NIAGARA FALLS - ONE OF THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD

When life throws you lemons, you make lemonade.  The wind on Lake Erie is simply not letting up.  This is the 6th day in a row where the USCG has issued a small craft advisory for hazardous seas.  The wind has not been under 20 and the seas have been in the 5-7 foot (and bigger) range.  So, we are not going anywhere. 

We did manage to move from Tonawanda to Buffalo.  That was interesting.  To get to EBM, you have to run around 10 miles up the Niagara River to the Black Rock Canal, transit the Black Rock Lock (operated by the USACOE as opposed to the NYCC) and then run up the canal a little further to Buffalo Harbor and then into the marina basin. The weather was not bad when we left and it did not look to get to bad for the trip down to Buffalo. However, just as we were approaching the channel to Black Rock Lock, the rain started falling so hard, that visibility went to almost nothing.  Radar gets confused in this kind of weather.  So, we were close to a green marker, so we decided to simply stick to it until visibility improved.  At least we knew where we were and did not risk total disorientation.  Within 20 minutes it cleared well enough so we could see our way into the lock and get tied up for the 8 foot lift.

We left Tonawanda for the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo for essentially two reasons:  fuel and staging to start our crossing of Lake Erie.  The EBM was convenient to the entrance to Lake Erie and from there it would be essentially a straight line to Dunkirk, our next planned destination.  Unfortunately, this marina completely sucked, especially for the money they charged.  The staff was discourteous and disinterested.  Moreover, they told us they had a slip for us, but when we got there, they told us we would have to tie up to the bulkhead - a lousy steel wall that happened to be covered with spider webs.  This meant there would be tons of spiders.  This also meant that there would be a lot of food for the spiders - BUGS BUGS BUGS!  And, you know just how much Brenda loves BUGS.  So, it was not a really happy place to be.  We had to keep all the windows closed.  This was not a real problem since it rained almost nonstop.  However, when it did clear for a little bit, we didn't want to open the windows for all the bugs outside awaiting their chance to make their way inside.  Not good.

The weather looked like it was going to lie down enough to get from EBM to Dunkirk.  So, we left the wall at 0615 and headed out.  We had not even made it out of Buffalo Harbor when it became obvious that the weather was not as forecast.  The wind was just starting to pick up - it was hitting the high teens and then the low 20's.  White caps were all over the place as we got closer to the outer harbor breakwater.  So, we turned around.  Brenda and I both agreed we did not want to go back to EBM, but we had no other plan at that time, and it was still only about 0630.  I recalled a dock I saw behind the Naval Park that had what appeared to be power poles and a couple boats tied up.  So, we went and took a look.  When we got there, there was plenty of room, so we tied up.  We figured we could at least stay there until we figured out another plan.  However, we saw a sign that described transient dockage, a price per foot per night, weekly rates, etc.  So, we decided this was a pretty good place to be so we plugged in.  This dock, the Erie Canal Harbor, is much better.  So, here we shall stay until the weather lets us leave. Which leads me to my next story about how we got to Niagara Falls.

Originally, we wanted to go there when we were in Tonawanda.  However, Taxi transportation was cost prohibitive for us cruisers.  So we tried to take a bus.  However, it turns out, the buses didn't run on the necessary route on Sundays.  All the rental car agencies we called were closed for the weekend. So, we sort of gave up.  That, however, is how we ended up finding the Carousel Museum, which turned out to be a total blast.

Anyways, we were investigating a rental car to go to Niagara Falls.  We figured we had a day since we planned to leave Buffalo for Dunkirk on Tuesday.  Well, the cost was just to much to justify for a half a day's use.  So, we decided to take a walk to the city.  As we got into the city, we discovered that Buffalo has a "real" system of public transportation.  Shortly, we found the transit center.  There we met a nice person in the information booth who told us how to get to Niagara Falls State Park on one bus for a grand total of $1.75 per person each way.  And, the time to get there was less than 2 hours.  So, it was all about lemonade at that point; a tall, cool, refreshing glass of lemonade.

The Falls at Niagara are about 12,000 years old.  The Falls were formed when melting glaciers formed massive fresh-water lakes (the Great Lakes) one of which (Lake Erie) ran downhill toward another (Lake Ontario). The rushing waters carved out a river in their descent and at one point passed over a steep cliff like formation (the Niagara escarpment). From the original falls going over the Niagara Escarpment, the water began to wear its way back up the river. The path that it left is known today as the Niagara Gorge (a deeply-cut and very scenic river path).



