Late this morning, our friend Ken picked the four of us up at the campground for some sightseeing of the falls. He told us to bring our passports because we were going to view them from the Canadian side, and I’m so glad we did! The view is actually much better from their side! We had no difficulty at the border, and we were lucky to find a parking spot across the street from the falls. Words just can’t describe how grand they are! The power of that water was terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time.
It was very hot and humid, so I looked forward to getting a little closer to the spray of the falls. We all bought tickets for the 20 minute boat tour that takes you very close to the falls. We then crammed into an elevator with about 20 other people and a baby stroller and went down several stories to where the boat was docked. We were handed red ponchos and told not to put them on right away as it was too hot. Several hundred of us then boarded the boat and jostled for standing room near the rails. Off we went!
Needless to say, it was MUCH windier than expected due to the power of the falls, and the spray was more like the worst rain storm you’ve ever been in. It was really fun! Seeing the falls from that vantage point was really amazing! I think a heads up about not needing to do my hair in the morning would have been nice though!
From there, Ken drove us around a bit, and I really enjoyed seeing the river before it hit the falls. The rapids there were impressive, and seeing the drop off at the falls was terrifying. We all kept talking about the crazy people who have gone over those falls ON PURPOSE! We learned that the first person to ever go over those falls and live was a woman in the 1800s and she did it in a barrel. Steve offered to buy me one… I’m going to assume it was an offer of love. 😬
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| The whitewater approaching the falls |
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| The ‘drop’ |
Tonight we are all meeting at a restaurant called The Dockside Bar and Grill. We want to make an early night of it because all of us have a five hour drive tomorrow to Shodack Island State Park. We will all be together that night and then Steve and I are peeling off to visit family in New England. We will meet up again with everyone in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 24th!