 people who've made the trip over the edge have survived.

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