Niagara Falls, NY & ON

Niagara Falls is kind of like the Grand Canyon--it's singular majesty makes it a bucket list item the world wide. But it had another significance for Herb and I. It was the closest point we would be going to that would allow us to meet a long-time Facebook friend, Hilde Wagner. For many years, Hilde and I have posted, commented, replied, PM'd, and never met face-to-face. I am pleased to say that we rectified that. Hilde and her daughter, Erika, drove the 90 miles from Kitchener to Niagara Falls to have lunch with us on the Canadian side of the Falls. It was a delightful afternoon! Both Hilde and I are notorious introverts, polite small talk is hardly our strong suit, but we talked for hours. Herb and Erika, normally more garrulous took a back seat for a while.

After we got to the campground Monday, we drove the 12 miles to the Falls and got a look at the Falls. The sheer size of the Falls are completely mind-boggling! We weren't able to take any of the tours or boats where a tour guide could overwhelm us with the massive amount of water that rushes around Goat Island to form the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Horseshoe Falls. The best views of the Falls are from the Canadian side and we got some amazing views.

I have had a good sense of magnetic direction for much of my life. I have lost a good deal of it, but I can usually pinpoint north by studying the sunlight.
Some things are a given: Fresh water rivers east of the Continental Divide flow south and east, toward the Atlantic Ocean. Fresh water rivers west of the Continental Divide flow south and west, toward the Pacific Ocean. The water flows over the Niagara Falls is backwards—the river (and the Falls) flows north! Hilde reminded me that the Great Lakes are connected and water flows from Lake Superior to Lake Michigan, to Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and through the St Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean. If you look at the picture of the lakes you can see that Lake Erie, even though it is somewhat south of Lake Ontario, the water will flow from Erie to Ontario, regardless of the fact that the connection is northward.もっと詳しく