Niagara Falls!
14th June 2004
I don’t want to write this email - I want to keep looking at the stunning photos we took today!
I remember as a kid undoing the wrapping on a gift and trying to see what’s inside - just a peek in one corner. This is what we did yesterday by driving through the Niagara Falls area. We did not get out, we did not walk around, we just drooled a little over the thought of going back today – just a peek in one corner of an amazing place. This did not make for easy sleeping last night and I felt like a child expecting an enormous gift the next day. It thundered and lightening-ed last night so I was convinced that today would be rainy and dull. Fortunately I was very wrong. When we were driving through Buffalo, NY, we saw this cloud/plume of mist, and realized that it was Niagara Falls mist. All this added up to an incredible sense of expectation. And it was met, more than met......
Nothing we saw could have prepared us for the sights of today. We were up early and at the Horseshoe Falls by 7 am - that in itself is nothing short of a miracle for me. The cameras heaved enormous sighs and 350 pictures and a few short videos later, we could easily go and see it all over again! There is no way one can describe the thunderous noise, the ‘coolth’ of the constant mist falling, the sight, the enormity and beauty of this place. The sun was blinking on different sections of the falls, highlighting it through the spray/mist of the others. The water falls, and then bubbles, foams and sprays, boiling almost all the way back up to the top.
One can stand right at the top of the falls, at the very place where it drops over the edge. It makes one quite dizzy while watching this and had the ability to make my mouth drop open in absolute awe every time I was drawn back there. The water is so clear that at the top before it races over the edge and one can see a few feet down to the bottom of the river and see the rocks on the riverbed! Both of us just stood and looked at the power that is humanly impossible to stop. Right at the very point where the water goes over, the water is green/blue and this lines the rim of the Falls all around. The water boils its way down, catching on rocks on the way, creating the most amazing effects. One can see big rocks and boulders being swept down the falls.
It was wonderful being able to share this moment on the phone with you Mom. It is quite possible to sit on one of the many benches and just “feel the falls” for a long, long time – it’s just truly fantastic. The seagulls float and coast all along the river, above and below the falls and dart down wards to catch the dropped food of all the tourists. Some will even eat out of your hand. They are very healthy, plump birds.
We were very fortunate that we were there so early - there were hardly any people and we were able to ride all along the viewing area without any problem at all, stopping wherever and whenever we wanted to. Later on during the day, when thousands of people were wandering around, it became totally impossible to ride around there, but by then it was time to go....
We thought that we would go on a boat ride to the bottom of the falls, but then watched from way up, and saw that the boats did not really go as far into the mist as I would have liked. It might be far enough when one is on the boat, but from the top looks like it’s still far away from the actual falls. The helicopters stayed waaaay up in the air, so that was ruled out too. Both of us were content just to keep going between the top of the falls, and the other viewpoints.
The Niagara Falls is actually made up of 3 different falls: The American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls and The Horseshoe Falls. 90% of the water from the Niagara River goes over the Horseshoe Falls, the other 10% over the other two. The Niagara Falls stopped once in recorded history - it was in 1848 when millions of tons of ice got lodged at the source of the Niagara River and stopped the falls for 30 hours. The story goes that there was quite some panic and praying and that it was quite an incredible roar that occurred when it all opened up again, although some folks were brave enough to walk across the rocks while it was dry - that would take some guts too! That must have been quite a sight.
Some more information: 300 years ago, the Horseshoe Falls was located 11 miles further downstream than today. The water eroded the rock at the rate of one meter a year. Now, with major water diversions for power generation, the erosion rate is “only” about 36 centimeters over ten years. And I love these words, written in 600 BC by a Chinese philosopher, Lau Tzu: “Water is fluid, soft and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.” Quite some thoughts and teachings in those words.
So, we got to the falls at around 7am, rode around on the bikes for over 5 hours, only occasionally getting off to nurse our aching rear ends! I got my feet in the rushing waters of the Niagara River, although I have to admit that it was nowhere near the falls – safely a good way upstream, and there was only a good, gentle flow to the clear, cool water at this point. I also picked up some stones out of the river itself. Something just keeps me picking these up. There are trails for a long way all alongside the river. These were perfect for the bikes and were fairly level all the way with much shade and many benches to rest on. Sometimes the trail took us right next to the river and at other times through pine forests where some serious bikers went whizzing by. It was just plain wonderful. We now notice that we gained a gentle tan along the way. We had bought some sausage rolls yesterday, which we took along for snacks. We have not found these sausage rolls in USA, so were really happy to find them again here. We are also back in the land of smarties, crunchies and aero chocolates - all those things that make my willpower, and hips, shudder. But they taste SO good!
So, after a wonderful sleep when we got back, some darn good coffee, and the weather pretty muggy with thunderstorms coming in, we both feel pretty good. And we are still totally in awe with the photographs now playing as a screensaver on the computer. What a day - Totally Awesome! I have this ‘thing’ for photographing water (the proof is in last years photos), so I was totally in my element today - I am sure even this abundance of water will not dampen my need to respond when Frank yells “Water, Annie, water!!”
Lovely phone calls from both Joleen and Lisa - thanks my girls. J And Steven, we will have to start calling you “Spiderman”. J
We will be heading out tomorrow morning towards Toronto and then up towards Hudson Bay. Thanks for all the emails - we love getting them.
With lots of love to all
Especially U3 - please stay safe.
Annie and Frank
XXXXxxxx
Niagara Falls!
