Chemists R Us: Niagara Falls

行ってきました、念願のナイアガラフォール。

この所暑さが続き、引っ越しの荷造りにもくたびれ、少し息抜きをしようという事で、１泊旅行に出る事にしました。アメリカに住んで随分になりますが、今まで行った事のなかったナイアガラフォール。車で約５時間の距離なので、日帰りも可能ですが今回は一泊。毎日９０度以上の気温で参っていたので、涼しい場所をと選んだ訳です。
朝７時半に出て、午後１時頃現地に到着。ホテルのチェックインが４時なのでそのままお目当てのアトラクションのあるGoat Islandへ。そこで体験したのが Cave of the Winds. このツアーは American Falls & Bridal Veil Falls を間近で体験できます。ツアー参加者は黄色のレインコートとサンダルをもらい、エレベーターで１７５ft下がります。エレベーターを降りると涼しい風がトンネルを吹き抜け、９５度以上の気温があるとは思えない程の心地よさ。by Kozue

One place that we both wanted to visit was Niagara Falls, one of the top attractions in the US. As we had time and very nice summer weather, we decided that it would be a good opportunity to drive there with the new car. After all, once we move to Montana, getting to Niagara Falls would be more troublesome.
Our road trip mostly followed the southern shore of Lake Erie, passing through downtown Cleveland, past Erie, and onto the New York Thruway. We had a rest stop at the Angola travel plaza, then proceeded to downtown Buffalo and following Niagara River. It was incredible to cross the bridges and Grand Island before arriving at Niagara Falls, seeing the mist and the hotels in the distance.
We first arrived at Niagara Falls State Park, crossed over to Goat Island and parked there to view the falls. The first attraction we visited was the Cave of the Winds. There, we changed into yellow raincoats and souvenir sandals, knowing that we'd get very wet at the bottom of the falls. We waited at the top of the elevator (getting rather hot in the sun, since it was around 95 °F outside).
We descended, then arrived at the docks at the foot of the waterfalls. The view of the Bridal Veil Falls and American Falls at the base was incredible! Lots of mist and the thundering sound of thousands of gallons of lakewater crashing into the rocks. We went as a group to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls, and Gavin stood right on the Hurricane Deck to be blasted by plenty of water of rushing wind. His jeans got really wet (he should have had shorts like Kozue told him to).
After getting back to the top of the island, we went along the paths to Luna Island to see the Bridal Veil Falls and American Falls up close. Also, we had a great view of the rapids. Also we had a nice view to the Canadian side and all their new hotels and casinos. We drove around Goat Island, and stopped to have a look at the Three Sister Islands. Kozue went to wade in a little bit into the Niagara River (but not too far, of course!).
We went back into town and checked into our hotel, really close to the casino (run by the Seneca Indians). We explored town a little to find late lunch, then found out that we could go on the Maid of the Mist without having to go through Canadian customs. So we bought tickets, and ventured out onto the huge Observation Tower platform for a spectacular view of all the Falls and Canada. We descended down the elevator to the docks to board the boat and each grab a blue raincoat. The boat took us by the base of the American Falls, then into the basin for the huge Horseshoe Falls in Canada. The mist and wind were incredible! Plenty of rainbows could be seen from all the mist. We could even see a whirlpool. After the boat trip, we could explore near the American Falls, again getting very wet from all the spray.
We rested a little at the hotel, and then ventured out again into the park in the evening to see the falls lit up in colors. The views are just as spectacular in the evening, especially seeing the rapids under lights.
This is one place that you must see when in the US or Canada. Next time, we'd like to see the Canadian side and explore more of Ontario. by Gavin.

（写真をクリックすると拡大できます。）
(Click on the photos to enlarge.)

"Cave of the Winds"

ツアー参加前にレインコートを着てサンダルに履き替えます。
Here is Gavin dressed in the raincoat, ready to explore the Cave of the Winds.

The spectacular Bridal Veil Falls and American Falls from the Cave of the Winds.

Hurricane Deckにて。ギャビンのジーンズもグショグショ。
Gavin on the Hurricane Deck, and Gavin at the top of the American Falls.

「カナダに行きたいなあ〜」とギャビンが言っているように見えます。川の向こう側に見えるのがカナダ側にあるタワーやホテル。向こう側からみる景色の方が断然美しいと聞きますが、ビザの関係で私たちはアメリカ側から出る事はできず、今回はアメリカ側だけの観光です。こんなに近くにカナダが見えるのに行けません。
Here it looks like Gavin is saying "I want to go the Canadian side". We heard the view from the Canadian side is much prettier than from the American side, which seems to be why many hotels and towers are built over there. However, we could not go to Canada because of the visa issue. One day we hope to visit there.

A sign in the Park close to Luna Island. Can you believe that water flow over these two falls is over 75,000 gallons per second? Really impressive thinking that most of the water of the great lakes goes over the cliffs here.
American Falls は一秒間に７５０００ガロンの水が滝から流れるそうです。すごい水の量で、アメリカ国内は水不足になっている所も多いのですが、ここだけは干ばつになる事はないと思います。

"Maid of the Mist"

ウェブサイトで検索した時は,カナダ側しか船は出ていないと書いてあったのですが現地出はアメリカ側からも船が出ており、Horseshoe Falls も間近でみる事ができました。船はこの大きな展望台の下からでます。
Here is a photo of the Observation Tower and platform from the bottom. It is here that you board the Maid of the Mist boat to see the falls up close, especially the Horseshoe Falls for the Americans.