Niagara Falls US side: Days 2, 3: Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, Jet Boat Ride

DAY 2, MAY 4, 2012, Friday:

Early morning, we were on our way to the National park. The building behind caught our fancy--doesn't it look like a grouchy face with 2 eyes and a gaping mouth??

 Cherry blossoms in bloom once again. 

 It was a privilege to see them as they are very delicate and fall to the ground at the slightest whiff of wind.

We are early birds. Had the park to ourselves.

On Goat Island are the Three Sisters Islands, the Power Portal where a statue of Nikola Tesla  can be seen, and a walking path that enables views of the rapids, the Niagara River, the gorge, and all of the falls. Most of these attractions lie within the Niagara Falls State ParK

The largest of the three falls is Horseshoe Falls/ Canadian Falls, which straddles the international border between Canada and the United States. 

The smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Bridal Veil Falls are separated from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island and from American Falls by Luna Island, with both islands situated in New York. 

Approximately 500 years ago the river encountered an obstacle that caused it to 'split into two channels', thus Goat Island was formed with east side having American falls and the west side the Horseshoe falls.

 The Cave of the Winds: 

This was the 1st attraction we tried out. The little yellow guy in the pic below is pointing to the cave of the winds---we buy the tickets here and go that way to the elevator and the decks.

 Bought our tickets, took off our shoes, wore the plastic sandals they gave along with the ponchos and reached the decks.

 The Cave of the Winds trip takes us close to the waters of Niagara Falls. We rode an elevator 175 feet (53 meters) deep into the Niagara Gorge. Then, clad in a bright yellow poncho and wearing the special footwear [plastic sandals] provided, we followed a tour guide over a series of wooden walkways.

 The famous "Hurricane Deck" here. As we stand at the railing, we are a mere 20 feet (6 meters) from the billowing torrents of Bridal Veil Falls.

 A deck has been built 150 feet from the base of the Falls especially designed for handicapped and adults with children in arms.

 There were hardly anybody else on the decks. Had an exclusive experience.

 These decks are torn down and rebuilt every year to ensure safety. This is closed in winter and opens only from early May thru September.

 The spray was terrific.

At the souvenir shop. The top of the falls restaurant is on the 1st floor.

Sat on the bench and had our self cooked lunch -- the microwave had ruined the rice. thankfully the vegetables were well cooked---so had veg sandwiches.

Nice spot to read I'm sure...

This is the Statue of Nikola Tesla (the inventor whose patents for the AC induction motor and other devices for AC power transmission helped make the harnessing of the falls possible). Tesla ( 10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-born American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.

Tesla gained experience in telephony and electrical engineering before emigrating to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison. He soon struck out on his own and became world famous. However he also became the archetypal "mad scientist". Although Tesla made a great deal of money from his patents, he spent a lot on numerous experiments and became bankrupt. He lived for most of his life in a series of New York hotels and died alone in a hotel.

[Power generation facilities along the Niagara River supply more than one-quarter of all power used in New York State and Ontario.

Under an international treaty, the flow of water over Niagara Falls is reduced during the night to allow more of the water to flow into intakes used for power generation. This plan ensures that the Falls’ natural beauty remains unaffected during prime viewing hours.

50 to 75 percent of the water flowing along the Niagara River is diverted from going over the Falls to hydroelectric power generating stations.]

The Japanese consider it lucky to see these blossoms. They are such a sight for sore eyes for sure!

Whirlpool Jetboat Ride:

After lunch, we had planned a trip to Lewiston for a jet boat ride. The google maps had shown a direct bus but the park rangers told us we can get only a cab. The bus had been discontinued for this season. Took a cab (with a Punjabi driver) and reached the scenic pier.

  We bought the tickets after booking with the company on the phone just before we started. We were 20 minutes ahead of time. Some tour groups had also booked the trip and were late. We had to wait for them. The boat was also ready and waiting for the latecomers. We enjoyed the ambiance anyway and did not mind the wait.

 Waiting for our whirlpool jetboat ride. Lewiston is some 30 km away from the falls and the usual crowd to the falls does not come this far.

 We wore all these elaborate gear so that one can float for a while if thrown into the ice cold waters for the ride in the jet boat. Signed the waiver for damages if any. Such rides always come with risks which they try to minimise with protective gear/clothing.

HOW DID THESE RAPIDS FORM?

5500 years ago, Falls of the Niagara River intersected an old riverbed, one that had been buried and sealed during the last Ice Age.

The Falls turned into this buried gorge, tore out the glacial debris that filled it, and scoured the old river bottom clean.

It was now not a falls at all but a huge, churning rapids.

When it was all over it left behind a 90-degree turn in the river -- the Whirlpool, and North America's largest series of standing waves known as the Whirlpool Rapids.

Going through class 4 and class 5 rapids was such a thrill. A girl gave excellent live commentary and the captain was expert at speeding and giving us thrills.

We had got drenched in the boat ride as the captain boldly took the boat through rapids.We had a terrific time. This was the highlight of our Niagara trip. We bought the video as well.

Video of the wetjet ride is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pWe2XX3Dv4FC7UdS9

There are free guided hikes of  the Niagara Gorge by Park rangers which looked interesting, of course a bit dangerous as well. May be next time...

We returned to our hotel, changed the clothes and went back to the Niagara falls to the Prospect View Point.

PROSPECT POINT:

The New York State Observation Tower in Prospect Point Park offers visitors a unique perspective for viewing Niagara Falls. Since we went in the evening we did not even pay the entry fee as there was nobody at the counter. 

 Watched the Upper Niagara River Rapids approaching the brink! The river drops 50 feet in elevation for 1/2 mile before reaching the crest of the American Falls.

