Niagara Falls

My other purpose for travelling to the Niagara Falls area was to see the Niagara Falls themselves.  The last time I saw them was before I was a freshman in high school which menas it was a number of decades ago.

 Since I was staying overnight, I decided to head over to get some night shots of the Falls.  Once again, I didn't bring my tripod with me, so I was kind of limited to finding flat spots on the wall.   All of my night shots are taken from the Canadian side of the falls.

 These are known as the American Falls because they are entirely within the United States.  The smaller waterfall to the right is known as the Bridal Veil Falls.  Sandwiched in between is known as Luna Island.  The drop of the American Falls is between 70 and 100 feet because of the boulders situated at the bottom of the Falls.

 The larger of the Falls are known as the Horseshoe Falls and these Falls stradle the Canadian/American border.  These have a drop of 173 feet.  Something tells me the best view of these falls are either from the Rainbow Bridge or from a green monstrosity on the American side.

 Flow over the falls is regulated by the International Niagara Board of Control.

 This is a shot of part of Niagara Falls, Canada.  As you can see, this area is highly developed because it has been a major tourist destination for a long time.  One of the newest additions is the casinos.

 One more shot of the American Falls.

 I'm not sure if this could be called downtown Niagara Falls or something else but as you can see it is a major tourist trap.

 I didn't go into any of the buildings though.

 I kind of liked this.

 There is a pretty major Ferris Wheel there as well.  I'm not sure when this was built.

 Ripley's Believe it Or Not Museum.

 When I got up on Sunday morning, I had to take more pictures of the Falls.  Fortunately, I kind of scoped out the area the night before so I had a better idea of where to park.  I will have to say that the veiw from the Canadian side is better than the American side (I'll get into that a little more later).

 The Falls were created by the Wisconsin glaciation about 10,000 years ago.  This was the same process that created the Great Lakes and Niagara River.  Over the years, erosion has changed the shape and position of each of the Falls.  If you look to the right side of the picture, you can see the remnants of what I believe is a power generating station.

 A daytime view of Niagara Falls.  The tower on the right is the Skylon Tower.  The building kind of in the middle is the Fallsview Casino.

 Another shot of the American Falls.

 I'm not sure what this building is, but I kind of liked the looks of it.

 Since it was a fairly nice day, I decided to take a bit of a walk from near the Rainbow Bridge (above) to the Horseshoe Falls.  It was actually a pretty nice walk.  The Rainbow Bridge was opened in 1941 in order to replace the Honeymoon Bridge which had collapsed due to an ice floe in 1938.  It spans 938 feet and probably offers one of the better views of the Falls (I should have walked over it instead of driving over it).  The bridge is limited to non-Commercial Traffic.

 An almost straight on shot of the Horsehoe Falls.  I think I still like Tahquamenon better because they are still in their natural beauty.

 Construction of the Skylon Tower was completed in 1965 and it offers a view of the Falls but I'm not sure of that view since I didn't go up in it.

 As I was getting closer to the Horseshoe Falls.  They seemed a little too misty for me though.

 Part of the Horseshoe Falls.

 I was able to look back towards the American Falls to give a pretty good shot of the scope of things.

 As you got closer to the Horseshoe Falls, it seemed like it was raining.  And sadly, people are assholes here too as they leave their butts wherever.

 Looking at the top of the Falls.

 The mist made for a nice rainbow though.  I will have to come back here when it is a little nicer out and the trees are greener.

 Looking through the mist.

 More of the scope of the American Falls.

 Probably my favorite view.

 Straight across from the American Falls.

 A shot of the Falls and the city.

 One more shot of the American Falls before heading over to the American Side.

 I decided to make a quick jaunt across the border over to the American side to get some pictures from over there.  I though the better shots were of the Bridge.

 This is the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge to the north of the Falls.  It is the oldest bridge over the Niagara River.

 Another view of the Rainbow Bridge.  I'll have to admit this is a pretty neat looking bridge.

 Another part of Niagara Falls Canada.

 One of the Maids of the Mist.

 A shot of the American Falls from the park.  I'll have to admit, I wasn't particularly impressed with the views from this side.

 One of the Maids of the Mist bravely approaching the Falls.

 A pair of shots of the falls.  One with a slower shutter speed to get the illusion of motion.

 The Maid of the Mist heading back.

 Part of the Horseshoe Falls looking over the American Falls.

 I kind of liked this tree.

 The River leading up to the American Falls.

 Another shot of Niagara Falls Canada.

 Another shot of the River.

 And that Tree.

 This is the United Office Building in Niagara Falls, NY.  It was completed on the eve of the Great Depression in 1929.

 At 20 stories, it used to be the tallest building in Niagara Falls until the completion of the Seneca Niagara Casino.

It now serves as a Hotel.

As I said, I was not terribly impressed with the views from the American Side of the Falls.  One of the reasons is because there is a huge green monstrosity that blocks one of the better views of the Horseshoe Falls from there.  I could have paid 15 bucks to go inside but I didn't feel like it.  If I had more time, I could have wandered around the city and park a little longer but I wanted to start heading back.

All in all, I was impressed with the Falls and want to go back in the near future.  I would love to get shots when it is a little greener.