Posts Tagged ice

Fallin’, American Falls is free fallin’

Mar 11

Posted by Roxie in new york, niagara falls, photos, scenery, snow and ice, travel, video, waterfalls | No Comments

Seneca Casino (left) and Comfort Inn The Pointe (right)

Comfort Inn The Pointe in Niagara Falls, N.Y., advertises that it’s “ideally located at the entrance of Niagara Falls State Park.” This is no exaggeration. In the image above, I am standing in the gate to Niagara Reservation, the state park in which Niagara Falls lies. I arose early enough that the streetlights were still lit.

From the gate, it’s a short walk to the Falls.

Niagara River rapids

First you see the turbulent Niagara River. Its rapids are probably Class IV: Very difficult. “Demands expert boatman and excellent boat and good quality equipment.” In reality, they may as well be Class VI: Unrunnable; i.e., “You will die here.” Anyone trying to run those rapids will almost certainly go over the Falls. The Falls are most definitely unrunnable. Daredevils or would-be suicides face a $10,000 fine, plus rescue costs.

Seven-year-old Roger Woodward was swept over the Falls when his neighbor’s boat capsized and lived, but his miraculous escape is not an example to be followed.

footbridge to Goat Island

This footbridge crosses to Little Green Island, then to Goat Island. For some reason I cannot understand, I didn’t cross that bridge when I came to it. I stood on it, but didn’t cross to the other side. As a consequence, I missed out on Bridal Veil Falls and the view of Horseshoe Falls from the American side.

Disgusting, but life goes on. I guess that gives me something to look forward to should I ever visit Niagara Falls again.

in front of the Falls

Soon the skyline across the river comes into view. And, yes, Virginia, I did visit Niagara Falls!

The river disappears

Of course, I knew perfectly well that the Niagara River would vanish, but the actual sight was disconcerting. I thought of Enoch in the Bible:

And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (Genesis 5:24, King James Version)

This river WAS NOT.

Niagara Falls

Then, finally, the main attraction: The awesome spectacle of one of God’s wondrous works. Because of the early hour, no one was present when I first began shooting. I had that glorious sight all to myself and I reveled in the solitude amid the roar of Niagara.

Solitude didn’t last long.

tourists at American Falls railing

No one was using these viewing machines, but cameras and video cameras were everywhere.

tourist taking pictures with camera phone

I cannot imagine using only a camera phone for such glorious scenery. If that’s all you’ve got, I guess you have to live with it, but I’d croak if that’s all I had.

Dad at the railing

Dad (third from left) joined me after awhile. I was amazed how many tourists had appeared. What must this scene be like in the summer?

Maid of the Mist boats in drydock

Fewer attractions are open in the winter. The Maid of the Mist boats are unable to navigate the river because they are iced in. Yet still the Falls draw people.

American Falls and Niagara Falls, Ontario

Dad was getting anxious to leave. Boston was still many miles away. So I very reluctantly said good-bye to Niagara. We ate an excellent breakfast at the hotel and were on the road again.

I shot some video of Niagara River and Niagara Falls:

Here’s my slide show of Niagara Falls, New York:

Click on the link in the slide show to order any of them or go to the gallery on my website.

GHTime Code(s): 901aa c9bde 1c35c nc nc nc

Tags: american falls, bible, bridal veil falls, canada, class iv, class vi, cold, comfort inn, dad, enoch, falls, footbridge, frozen, goat island, horseshoe falls, ice, little green island, miracle, new york, niagara, niagara falls, niagara river, ontario, pedestrian bridge, prospect point, rapids, roger woodward, scenery, seneca casino, snow, travel, waterfall, winter

Canadian ice and lights

Mar 9

Posted by Roxie in architecture, canada, niagara falls, photography, scenery, skyline, travel | No Comments

Table Rock Ice Castle

Behind Horseshoe Falls are other beautiful photographic opportunities. Table Rock Complex, located across Niagara River Parkway from Horseshoe Falls in Queen Victoria Park is continually sprayed with mist. It looked like something out of a fantasy — an ice castle.

frozen handrail

Anyone who would brave this slanted skating rink is crazy. It was a solid sheet of ice, stairs, handrail, posts and all.

