Monday, July 21, 2008

Niagara Falls Tour - New Hampshire Trip - Day 2

After arriving at our hotel at Niagara Falls on Saturday, my parents kindly watched the girls for the evening so that Jeff and I could enjoy an evening on The Falls together. We decided to take the tour of The Falls, and it was absolutely amazing! We had a wonderful time together, and I'm so thankful that we had the opportunity. Our tour group was great. There were people from Scotland, Germany and of course all over the USA on our tour. We all stuck together as "Team Leena." Leena was our tour guide's name, and she was an excellent guide. She was very funny and very kind.

It was a bit hazy out because it had rained earlier in the day, so we were unable to see any rainbows on The Falls. Other than I wish we could have seen some sunshine on our tour, it really was a great time, and our time in Canada on Saturday evening was great! The Maid of the Mist boat ride that took us into the water of The Falls was our favorite part of the tour. My least favorite was The Journey Behind the Falls. This took you on a walk underground through some tunnels and eventually to a couple of portals. We were standing approximately 12 feet BEHIND the crashing water of The Horseshoe Falls. It made me very nervous to have that much water coming down over the top of me even though I was in a tunnel.

We happened to see a big billboard in Niagara Falls, Ontario that was advertising the 20 Natural Wonders of the Niagara Falls area. When I saw that billboard it made the song, "God of Wonders", come to mind. "God of Wonders beyond our majesty!" An example of God's power is definitely proclaimed here.

The American Falls

The Bridal Veil Fall (American)

The Horseshoe Fall (Canadian) - If you look closely you can see a couple of The Maid of the Mist boats that we went on. The Falls look big when you are on the land, but when you get down in that boat up directly next to The Falls, they seem so much bigger. Words cannot describe it. It is absolutely amazing!

The Horseshoe Fall (Canadian)

The American Falls and Maid of the Mist boat

Stephanie and Jeff on the Maid of the Mist boat before heading towards The Falls. (Nice and dry!) The Skylon Tower is in the distance. It is the largest tower in Canada.

Stephanie and Jeff after the Maid of the Mist boat ride with the American Falls in the background. (Cold and wet!)

Stephanie after the Maid of the Mist boat ride with the American Falls in the background.

The rapids of the Niagara River. These were classified as three or four currents. We also went to an area that had currents classified as a six.

This was a part of the tour that I was looking so forward to - The Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful, and here is a picture of the famed Floral Clock. It was getting late and dark when we arrived here, so my pictures are a bit blurry. The design of the clock is changed every year by a competition with the horticulture students. It has had a different design each year since the 1950s.

I am taking this picture standing at one of the portals in the tunnel during The Journey Behind the Falls. The water that you see here is just 12 feet in front of me. It is the water of The Horseshoe Fall. As I'm standing there, the water is above me coming down and crashing over The Horseshoe Fall.

The Falls at night.

1 comment:

Crazy Mom of 3 said...

It looks like you are having such a great time. Your pictures are so amazingly beautiful!! I can't wait to hear all your stories.