Day 22: Niagara Falls, Ontario

Blue. It’s a color that many of us love. To those who know me, it is almost more of an obsession. How many of you have heard me make remarks about that beautiful shade of cerulean blue? Or watch me eat my blue M&Ms last so that I can enjoy looking at them the longest? Are you one of the dozens of people who have remarked to me how often I wear the color?
The color is something that evokes an emotion in me. The emotion produced by looking at the color is what I crave. Blue is a peaceful color, something tranquil and relaxing. It makes you feel as if you are laying in the sahde on a cool, tropical beach. The same feeling of love that many of us are struck with as we gave upon a waterfall, negative ions swirling in the misty air. The color blue and Niagara Falls have something in common: They create a calm, tranquil, loving environment for us to bathe in, truly soaking in all the goodness of life.

Niagara Falls- Horseshow Falls from the top. May 30, 2011

Niagara Falls actually consists of two falls, the American Falls state-side, and Horseshoe falls on the Canadian side. Located on it’s namesake river, more than 4 million cubic feet of water per minute crashing to the bottom of the falls. The area I was closer to, staying on the Canadian side, was the 173 foot tall Horseshoe Falls. It was during high flow season, and the rate had increased to around 6 million cubic feet of water per minute and the mist was thick. I couldn’t get a clear picture of the falls at all.

One of the tourist attractions, Maid of the Mist, where you can get in a boat and get soaking wet as it chugs it's way as close to the falls as it can. May 30, 2011

The geology of the falls is something temporary, and in the terms of geologic time, very short lived. It is currently eroding the top layer of limestone/dolostone at a rate of ONE FOOT per year! It is a remarkable rate that puts the Niagara Falls extinction at only 50,000 years from today. Only 11,000 years ago the falls were located about 7 miles to the North of it’s present location, but the water tapped into a portion of non-resistant soils and rock, causing it to retreat quickly (in days or hours, even!), forming the “Whirlpool” you can visit downstream today.

The Niagara Falls "whirlpool"...I don't think you get the scale, let me post another picture.
So, here it is zoomed in a bit. Do you see the people down there yet? No? Ok...let's zoom in again (Click on photos to see in original size)
Zoomed in as much as I can with my stock lens. Yes, there are people down there. They are just TINY!~

Today Niagara Falls is a HUGE tourist destination, and as such the prices of dining and tourism have risen dramatically. Parking is a full $20 (although they like to note that you can “come and leave all you want…for this day only…ha ha.), the tours are short and cost betwee 15 and 20 dollars, and the food is slightly pricier than normal restaurant prices. I decided that I didn’t feel like getting wet as I was already feeling a little cool because of the mist, so I decided to watch “Niagara’s Fury- A 4D experience”. It only lasted a little over 20 minutes, and although the “4D” effects of a moving floor, snowfall and water spray were interesting, it wasn’t informative enough nor impressive enough  to be deserving of the $17.36 I had to pay.

I would say that you can certainaly make your Niagara Falls trip less expensive if you have more time to see everything. If you bike or hike from a nearby campsite or inexpensive hotel to the Falls you save $20, and there are several inexpensive grocery stores nearby (I went to a local grocery called “No Frills” and I was able to purchase two lunches and two dinners, with drinks, for under $12).

A Niagara Falls rainbow. May 30, 2011

The water wasn’t only at it’s high point while I was there- it was overunning the place. I was the only person crazy enough at my KOA campsite to *attempt* to sleep in a tent. I arrived at my campsite the evening before to a muddy mess, but managed to find a damp spot that my tent would have been ok on- If a severe thunderstorm hadn’t decided to roll through. The entire campsite turned into a wetland, and I had to evacuate my $9.98 tent to my Jeep. I paid for two nights worth of camping to sleep in my Jeep, but hey, this trip isn’t always going to be perfect. It’s an adventure. The storm may have been strong, but I do enjoy a good thunder and lightening show.

The mud of my campsite. At least my Jeep enjoyed it. May 30, 2011 at Niagara Falls, ON, Canada KOA campground.

This wasn’t the first time my tent was in a severe thunderstorm. It has survived many nights and days in such storms, but it was the first time it leaked. I am more than happy with my tent’s performance, considering I bought it for $9.98 from my local Wal-Mart. I don’t think any tent could have survived while pitched in the middle of a mini lake.

The Niagara Falls color-changing night lightshow. May 30, 2011

At night Niagara Falls comes alive with a light show. This time of year (late spring to early summer) the mist is more dense because of the increased water flow so the show isn’t as pretty as it could be (although still enjoyable). If you want the full effect of the Niagara Falls experience I highly recommend coming in late summer or early fall.