Don't tread on me

The sign states the obvious: “Walkway is not maintained during the winter season.” If I’d been carrying a measuring tape, I would have loved to know how thick this ice was — both on the walk and the tree. The reflection of the lights above was beautiful and acted as a DANGER! sign.

Minolta Tower and Marriott Hotel

Fallsview Boulevard above Queen Victoria Falls is full of hotels and towers and Casino Niagara, all beautifully lit. Konica Minolta Tower started as the Seagram Tower, but has changed names six times. Supposedly Seagram built it to resemble one of their whiskey bottles.

Tower stands 525 feet above the falls and is said to offer spectacular views. The night was late, so we passed on a visit to the tower. Maybe someday…

After I’d shot about as much as my freezing fingers could stand, we turned toward the Rainbow Bridge and New York.

Crossing into Canada had been easy. The customs officer had only asked us whether we had firearms, which we didn’t.

Returning to the United States: Not so easy.

The Niagara Falls bridges together are the second-busiest crossings between the US and Canada. Thankfully, winter traffic is much less than during the rest of the year.

Homeland Security now requires a passport for travel between the US and countries in North America and the Caribbean.

Dad has a passport.

I don’t.

The prices for expedited passport services were outrageous, far more than I could afford. (Too bad I didn’t know a person can do that herself with the State Department — without extra fees.)

After much online research, I discovered that Niagara Falls seemed to have a loophole. A birth certificate and driver’s license would get me back into the USA. I obtained my birth certificate, then held my breath as we approached the Border Patrol station.

We received quite a grilling: Where were we from? How were we related? Why were we traveling? How long had we been in Canada? Yada, yada, yada.

The Border Patrol officer did not seem to be convinced by any of our answers.

Then he asked, “Were there any really cool things you saw on your way here?”

I went blank for a horrible moment.

Then inspiration came.

“There was this really cool rest area in Iowa…”

Suddenly the officer smiled and started giving us travel tips. Then he let us through. Whew!

Here’s my slide show from Niagara Falls, Canada:

To order, click on the gallery link in the slide show or go here.

GHTime Code(s): 14779 e13cc 0ec18 nc nc 9eee6

Tags: border, bridge, canada, cold, customs, expedite, fallsview, fallsview boulevard, homeland security, ice, iowa, minolta tower, new york, niagara, niagara falls, niagara river, niagara river parkway, north america, ontario, passport, queen victoria park, rainbow bridge, rest area, slide show, state department, table rock, table rock complex, tower, travel, victoria park, winter

Freezing at Niagara Falls, Canada

Mar 8

Posted by Roxie in canada, ice, niagara falls, photography, photos, scenery, snow and ice, travel, waterfalls, weather | No Comments

Speed limit 25 mph

You know you are in Canada when you have to read the interior numbers on the speedometer. 40 kph seems like crawling, especially when 40 on our signs means 40 mph. 40 kph is just under 25 mph.

During the height of summer, I doubt that cars even reach that speed limit. When we were there, hardly anyone else was on the road. Parking lots were empty. What a deal!

Dad next to an ice-encrusted monument

Niagara Falls does a wonderful job of keeping the roads and walks clear. They spread ice melt frequently and every bit of it is necessary. At the time I snapped this picture, we could hardly stand upright. I felt as if I were learning to walk again. We had to cruise from one handhold to another instead of walking unaided.

I wish I knew what this monument commemorated. I thought I’d be able to discern that from the photo, but I can’t read it. Usually, I can find anything on Google, but this answer eludes me. If anyone can tell me, I’d appreciate it.

Just after I snapped the above picture, someone drove by and spread ice melt.

The walk shortly became passable and we were free to enjoy.

our first view of Horseshoe Falls

This is the first view we had of the Falls. It was more beautiful than I had remembered. I had visited in November 1985, but those memories had faded.