Currently, Niagara Falls wears its way back another approximately 1 foot/year. The Niagara River flows at approximately 35 miles/hour (56.3 kilometers/hour). There are actually two waterfalls in Niagara, the American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It is the combination of height and water flow that makes Niagara Falls so beautiful. The Horseshoe Falls are 180 feet (57 meters) high and allow 6 million cubic feet (168,000 cubic meters) of water over the crestline every minute during peak daytime tourist hours.  That is about a million bathtubs full of water every minute!).

Hydro Electricity generated in Niagara Falls at the Sir Adam Beck1 and Sir Adam Beck 2 power stations

from redirected waterflow serves the electrical needs of Southern Ontario and Western New York.



Water that flows over the Falls at Niagara ultimately ends up in Lake Ontario - from there,

water drains by way of the St. Lawrence River in to the Atlantic Ocean.



The word Niagara comes from the word "onguiaahra" which means "a thundering noise".



The Niagara River is about 36 miles in length and is the natural outlet from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The elevation between the two lakes is about 326 feet, half occurring at the Falls themselves. The total area drained by the Niagara River is approximately  264,000 sqare miles. The average fall from Lake Erie to the beginning of the upper Niagara Rapids is only 9 feet. Below the Chippawa-Grass Island Pool control structure, the river falls 50 feet to the brink of the Falls. The deepest section in the Niagara River is just below the Falls. It is so deep it equals the height of the Falls above, 170 feet. 

Now that's something we cruisers from California don't see every day - a group of Amish folks enjoying an outing at Niagara Falls. 

More than 6 million cubic ft of water go over the

crestline of the falls every minute during peak daytime tourist hours.

Annie Taylor "Queen of the Mist" , a school teacher from Bay City Michigan was first person to travel over the Falls in a barrel on October 24, 1901. Since her feat, many stunt artists have challenged the mighty Falls usually in home-made barrel-like contraptions. More recently, a couple of foolhardy individuals have attempted to survive a plunge over Niagara Falls in a kayak and a jetski - they both perished.

This couple went over the falls in .........

THIS!  Both of them survived. 

I'll write separately about Buffalo later.  Niagara Falls was such a great thing to see, it deserved its own write up.  There sure is or was a lot more going on around there above and beyond the falls.  We hiked somewhat off the path and explored Goat Island and the Three Sisters Islands.

Goat Island was named by John Stedman in the 1770's.  Stedman used to raise a herd of goats during the 1770's. He had cleared approximately ten acres of land on this island. During the extremely cold winter of 1780, all but one of the goats died.  In 1801, Stedman lost possession of his land including Goat Island to the State of New York.  Now it is a beautiful park and you can see the Horseshoe from the American side.

The Three Sisters Islands (actually four islands exist) are located approximately 500 yards east of the Horseshoe Falls along the south/east side of Goat Island. In 1843, these islands were called Moss Islands because the rock surfaces of the islands were covered in moss. The Sister Islands were named after the three daughters of General Parkhurst Whitney. General Whitney was an American commander during the War of 1812 who, following the war, became a very successful and prosperous businessman. He owned and operated the Cataract Hotel in Niagara Falls, New York. In the Spring of 1816, General Whitney took his three daughters to visit the islands. On this visit, General Whitney and his three daughters became the first to visit the third outer most island. This was possible because an ice jamb upstream of the Falls had reduced the dangerous rapids which normally prevented safe access to this island to a mere trickle. At the time no bridges to any of the islands existed, but Whitney and his daughters were able to walk to the outer most island by crossing on the ice. General Whitney was so proud of his daughters feat that he asked the owners of the islands, Peter and Augustus Porter, to rename them after his three daughters and his infant son.  Today the Three Sister Islands are named as follows. The first island is called ASENATH (a-see-nath), the second island is called ANGELINE, the third island is called CELINDA ELIZA. The fourth and smallest is known as Little Brother Island named SOLON.

SO HERE'S THE SITUATION:

The weather right now is keeping us stuck in Buffalo.  The combination of a major hurricane in the southeast, and a massive low pressure system in the midwest, and the interaction between the two is creating very hard and unpredictable weather.  Right now as I am writing this, the wind is blowing 30 knots in the harbor and the rest of the afternoon holds the probability of thunderstorms and hail.  There was a twister in Wisconsin yesterday that killed someone.  Locals say this is the worst late summer weather they have ever seen.  So, we'll stay put for now.  We are hoping for a weather window on Friday.  In the interim, we're fine and if we don't get out on Friday or Saturday, I understand that Alice Cooper is playing in the park right next to us on Saturday and it's been a long time since I've seen Alice Cooper.  It's all good.  Just frustrating sometimes.