Beautiful Pix of Niagara Falls in this cold

Yes, you can go behind the Falls but not on the Maid of the Mist. I’ve gone behind the Falls several times.  The Maid of the Mist goes up pretty close to the Canadian Falls (and yes, you have to get fitted in rain gear for that too because it gets really wet riding in the boat) but doesn’t go right up to it, naturally because the force of the water is too great.  

But you can go to a place in Niagara Falls, Ontario where you get fitted into rain gear and go down by elevator to tunnels that run under the ground and come out just behind the edge of the falling water of the Canadian Falls (which is named The Horseshoe Falls actually). It is thunderous!!!  Quite awe inspiring!  We went about 4 years ago (but it wasn’t my first time) and I didn’t want to leave, even though it is very damp and pretty cold even in the hot summer weather.  

The other place I love in the area is the gorge where the whirlpools are.  There is a long nature walk on the steep cliffs that go down to the whirlpools and it is lovely and strangely isolated in the midst of the businesses of the city.  

The last time we were in Niagara Falls my sis and I got up really early (about 6 am) and walked from our B&B down to the Falls and that was quite an experience!  It was soooooo empty and peaceful - just a couple of street cleaners washing down the sidewalks and all the gardens had their sprinklers on.  And the early morning sunlight on the Horseshoe Falls was stunning!  Reminded me of waking up early in Paris!  That same kind of ethereal feeling and the light was so delicate!

Strangely enough I have never been to the American side of Niagara Falls.  Always stuck to my own side of things.

Ah yes, the barrel riders!  There were some who survived (not until much later). I heard all sorts of stories from my mum about them - she and dad lived in Niagara when one guy went over in a inner tube raft (he died).

Her and Dad lived in Niagara Falls for may years including during the war years and she said that during WWII water was diverted from the Horseshoe Falls so much (for the industries) that it was a mere trickle to what it was before or after the war.  Also anywhere near the actual Falls was out of bounds for the civilians because it was considered to be a semi-military site and was greatly restricted for security.  So she was very happy when the war ended because it meant the Falls could be accessed so much more easily than during the war.  

Another attraction was the wire walkers who walked across the Gorge!!  Makes me cringe thinking about them! 

:-))

It is beautiful. I’ve done the Maid of the Mist trip twice but not been behind the falls. Would love to do that one day. I really love Canada. With the possible exception of Whitehorse in the Yukon I have never been to a location there I didn’t love. I only spent a night in Whitehorse as a stopover en route to Dawson but it seemed kind of bleak. But, in fairness I did only see it at dusk and dawn and only the area near our hotel.

My favourite places to date are Quebec City, Ottowa, Vancouver and Toronto. But I want to see more. I really loved it. It is a wonderful place.

Yes, Dan and I are indeed planning on visiting Iceland in the early fall this year.  I am working on researching the trip now. 

I don’t mind the winter time here in Canada.  Both Dan and I have never been people who want to “escape” to warmer climes (we love the hockey season too much to miss it).  I have only been to a southern climate place during the cooler weather in Canada a couple of times (we went to Cuba in November for a week in 1979 and then we went to Charleston SC for a week in March in 1997).  The only time I went to Florida (and California and Washington DC) was in the middle of the summer!  

Honestly I would rather face cold weather than roast in the hot sun.  I love my garden in the summer but snuggling up in front of a roaring fire in the winter has its own delights!

As for the waterfalls on the borders... i think it has something to do with travel in the past.  Waterways made natural “highways” and people staked their claims on certain territories during colonisation and built fortifications on the portage routes around the obstacles on those “highways”. Thus border demarcations were important for access from both sides of the transportation routes for all interested parties. I live in a city that is a border city that was formed because of a set of rapids.  Where the portage route was set around those rapids became the site of the settlement (the travelers often weary from coming down the distance of Lake Huron stayed overnight at the mouth of the St. Clair River before tramping around the rapids and continuing on to Lake St. Clair). In fact before the city became Sarnia it was known as “The Rapids”. The rivers and waterways were also natural barriers of sorts so culturally people were a bit more isolated from their neighbours across the water - so those differences sometimes became accentuated over time (United Empire Loyalist vs. Americans).  

Recent events have made the differences even more visible and I for one like that there is a river between us and our US neighbours (and yet there is a cautious co-operation between the two cities as well).

:-))

I want to go to Whistler and to Nova Scotia as I’ve heard great things about both. But, really, I just want to go back to Canada. I fell in love with it the first time I visited.

Yes I love Vancouver Island too. I remember having afternoon tea in The Empress Hotel. You had to queue to get in but it was worth it!

Forgot to mention I also adored Niagara on the Lake. What a beautiful town. Missed the Shaw Festival but had a lovely day there nonetheless.