Niagra Falls

We arrived at Niagra in the evening of Friday, August 14. That nite we drove in to the town and saw the falls; then the next morning we returned to do the Maid of the Mist boat ride, and the Sky Wheel (Ferris wheel) ride.

This was Ashleigh's first time seeing the falls, and my first time on the Canadian side. It was still sunlight out when we arrived and we drove through the Canadian town of Niagra Falls, which is a mixture of nice manicured falls-related infrastructure, and hideously kitchy storefronts hawking cheap needless goods. The town is large, quite built up for the tourists; it is a swarm of humans from every corner of the world all trying to see the falls, or trying to sell them things. Luckily we brought money to spend. Ashleigh said it was like a cheaper version of Las Vegas or Universal Studios.

The first nite we drove along the cliffs overlooking the falls. Ashleigh commented that she had considered the size of the falls over the previous couple days, and had decided that they would probably end up being smaller than her imagination; but that was wrong. They are huge! She was duly impressed. We got lost looking for parking, but finally found some, and walked through the town and along the viewing area. There was a mix of all races and sorts of people there, and we heard many languages, like we had heard in the national parks in the first couple weeks of our trip. After the sun sets, the authorities shine colored lights onto the falling water, which is quite a spectacle. For dinner we had a delicious fresh chicken shawarma sandwich from a little corner shop.

On the way into town we had passed a conveniently located Wal Mart, which was a mere five minutes from the downtown district. It could hardly have been in a better location for a comfortable evening. We were one of eight RVs in the lot that nite, and surprisingly the other seven all had Ontario plates. In the morning we left the detached trailer at Wal Mart and drove the Jeep into the city again, paying five dollars to park in a lot.

The most popular attraction at the falls is the Maid of the Mist bout tours, which take you on a medium-sized ferry boat right up to the edge of the falling water, into the intense drenching mist. Thin ponchos are provided to protect everything but your shoes. The mist rises up from the splashing water all the way up to approximately twice the height of the falls themselves, but at the bottom it is like a strong windy rainfall. Several boats work as a team to cycle tourists to the falls from both the American and Canadian sides.

The tour was really neat, we were glad we did it. I snapped a ton of pictures even though I was worried that the ceaseless mist would damage the camera (it was fine). The boat went up to the falls, towering 175 feet high above us, at medium speed then stopped for a few minutes to give the full effect. The recorded narration boomed "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Niagra Falls!"

The other attraction we did that morning was the "Sky Wheel", a big Ferris wheel with a good view of the falls. Although pricey, it was also a lot of fun. The two of us got an enclosed gondola to ourselves and there was no line at all that early in the morning. In fact, the standard ride is three times around the wheel, and we got a bonus turn. Good times.

That was it for the day in terms of doing fun things. From there we headed west on Canadian 403, then 401, then 402 to the border at Port Huron, Michigan. I contemplated the town's small connection to my favorite movie, The Big Lebowski, where the eponymous character claims to be an author of the Port Huron Statement (a real historical thing, I looked it up once): "the original Port Huron Statement, not the compromised second draft". We went through customs without a hitch and spent the rest of the day driving across Michigan, to Indiana, just short of Chicago.