 During peak daytime tourist hours, more than 168,000 m3(six million cubic feet) of water goes over the crest of the falls every minute. The falls' flow is halved at night, and, during the low tourist season in the winter, remains a minimum of 1,400 cubic metres (49,000 cu ft) per second. Water diversion is regulated by the 1950 Niagara Treaty and is administered by the International Niagara Board of Control (IJC). 

 The verdant green color of the water flowing over the Niagara Falls is a byproduct of the estimated 60 tonnes/minute of dissolved salts and "rock flour" (very finely ground rock) generated by the erosive force of the Niagara River itself.

 We could stand within inches of the American Falls with the Horseshoe Falls as a backdrop!

 The telescopes offer a view for 25 cents--never have change when needed though.

At the tower here. We can see below the lower deck on which we had previously stood for a closer look.

Sat at the tower for almost an hour enjoying the view. With a light jacket it was pretty cold. Saw several tourists shivering in summer clothes and rushing off after a short glimpse from this point.

The buildings in the background did take away from the experience. In contrast, at Iguacu we can see only the falls and the jungle. It had been such a pleasure.

Below is the Canadian docks for boarding the Maid of the Mist boats. 

We decided to do it on Saturday first thing in the morning.

 On the way back to our hotel. This was the route we walked daily.

The small replica of the Statue of Liberty reminds one that we are in Newyork state.

 Aptly designed icecream parlor in the background--saw some Indian restaurants and wanted to give them a shot but were deterred because there was literally no one inside. We did not want to be the guinea pigs for stale food.

We had our self-cooked meal in our room and returned to the falls to watch the illumination when it turned dark at 10 PM. Must say it was totally disappointing... just amateurish rays of colored lights flashing on the falls from the opposite side...

As son remarked they should get the help of the Disney engineers to improve this pathetic display.

FUN FACTS:

Now for some FUN FACTS...

Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in America, established in 1885 at the Niagara Reservation. Over 8 million visitors explore Niagara Falls State Park annually.

Niagara Falls is comprised of three waterfalls, from largest to smallest, the Horseshoe Falls (also known as the Canadian Falls), American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.

The Horseshoe Falls are 790 metres (2,590 ft) wide, drop about 57 metres (187 ft),

American Falls are 320 metres (1,050 ft) wide, height varies between 21 and 30 metres (69 and 98 ft) because of the presence of giant boulders at its base. The distance between the American extremity of the Niagara Falls and the Canadian extremity is 3,409 feet (1,039 m).

During periods of peak flow in the summer and fall, more than 700,000 gallons of water per second pour over Niagara Falls.

Four of the five Great Lakes drain into the Niagara River, (Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie) before emptying into Lake Ontario. These five Great Lakes make up almost one-fifth of the world's fresh water supply.

Niagara Falls is not the tallest waterfall in the world; however, the beauty of the falls comes from the height and the incredible volume of water running over the falls at a given time.

DAY 3, MAY 5, 2012, Saturday:

"Maid of the Mist" Boat Ride:

We were leaving by the afternoon flight and tried to enjoy the rest of the sights in the park.

Started off early as usual to do the Niagara Falls "Maid of the Mist" Boat Ride.

The oldest and best known tourist attraction at Niagara Falls is the Maid of the Mist boat cruise, named for an ancient Ongiara Indian mythical character. The boat cruise has carried passengers into the rapids immediately below the falls since 1846. Cruise boats operate from boat docks on both sides of the falls, with the Maid of the Mist from the American side and Hornblower Cruises from the Canadian side.

On Friday, there had been sparse crowds, but Saturday saw the crowd swell. to our surprise, the visitors were mostly south indians.

Boats leave every 30 minutes from the U.S. or Canadian docks. It is a 1/2 hour ride.

Docks are located ¼ mile (400 m) from the Rainbow Bridge.

BOARDING DOCK for the Niagara Falls, U.S.A. is at the entrance to the NY State Falls Observation Tower.

The boat is 80-feet long and has two 350-horsepower engines to carry it against the powerful current. A recyclable souvenir raincoat is provided free with admission to help keep us dry from the mist and spray. 

We wore the sandals given with the Cave of the winds ticket the previous day--- very smart as other people's shoes were drenched by the spray and we saw barefooted tourists walking around holding wet shoes in hand!!

We opted for the top deck to get the best view and lots of spray, many stayed at the lower deck.

The ride did not compare with the rides on the Brazilian and Argentinian sides of the Iguacu falls. They had both been much more spectacular and the captains had taken us right under the falls and drenched us. The view also had been awesome. The horseshoe has so much mist the beauty is obscured, same way, the rocks take away from the beauty of the American falls.

There is no access to these flight of steps called the crow's nest.

SCENIC TROLLEY:

 After Maid of the Mist ride, we decided to take the scenic trolley that goes round all the lookouts on the island--you can hop on and off where you want with a ticket costing just a dollar.

Took the scenic trolley and got off at various stops and did some trekking on the Three Sisters island and the Luna island, by the side of the gushing river.

All the drivers gave live commentary of the land marks interspersed with humor and made the scenic trolley ride enjoyable.

AQUARIUM

Got off at the aquarium stop from the scenic trolley. 

 Were just in time for the performing sea lion show.

 Three different sea lions came in and performed several beautiful tricks. After the performance, the trainers continued practice and we watched for another 1/2 hour. 

 The aquarium had interesting specimens. Rushed thru the exhibits as we had to catch our flight.

Got a sun-catcher at a bargain as a reminder of a wonderful day--besides it was marked 50% off. Walked back to our hotel in 5 minutes, took the taxi to the airport ... end of a short sweet stay at the Niagara...

Report on our New York visit starts here: