Ooh, it was an early, early morning! We tried to sneak quietly in and out of the bathroom but Julian woke up anyway, to wish us bon voyage. We pulled on our backpacks and headed downtown to catch the bus via the subway. Karla had booked us on Megabus which we would meet at the same terminal at which we had arrived in Toronto. We had planned to arrive very early so that we would get to the front of the queue and have seats together. We were very surprised - and delighted - to see Daniel at the bus terminal. He had woken early to come and say goodbye.
Unfortunately, we had not taken into account that this was a holiday in Canada and the trip to Niagara, normally taking two hours it took twice as long and we were stuck in traffic the whole time. But nonetheless, we had nothing else planned and arrived on the Canadian side of the Falls just after 3pm.
 |
We were surprised to find that the Canadian side of the Falls is the side with all the glitz and glamour. The American side is old, tired and tawdry. Unfortunately, by the time we discovered this we had already crossed the rainbow bridge and gone through Immigration.( I made the US Customs Officer laugh when I declared that I had a moose in my bag. Sure enough, I pulled out a souvenir cushion with a moose head on it.) |
 |
| The name Niagara is purported to come from the name of a local American Indian branch of the Iroquois, the Niagargarega people. |
| We had booked a hotel on the US side so that we would be able to catch the early morning train to New York the following day without having to go through Immigration first. Guy had spent some time on the net searching for a hotel within walking distance of the Falls and the Crown Plaza Hotel met his criteria. But be careful! There is another hotel of the same name and when you try to book, the website sends you to this hotel which is much further away from the Falls.
The Crown Plaza Hotel, 300 Third Street, Niagara Falls is only about 5 minutes walk from the Falls.
Check in was seamless and we hastened to gt back downstairs, grab a bite to eat and head down to the Falls. We were only there for one afternoon and had to cram everything in. |
Our first stop was the Maid of the Mist. The Maid of the Mist is the name for the company which provides boats which go up river directly underneath the falls.
Costing C$15.60 per adult, this is a half hour trip that should not be missed. You are provided with a poncho and believe me, you need it! Everyone and everything gets soaked by the heavy spray from the falls. |
|
 |
|
 |
The first falls we pass are the American Falls.
Mighty as they seem, only 10% of the water of Niagara falls over these falls, with the balance flowing over the Horseshoe Falls which are on the Canadian side of the border.
Earlier, the Horshoe Falls formed the border between the two countries, flowing around Terrapin Rocks, which were once connected by a series of bridges to Goat Island. |
 |
 |
Terrapin Point was created in 1955. When work was being carried out dredging the upper Niagara River in 1953, the excess fill was taken to Terrapin Rocks (as they were then) to increase the area and afford better views of the Falls from the American side. The viewing platform became unstable and was closed in 1969.
In the early 1980s, the US Arm Corp built dams and retaining walls to force the water away from Terrapin Point, resulting in the Horseshoe Falls now being completely in Canada. |
 |
During this process, they actually completeley diverted the river from the American Falls for several months through construction of a temporary dam. The Army Corps strengthened any faults they found in the riverbed, then dynamited the dam and let the water return.
I hard not heard of this and only found this photo (left) when researching the Falls. It's hard to believe, isn't it? |
All this sounded very fascinating as we huddled under our blue ponchos and held our ears to shut out the thunder of the water but of course, Niagara Falls is not only a tourist destination. Niagara is the largest electricity producer in NY State via the Lewiston and Robert Moses power plants. Between 50% and 75% of the river's flow is diverted via four tunnels that arise far upstream from the waterfalls. The water passes through hydroelectric turbines to supply power to nearby areas of Canada and the US before returning to the river well past the falls.
During tourist season, water usage is limited to preserve this natural attraction. From April to October half of the total water must flow over the falls, whilst at other times up to 75% of the water is diverted. I can only imagine the true fury of the falls if this water was not syphoned off.
 |
|
|
| Casting off our ponchos, we climbed up the hill beside the American Falls to take some closer photographs and then went out on the viewing platform and finished our Falls viewing with a trip up Prospect Point Observation Tower (shown below right). |
 |
|
|
As dusk fells, we returned to our hotel to shower and change and then headed off for a meal before watching the fireworks. Unfortunately, we were totally ripped off at a small cafe where the cost of tax, gratuity and service charge came to 40% of the bill ... and then we were expected to TIP the waiter. What's a gratuity if not a tip, I asked?
Unfortunately, we were also late for the fireworks which did not last very long. During the tourist season, there are fireworks every night of the weekend. We enjoyed the last few starbursts and headed back to Crown Plaza Hotel. |
|
