Niagara Falls

When driving along the main strip in Niagara Falls one is overcome with the feeling of being in an amusement park. There are restaurants, rides, games, haunted houses, and vendors. Anything you can imagine, or would see, in an amusement park is situated in the middle of the city. Then the strange part comes in; across the street from all the ruckus and games is one of the worlds beautiful, enchanting, powerful, and mysterious attractions; Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls has been one of the worlds leading spectacles for years.

�There are several different waterfalls located in what we think of as Niagara Falls. The area is owned by both America and Canada. One hundred percent of Horseshoe Falls is located in Canada. Horseshoe Falls has a waterfall that falls 173 feet to the pool at the base of the Falls and is 2,200 feet in width. The speed of the Niagara River at the crest of the Horseshoe Falls is 20-22 miles per hour. Ninety percent of all the river water flows over Horseshoe Falls.� The American Falls, better known, as Rainbow Falls and Luna Falls/Bridal Veil Falls are located on the border of New York. One hundred percent of Rainbow Falls and Bridal Veil Falls/Luna Falls�are located in the U.S.A. Bridal Veil Falls and Rainbow Falls are 1,100 feet in width and have a height of 182 feet. The crest line of Bridal Veil Falls/Luna Falls is approximately 56 feet in width. It is located immediately South of the much larger Rainbow Falls but separated from the main waterfalls by a thin strip of land known as Luna Island. The crest line of Rainbow Falls is approximately 950 feet in width� (Berketa, Rick).

Parking is quite a nuisance considering the volume of tourists that visit the site yearly. We ended up parking about two or three miles up from the Falls and catching a bus down to the head of the falls. From here we could walk down to see the falls and the city.

After taking numerous pictures of the falls we decided to check out the city and get some lunch. We ate at the Hard Rock Caf� and then hit the main strip where the games and rides were located. A sign advertising a haunted house caught my attention and after a brief debate we decided to take a tour. In all, the �haunted� house was not very scary, but the ending held an unnerving surprise. We reached an area that was completely pitch black with a squishy floor. It was difficult to determine where we were going and the footing was very poor. Finally we found a door and headed out to see other things. We walked up and down the strip looking at the stores and talking about getting ice cream, but not actually doing it.

After a few hours we decided to head back. We began the hike back up the hill on the other side of the road. It took us about an hour to reach the terminal where the train dropped us off. We barely caught the last train up to our parking lot, and then left for the day.

Website created by: Robert Parkhurst and Jennifer Pumphrey