Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

Our first full day at Niagara Falls was overcast and rainy. First we ate lunch at the Elements restaurant that overlooks the Horseshoe Falls. It was a nice view, but a bit obscured by the rain. Plus, the wind was blowing the mist from the falls right into the visitors' center and observation deck making it even more wet.

More after the jump.

Next we went on the Niagara Fury's exhibit/movie which was in the visitor's center. It starts with a short cartoon that teaches about the history of the falls. Then you go into a 360 degree cyclorama theater where you stand up, watch full motion video of the falls while the floor tips around and you get rained on and splashed in order to "experience" Niagara's "Fury". They do give you a disposable raincoat to keep you dry. Actually, you get a disposable rain coat for almost everything you do at the falls.

After Niagara's Fury, we went on the Journey Behind the Falls tour. This was pretty neat. There are a couple of tunnels bored into the rock behind the falls. Two tunnels have openings where you can see the water falling over the falls from behind. The main tunnel opens out onto a two-level observation area next to the Horseshoe Falls. You can see a close-up profile of the water cascading over the falls which I thought was interesting. You can also watch the Maid of the Mists boats as the approach the falls to get their passengers soaked by the falling water.

Although the tour and view was interesting, the cloudy skies were not very good for photography. Another issue I had was keeping the lens dry. The wind was blowing the mists from the falls right into us which made it difficult to keep water off the front of the lens. I did have a rain cover for the camera itself though which worked like a charm. The camera still works and is none the worse for the wear of getting so close to Niagara's Fury.

More photographs next week. Have a good weekend.

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