(Message sent Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:42:15 -0700)
I can't believe I got to see Niagara Falls! I've been here three days and I've been on a high most of the time. The falls on the Canadian side - the Horseshoe Falls - are great. Water pours over the edge of a deep bay in an escarpment, plunging 50m down to the river below. It reminded me of a cauldron, with its round brim and constant plume of water vapour rising from the depths to blow across the squealing crowds on the lip of the gorge. I was amazed by how close you can get to the water - at one point (N 43 04.725 W 079 04.694) you can look down to the water only a couple of metres below, and watch it vanish unto the abyss only about 5m away. And you can go down through a series of tunnels to near the base of the falls and get thoroughly drenched.
As cool as the Horseshoe Falls are, for my money the American Falls - just a bit further along the escarpment and on American soil - are much better. What makes them so great is that the curtain of water only falls about half way down the to the river before hitting a debris field. This debris field consists of hundreds of boulders, some the size of a house, and is tilted at about 45 degrees for your viewing convenience. The water roars over the edge and crashes down to the debris field, and then finds a thousand different ways to reach the river. And the whole scene is obscured and revealed, obscured and revealed, as the great clouds of mist drift across the face. It's almost unbearably amazing.
The Niagara Falls township is a very strange fish indeed. If you wander a few hundred metres beyond the tourist areas you find what looks like a town in decline. Small, scrappy shops, a few boarded up, lots of "For Lease" signs in windows, very few people about. Of the 14 million people who visit Niagara Falls each year, I estimate that 17 of them stray beyond the tourist precinct.
The main tourist street is the most awful place. It's full of side shows, haunted houses, and wax museums. The Rainforest Cafe is fronted by a giant plastic volcano with steam coming out the top. The Burger King has a giant model of Frankenstein on the roof, holding a burger 3m across. A model of a seated Pharaoh, maybe 5m high, sits by the road, its eyes flashing red and its head rocking up and down erratically for no obvious reason. The whole place is grotesque. I feel embarrassed on behalf of the whole species that such awful tawdry tacky kitch is allowed to exist in proximity to one of nature's most majestic spectacles. "Greetings, ambassadors from the Galactic Federation, welcome to planet Earth! Sorry about Niagara Falls."
The saving grace is that this horror is 1km or so from the falls themselves. The area near the falls is actually quite well done. A promenade runs for several kms along the lip of the gorge, offering unfettered views of both sets of falls from many angles. Backing the promenade for much of its length is a wide greenbelt. There are a few buildings right on the edge of the gorge, but they're not too bad.
I've seen the falls from five different elevations - river level, gorge level, SkyWheel level, Skylon Tower level, and helicopter level. It really adds to your appreciation of the falls to see the upstream layout. And of course the helicopter view adds the extra piquancy of terror during banking.
As you might expect, you can get mighty wet during some of the activities, in particular the "Maid of the Mist" where you get on a boat that takes you right into the 'cauldron' of the Horseshoe Falls, and "Journey Behind the Falls" where you go down through tunnels behind and beside the falls. In each case you get issued with a one-use raincoat. These are collected and 'recycled' (not reused) at the end. Fourteen million people visit the falls every year, and I would guess that nearly all do both activities. That makes 28 million plastic raincoats disposed of every year. I wish they'd replace this system with a big sign that says, "Waterfalls are Wet. Bring a Raincoat you Morons." But then I took a helicopter ride, so I'm hardly Enviro-Traveler of the year.
There's lots to do, and I haven't been keeping track of how much I've spent, but it's approximately $craploads.
The biggest downside of coming hear is coping with the crowds. I'm sure glad I came early in the season - it must be horrific when things are in full swing. You have to queue for ages for everything - I even had to wait for an hour for my turn in the helicopter!
On my last day in the area I took a trip out to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a gorgeous quaint little town on the shores of Lake Ontario, where the Niagara River empties into it. The lakeside itself was great, with a headland with an 18th century fort on the point, yachts sailing by, and the towers of Toronto just barely visible peeking above the horizon.
The drive out was cool too. Just north of Niagara Falls township the road drops down a steep escarpment to a verdant valley with a micro-climate. This is the wine and fruit area. The area is zoned such that the houses have to be 19th century designs. So while there are lots of mansions, they look like converted Amish barns.
Speaking of the Amish, one of the strangest sights I've seen was a group of Amish (or maybe they were Mennonites - I don't have a spotters' guide handy) standing waiting in line for one of the attractions. All the women were wearing full blue dresses with Little-Bo-Peep bonnets, all the men were wearing waistcoats and straw hats, and had big beards hanging off their chins. A little later I saw the same group coming out of a fast-food joint in the heart of tacky-town, each clutching a super-sized drink cup. All very odd.
Well I've had a blast, but I've done everything short of going over in a barrel, so it's time to move on.
Montreal ho!
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