14th June 2004
I don’t want to write this email - I want to keep looking at the stunning photos we took today!
I remember as a kid undoing the wrapping on a gift and trying to see what’s inside - just a peek in one corner. This is what we did yesterday by driving through the Niagara Falls area. We did not get out, we did not walk around, we just drooled a little over the thought of going back today – just a peek in one corner of an amazing place. This did not make for easy sleeping last night and I felt like a child expecting an enormous gift the next day. It thundered and lightening-ed last night so I was convinced that today would be rainy and dull. Fortunately I was very wrong. When we were driving through Buffalo, NY, we saw this cloud/plume of mist, and realized that it was Niagara Falls mist. All this added up to an incredible sense of expectation. And it was met, more than met......
Nothing we saw could have prepared us for the sights of today. We were up early and at the Horseshoe Falls by 7 am - that in itself is nothing short of a miracle for me. The cameras heaved enormous sighs and 350 pictures and a few short videos later, we could easily go and see it all over again! There is no way one can describe the thunderous noise, the ‘coolth’ of the constant mist falling, the sight, the enormity and beauty of this place. The sun was blinking on different sections of the falls, highlighting it through the spray/mist of the others. The water falls, and then bubbles, foams and sprays, boiling almost all the way back up to the top.
One can stand right at the top of the falls, at the very place where it drops over the edge. It makes one quite dizzy while watching this and had the ability to make my mouth drop open in absolute awe every time I was drawn back there. The water is so clear that at the top before it races over the edge and one can see a few feet down to the bottom of the river and see the rocks on the riverbed! Both of us just stood and looked at the power that is humanly impossible to stop. Right at the very point where the water goes over, the water is green/blue and this lines the rim of the Falls all around. The water boils its way down, catching on rocks on the way, creating the most amazing effects. One can see big rocks and boulders being swept down the falls.
It was wonderful being able to share this moment on the phone with you Mom. It is quite possible to sit on one of the many benches and just “feel the falls” for a long, long time – it’s just truly fantastic. The seagulls float and coast all along the river, above and below the falls and dart down wards to catch the dropped food of all the tourists. Some will even eat out of your hand. They are very healthy, plump birds.
We were very fortunate that we were there so early - there were hardly any people and we were able to ride all along the viewing area without any problem at all, stopping wherever and whenever we wanted to. Later on during the day, when thousands of people were wandering around, it became totally impossible to ride around there, but by then it was time to go....
We thought that we would go on a boat ride to the bottom of the falls, but then watched from way up, and saw that the boats did not really go as far into the mist as I would have liked. It might be far enough when one is on the boat, but from the top looks like it’s still far away from the actual falls. The helicopters stayed waaaay up in the air, so that was ruled out too. Both of us were content just to keep going between the top of the falls, and the other viewpoints.
The Niagara Falls is actually made up of 3 different falls: The American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls and The Horseshoe Falls. 90% of the water from the Niagara River goes over the Horseshoe Falls, the other 10% over the other two. The Niagara Falls stopped once in recorded history - it was in 1848 when millions of tons of ice got lodged at the source of the Niagara River and stopped the falls for 30 hours. The story goes that there was quite some panic and praying and that it was quite an incredible roar that occurred when it all opened up again, although some folks were brave enough to walk across the rocks while it was dry - that would take some guts too! That must have been quite a sight.
Some more information: 300 years ago, the Horseshoe Falls was located 11 miles further downstream than today. The water eroded the rock at the rate of one meter a year. Now, with major water diversions for power generation, the erosion rate is “only” about 36 centimeters over ten years. And I love these words, written in 600 BC by a Chinese philosopher, Lau Tzu: “Water is fluid, soft and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.” Quite some thoughts and teachings in those words.
So, we got to the falls at around 7am, rode around on the bikes for over 5 hours, only occasionally getting off to nurse our aching rear ends! I got my feet in the rushing waters of the Niagara River, although I have to admit that it was nowhere near the falls – safely a good way upstream, and there was only a good, gentle flow to the clear, cool water at this point. I also picked up some stones out of the river itself. Something just keeps me picking these up. There are trails for a long way all alongside the river. These were perfect for the bikes and were fairly level all the way with much shade and many benches to rest on. Sometimes the trail took us right next to the river and at other times through pine forests where some serious bikers went whizzing by. It was just plain wonderful. We now notice that we gained a gentle tan along the way. We had bought some sausage rolls yesterday, which we took along for snacks. We have not found these sausage rolls in USA, so were really happy to find them again here. We are also back in the land of smarties, crunchies and aero chocolates - all those things that make my willpower, and hips, shudder. But they taste SO good!
So, after a wonderful sleep when we got back, some darn good coffee, and the weather pretty muggy with thunderstorms coming in, we both feel pretty good. And we are still totally in awe with the photographs now playing as a screensaver on the computer. What a day - Totally Awesome! I have this ‘thing’ for photographing water (the proof is in last years photos), so I was totally in my element today - I am sure even this abundance of water will not dampen my need to respond when Frank yells “Water, Annie, water!!”
Lovely phone calls from both Joleen and Lisa - thanks my girls. J And Steven, we will have to start calling you “Spiderman”. J
We will be heading out tomorrow morning towards Toronto and then up towards Hudson Bay. Thanks for all the emails - we love getting them.
With lots of love to all
Especially U3 - please stay safe.
Annie and Frank
XXXXxxxx
No comments:
Post a Comment