The lights of the night at Niagara Falls. May 30, 2011
The Niagara Falls nightly firework show. May 30, 2011

I spent my night at the Falls watching the colored lights pour over the misty water of Niagara Falls, watching the people dancing in the grass to the live band, until the end of the firework show they put on everynight. It was a soothing night, listening to the falling water and feeling that cool mist breeze through the air. A refresher before another long day in my Jeep tomorrow as I drove back into the states to see another cave.

A Blue Niagara Falls. May 30, 2011

In case you were wondering, yes, as the lights changed there were times when the falls were all blue. In some cases, it even qualified as a shade of cerulean.
I’ll see everyone again when I report back state-side. Until then…
-Nicole

"Don't Jump In" is what the sign is telling you.....believe it or not, people actually do go over the Falls in barrels...even with the high fine for the violation. May 30, 2011
Horseshoe Falls- The water is just about to give in to gravity. May 30, 2011 in Niagara Falls, ON.
Yes, there are rainbows at Niagara Falls too! May 30, 2011
Standing in front of Niagara Falls, the American Falls in the background, in Canada. May 30, 2011
The night lights of Niagara Falls. May 30, 2011
Niagara's night lights. May 30, 2011
Live band and dancing audience at Niagara Falls. May 30, 2011

Day 13, Virginia: Shenandoah Valley & Natural Bridge Caverns

A valley that sits between the Blue Ridge and the Ridge & Valley parts of the Appalachian Mountains, Shenandoah is a gorgeous area full of rivers, farms, and most notably in my case, caves. Most of these caverns lie in the Beekmantown Formation of Ordovician age. Today was a chance to visit a cave of a different region to study it’s speleothem development, and to take in what Shenandoah Valley has to offer.
I had made a game plan for today and the next, but I decided to throw it out the window and go with the flow. I had no idea just how many caverns were in the area and I decided I would see at least two to get a better idea of this area’s karst development. The first cave I decided to see boasted the title of being the deepest cavern on the East coast: Natural Bridge Caverns.

The billboard at the entrance to Natural Bridge Caverns. Virginia. May 21, 2011

The cave tour wasn’t all that long, a guided tour through the caverns, and the cave wasn’t too highly decorated. Moss and bacteria covered many areas, including the limited speleothems that were present. It seems that this area is well known for the cave’s namesake, the Natural Bridge, and thus gains most of the company’s attention. Unfortunate because this cave could be a much better tour if they did a little preservation effort. The cave has two natural entrances, which may have explained the lack of speleothem development due to an increase in air flow.(Or perhaps the overlying lithology that is less permeable?)

The largest of the speleothems at Natural Bridge Caverns in Viriginia. May 21, 2011

I gathered my information and photos with scale from the cave, and more information to research later thanks to an incredibly helpful staff member behind the desk who answered my questions as honestly as he could, and admitted what he did not know. I always appreciate it when a cave tour guide admits they don’t know and offers a venue to obtain the information. The worst is when tour guides start making things up, and luckily this particular man (not my actual tour guide) of Natural Bridge Caverns was honest and helpful enough to do just that.

Some of the few soda straws in Natural Bridge Caverns. Virginia. May 21, 2011

After the cave it was time to do some country driving on my way to my KOA campsite. Shenandoah Valley is, after all, well known for it’s fantastic agricultural landscape nestled between the mountains. The view was gorgeous, rolling fields of green with the mountains standing against the sky in the background. I went to a grocery store to get something to cook at camp, having directions gained from my helpful KOA hostess. This was certainly the biggest grocery store I have ever seen. It was the size of a large Wal-Mart supercenter, yet it was all groceries! I had trouble locating my potatoes….until I realized they had their own section. The produce section of this grocery store is almost the size of the entire grocery store back in Missouri.

The KOA I stayed at for the night. I thought the sign was pretty. May 21, 2011. Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.

My campsite was pretty nice considering I am used to camping in State and National parks. KOA’s always have ample amenities thorughout the camp. My site was in a quiet, forested area near a small brook that trickled along. I was able to cook my food (while holding my breath, it turns out the Jalapenos from this monster of a grocery store were extra powerful and I couldn’t breath near my food while cooking..!!!) and settle down in front of my fire (which consisted of the fire starters, the logs never set….ha ha…) in peace and quiet.

My campsite at the Shenandoah Valley KOA (Firestarted burning, not the logs..ha ha!)

Tomorrow I plan to visit another cave of the Shenandoah Valley, and I have a couple ideas. I don’t know which one I’ll stop at for sure. Sometimes it’s best to play it by ear rather than have it planned. What I do know is that I will have fun no matter where I go. Adventurous spirits don’t find adventurous places, they find adventure everywhere, and anywhere, they go. Until tomorrow’s adventure-
Nicole

The grocery store even had a wide variety of different tomatoes. This was called the heritage tomatoe. It was tasty in my beef, potatoe, onion & jalapeno stir fry. May 21, 2011
The view on the way to my KOA campsite in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. May 21, 2011