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Niagara Falls

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(must-sees for the 5-days-tourist)

We chose the Hampton Inn and not just for the cheap joke opportunity, it was actually the only hotel free, but they assured us that was because they had a convention cancelled. The Hampton Inn is also on Rainbow Boulevard and so it is very close to the falls we managed to get a 1 king bed deluxe room with whirlpool non-smoking. All of these were free Coffee Maker, Complimentary Hot Breakfast, Hairdryer, High Speed Internet-No Charge, Iron, Ironing Board, Lap Desk, Microwave, Mini Refrigerator, Newspaper M-F (USA Today)- isn't America great? The room rate was $204.00 and we got a little discount by saying we were on business 30% - so it is always worth chancing your arm. Check out the Hampton Inns here and remember you will be looked after they are part of the Hilton Chain. http://www.hamptoninn.com.

Day One

Welcome to the "Honeymoon Capital of the World," I bet you have come straight from Las Vegas har har. Well they do have a lot in common.
We arrived late on the first day and so decided to take in the Daredevil Museum of Niagara Falls where you can learn all about the insane people who have been daring and devilish around probably one of the most dangerous natural places in the world.
Here you can see all sorts of mementoes of those who departed from the shore and in some cases departed from this life and went over the falls in any number of contraptions although for some unknown reason, barrels seem to always be top of any shopping list of the person who says to themselves, "I know what I am going to do today..."
Admission is free although you do have to enter the Museum through a souvenir shop, but having said that the souvenirs weren't over priced.
All in all it was a great experience I promise you if you like to shop you'll like Niagara falls. After such an excellent experience we did some shopping, Niagara Falls offers a great range of shops and is pleasure to shop in what an excellent first day in a really pleasant place.

Day two

If you go to Niagara Falls then you have to be prepared to get wet, the a bit wetter and then, well you get the picture.
The Maid of the Mist claims to be the oldest tourist attraction in North America, I suppose they mean the ferry? If they mean Niagara Falls then they are obviously not right!
Rather oddly there are several Maids of the Mists and they are each individually identified by a roman numeral which follows their name after their name. The trip is great but here is a tip the ride embarks from both the American and Canadian side of the River and is the same, however when the ferry from the American side docks at the end of the tour you can climb up the Crow's Nest - a staircase which is up against the falls and indeed close enough to it that on sunny days you are treated to a wonderful circular rainbow created from the mist.
One word of warning you can get soaked to the skin on the ferry and if you climb the Crow's Nest you are guaranteed to get completely soaked.
The Maid of the Mist trip costs $12.50 US and $14.50 CDN for an adult and $7.30 US for a person aged 6-12 years $8.90 CDN all others are free.
Check http://www.maidofthemist.com/en for more information.

Day three

Happily you are given a hooded raincoat if you forget to bring your own and you are going to need it because this tour to the Cave of Winds gets you wet, then wetter and in the end very wet indeed or as some would put it, soaking.
At the beginning of the tour you travel down an elevator about 150 feet into the Niagara Gorge. From there you walk along a specially built platform which is only 20 or so feet away from the waterfall, happily you will be wearing your yellow hooded raincoat and sandals, the sandals prevent you from slipping and the raincoat not only helps to keep you dry-ish but presumable could be used to help spot you if you happen to go over the side - no sorry only joking!
This bit is wet but then you know that by now, however what you might not have thought about is just how noisy it is on the platform, I actually would call it deafening!
As for the aforementioned and titled "Cave" there isn't one these days it disappeared in 1954 following a large rock fall and then some dynamiting.
The Cave of the Winds is only open during the spring and summer months of the year. Tours start at 9am and finish at 4.45pm.The entrance fee to the Cave of the Winds is $10 for adults and $7 for children who must be at least 42 inches tall.
In the evening we fancied a beer and tried Slick Willie's - well we were staying in the Hampton Inn after all. It was ok, big loud and brash, just like the women there. It is best to drive there as it is a long way down Niagara Falls Blvd. The pool hall was interesting, but more or less the same as I have seen in most towns in the North of the US.
Beer was cheap as was the food, don't expect to part with more than $20.00 for a meal and a few beers. You can see the real deal here. http://www.slickwilliessportsbar.com.

