Blown away by Niagara Falls (Feb 29, 2016)
Mar 1, 2016 7:32:33 GMT -8
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Post by GaliWalker on Mar 1, 2016 7:32:33 GMT -8
Feb 29, 2016: Blown away by Niagara Falls
This late winter in the mid-Atlantic has been weird. Record breaking mild temperatures, interspaced with snow and ice storms, rain squalls, and the occasional windstorm. My trip to Niagara Falls yesterday was a battle with the last two.
With dawn checking in around 7:00am these days, I left Pittsburgh at 2:00am, leaving myself plenty of time to get over the border, in order to catch the sunrise from the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. High winds and torrential rain made the drive atrocious, costing me a little more than a half-hour and more than a few frayed nerves. Thankfully, I had no wait at all at the border, which meant that I was able to keep my 7:00am date with Horseshoe Falls.
The rain had fizzled away like a bad dream. Unfortunately, Niagara Falls generates its own precipitation. Trying to take pictures in a spray cloud can be quite challenging. I was helped a little bit by the windy conditions, which was blowing the spray away from me, for the most part. These would end up being the easiest conditions for photography I would face the entire day. I had a great time trying to capture the lovely morning light, as it danced around with the shifting cloudscape.
At 9:00am I took a quick trip down to the base of the falls, via the Journey Behind The Falls attraction. Even though you are confined to a little viewing hut in winter, and can’t make it out of the structure, the view of the enormous wall of Horseshoe Falls is one of my favorites in the park.
Then, it was back across the border to the American side, where I went downstream to Whirlpool State Park. The Niagara River, downstream of the falls, carves it way through a deep gorge. A few miles downstream it makes a right turn. This right turn is known as the whirlpool, a beautifully wide body of water, given character by some impressive rapids near the entrance and exit.
In winters past, I’ve been unable to hike the 2mi down, because of thick ice. This time around, due to the mild weather, I was delighted to find that the way down almost completely free of ice. There were just a few spots that were tricky; I put on my spikes for these going down, but was able to manage without on the way up.
After my hike and a quick lunch, it was time to explore the American side of Niagara Falls. I visited Goat Island first. The wind was a steady 40mph now, so it was a real chore taking photos. I managed just a couple at the viewpoint for the falls, before giving up. I headed over to Three Sisters Island instead. This is a neat and relatively secluded spot, featuring a few small, pretty waterfalls and culminating in an impressive view of the Niagara River, just upstream of the main falls.
My grand finale was to catch sunset at the main American Falls viewpoint. Unfortunately, the wind had got so brutal by now that I was getting knocked sideways off my feet; even worse, all the spray was now blowing right into my face. Since there was no way I could have kept the camera steady and the lens dry, I decided to call it a day. I was back in Pittsburgh by 7:00pm.
This late winter in the mid-Atlantic has been weird. Record breaking mild temperatures, interspaced with snow and ice storms, rain squalls, and the occasional windstorm. My trip to Niagara Falls yesterday was a battle with the last two.
With dawn checking in around 7:00am these days, I left Pittsburgh at 2:00am, leaving myself plenty of time to get over the border, in order to catch the sunrise from the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. High winds and torrential rain made the drive atrocious, costing me a little more than a half-hour and more than a few frayed nerves. Thankfully, I had no wait at all at the border, which meant that I was able to keep my 7:00am date with Horseshoe Falls.
The rain had fizzled away like a bad dream. Unfortunately, Niagara Falls generates its own precipitation. Trying to take pictures in a spray cloud can be quite challenging. I was helped a little bit by the windy conditions, which was blowing the spray away from me, for the most part. These would end up being the easiest conditions for photography I would face the entire day. I had a great time trying to capture the lovely morning light, as it danced around with the shifting cloudscape.
At 9:00am I took a quick trip down to the base of the falls, via the Journey Behind The Falls attraction. Even though you are confined to a little viewing hut in winter, and can’t make it out of the structure, the view of the enormous wall of Horseshoe Falls is one of my favorites in the park.
Then, it was back across the border to the American side, where I went downstream to Whirlpool State Park. The Niagara River, downstream of the falls, carves it way through a deep gorge. A few miles downstream it makes a right turn. This right turn is known as the whirlpool, a beautifully wide body of water, given character by some impressive rapids near the entrance and exit.
In winters past, I’ve been unable to hike the 2mi down, because of thick ice. This time around, due to the mild weather, I was delighted to find that the way down almost completely free of ice. There were just a few spots that were tricky; I put on my spikes for these going down, but was able to manage without on the way up.
After my hike and a quick lunch, it was time to explore the American side of Niagara Falls. I visited Goat Island first. The wind was a steady 40mph now, so it was a real chore taking photos. I managed just a couple at the viewpoint for the falls, before giving up. I headed over to Three Sisters Island instead. This is a neat and relatively secluded spot, featuring a few small, pretty waterfalls and culminating in an impressive view of the Niagara River, just upstream of the main falls.
My grand finale was to catch sunset at the main American Falls viewpoint. Unfortunately, the wind had got so brutal by now that I was getting knocked sideways off my feet; even worse, all the spray was now blowing right into my face. Since there was no way I could have kept the camera steady and the lens dry, I decided to call it a day. I was back in Pittsburgh by 7:00pm.
