June 17th, 2012

Our trip to Niagara was great! It lasted from the 14th to the 17th, and we got to see all sorts of things. The 14th was all driving; we left later in the day, and spent the night in Indiana. On the 15th, we drove the rest of the way, and got to our hotel in Cheektowaga, NY, just in time for supper. After we ate, we made it down to the falls to see one Nik Wellenda! It was completely by coincidence that our trip matched his crossing of the falls on tightrope, and honestly, I was glad we hadn't come all the way out just to see that. We didn't really have the greatest view, as there were so many people. Nevertheless, I could see the tightrope, shimmering through the mist. And once it started, I could just make out Wellenda working his way across.

The next day was more exciting, though. We took the Maid of the Mist out under the Horseshoe Falls. The mist was so thick, you couldn't even see the waterfall. You looked up from the tossing lake, thick with foam, to see a blanket of white filling the sky. We wore ponchos on the boat, so I got less wet than I'd anticipated, but Niagara was perfectly happy to change that later in the day. After we docked, we walked over to Goat Island to get a better view of Bridal Veil Falls. It was nice to look down them, but it was the Cave of the Winds tour that was truly magickal. It was a hike right in front of the Bridal Veil Falls, that takes you to where Hinum's cave once existed, before years of erosion washed it out.

The tour lets you view the vast population of gulls (including the last fluffy babies), as well as get a close-up of the water. A close-up as in water pouring down the inside of your poncho, making them completely irrelevant. One could literally stand mere feet in front of the falls. In spite of being surrounded by people, you can't hear anything except the roar of the water in your ears. We drove the 12 hours back home on the 17th, taking a detour through Pennsylvania to see some of the Allegheny Forest.