Day four

Today we thought that we would cross the border and have a look at Niagara from the Canadian side and in particular get a good look at Bridal Veil Falls, although is obviously the smallest waterfall in the area Bridal Veil Falls also known as Luna Falls is spectacular, imagine being the smallest of three when you are yourself 181 feet high and somewhere in the region of 55 feet wide! The best views of these beautiful waterfalls and Goat Island are from the Canadian side of the river you get to see Bridal Veil Falls up close and personal.
The best views we found were from the Niagara Parkway and was really worth the drive. Since we had a car and were on the Canadian side we decided to have a look around first we went to Hope British Columbia which is charming, small and the "world's capital of Chainsaw Carving" as they put it - well I suppose somewhere had to be! There are in fact over 24 Chainsaw carvings in the town, and can be viewed on the Hope Arts and Carving Walk - obviously the good people of Hope take their chainsaw carving seriously, but don't take my word for it go to Hope and see for yourself.
In the afternoon we got to grips with Chilliwack and was like Hope but bigger and without the Chainsaw carvings which frankly lessened the experience, however there are some great shops where you can get things like proper Maple Syrup - divine!

Day five

We thought that we would save the Helicopter Tour till the last day, and don't think that you can come to Niagara Falls and not go in a helicopter you can't it as necessary as using an umbrella in the rain or more accurately in the falls spray.
The cost was £55 for an adult and £45 for children and you can get more information from http://www.niagarahelicopters.com. I have to say that the ride was really too short and was glad that we had visited the falls in other ways during the week.

NATURE & GEOLOGY

Niagara Falls has major two sections separated by an island called Goat Island, Horseshoe Falls is on the Canadian side of the border and the more obviously named American falls on the other side. In addition to the two main waterfalls there is a smaller waterfall on the American side called Bridal Veil Falls which is cut off from the main falls by Luna Island.
The falls at Niagara were formed around 10,000 years ago by glaciers retreating across the landscape at the end of the last ice age. Water from the recently formed Great Lakes drove a passage through a geological feature called the Niagara Escarpment as it made its way to the Atlantic Ocean
Niagara falls is not really very tall at around 167 feet but the Falls are very wide and that means that more than six million cubic feet of water tumbles over the falls every minute when the river is at high flow. The average amount of water flowing over one point of the falls is four million cubic feet and that makes Niagara falls the most powerful waterfall in North America.

HISTORY

Theories about how Niagara Falls got its name abound, the French have been blamed, as have the Iroquois Native Americans even preachers trying to convert Native Americans have had fingers pointed at them, but the truth is simple no one really knows but that never stops people theorizing does it?
In 1848 the first bridge to cross the Niagara Falls was built it was a footbridge, soon to be replaced by two suspension bridges. Bridge building slowed down during the American Civil War and the next bridge wasn't built until 1886.
This bridge completed in 1897 is still standing today and is known as the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge which carries vehicles, pedestrians and trains across the Niagara River. The last bridge to be built across the river the Rainbow Bridge was built in 1941 and allows pedestrians and vehicles to cross between Canada and America.
In 1759 Daniel Joncaire built a small canal to harness the energy produced by the Niagara River as it flows towards the falls, this was the first attempt to harness the rivers power. In 1805 the Porter brothers bought the canal and also American falls from the New York state government and used the rivers power for their mills. In 19853 the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Mining Company began construction on canals that in 1881 would provide power to light up the Falls and also the nearby town of Niagara Falls.
Since those early days more powerful and environmentally friendly Hydro Electric power stations have been built and they together produce up to 4.4 GW of power a useful contribution to the nations energy requirements of both Canada and America.

CULTURE

The people who have lived in some cases for centuries around the falls at Niagara are a very different and diverse collection of human beings. The first nation to settle the area was the Iroquois, followed by both French and British traders, trackers and then settlers, followed eventually by modern Americans and Canadians and of course 25 odd million tourists per year. The area which has the same latitude as Provence and the Italy's Chianti region is famous for growing excellent grapes and a number of local vine-yards have won awards for their wine. Niagara Falls attracts a around 25 million tourists a year and most of those visit in the summertime. With such a large number of tourists the culture of the surrounding towns is one of a service industry mentality, friendly and respectful.

POLITICAL

Niagara Falls define the international boundary between Canada and America, which until the recent terrorist atrocities was hardly a border at all. It is now though sadly.

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