Niagara Parks trains spotlights on the Falls at night. Every so often, they change colors.

purple falls

Here the Falls are in purple.

green spotlight

They changed the lights to green. Skywheel is toward the left of picture. Rainbow Bridge that connects Niagara Falls, N.Y., to Niagara Falls, Ontario, is toward the right.

Niagara Falls in green spotlight

Here are the Falls with that green spotlight.

And now in white.

I like the simplicity of the white best, but the colors are fun too.

Niagara Falls with rainbow section

The mist covers everything and light shining on it produces wonderful prismatic effects like this one. I wasn’t lucky enough to see a full rainbow.

I feel blessed to have gotten these pictures. I have rarely — if ever — shot in such adverse conditions. Dad was carrying my tripod and we got separated somehow. I had to shoot all these low-light pictures with my elbows on the fence. Amazingly, that steadied my hands enough for clear pictures. Because of the constant rain of mist, I wrapped my camera in gallon storage bags held on by rubber bands. Only the lens was exposed. I wore my down parka, Gore-Tex Thinsulate pants and hiking boots with several layers underneath. That was comfortable. My fingers were anything but. I was wearing Thinsulate convertible gloves, but I had to expose my fingers to shoot.

Brrrrr! This was worse than night football in the rain, but, oh, was it FUN! I’d do it again tomorrow. Can we go? Can we? Huh? Huh?

Here’s my slide show from Niagara Falls, Canada:

To order, click on the gallery link in the slide show or go here.

GHTime Code(s): 35ad8 nc nc nc

Tags: american falls, bridal veil falls, canada, cold, dad, dark, gloves, horseshoe falls, ice, illumination, mittens, new york, niagara falls, night, ontario, rainbow bridge, skylon tower, spotlight, travel, waterfall, winter

Encased in ice

Mar 2

Posted by Roxie in damage, ice, iowa, photos, plants, scenery, travel, trees, weather | No Comments

Recently, Dad and I drove to Massachusetts. He needed to have some medical tests run at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester. He asked whether I’d like to ride along. I accepted his invitation. I had intended to blog about the trip while we were on it, but I was too exhausted to write. By the time I got home, trip odometer read 4,396.5 miles.

Dad had to be at UMass 7 a.m. EST Monday and we wanted to visit Niagara Falls on our way. Because of that, our first day out was a brutal one, around 800 miles. The trip seemed never to end.

We hardly stopped. Other than endless miles, only one place stands out from that day, the eastbound rest area at Adair, Iowa.

I had been fretting overnight Thursday that perhaps we should have driven awhile that night.

Staying at Dad’s was the right decision.

When we got up Friday morning, the ice on the driveway was very treacherous. Dad had to sprinkle ice melt behind the van so we could load. Otherwise, we were unable to stand up.

We drove in freezing fog several hours, crawling down the Interstate. We took our time over breakfast in hopes that highway crews’ work would make travel safer. That long breakfast was a very good idea.

bushes covered in ice

Adair, Iowa, would normally be around 5 hours into a trip, but getting that far took longer than 5 hours. I was glad to get out of the car. We stepped into into a fairy-tale world. Everywhere that hadn’t been covered with ice melt was covered with ice. We could hear tree branches cracking underneath the weight. That noise was punctuated by ice chunks crashing to the ground.

Ice peeling away from a branch

I stayed on the cleared walks because standing was impossible otherwise. I still had to dodge falling ice chunks and nearly was hit by one. I’m grateful that motion attracts attention.

Frozen US, Iowa and POW/MIA flags

The flags made noise, too, but not the noise usually associated with flags. Instead of a snapping sound, they emitted something akin to a thump. Most of the time, the wind was insufficient to move their weight, and they sagged from the flagpole.

IA Meet People News sign

The usual crop of newsstands stood on the sidewalk in front of the building, including this one. I found the scene hugely ironic. Does this scene encourage you to move to Iowa and meet people?

leaf in ice

I could not resist the beautiful scenes before me. Ice is deadly, yes, but it’s also gorgeous. The light was perfect, too, slightly overcast for even lighting. Fall raking missed this leaf. I love the contrast of brown on white, fall vs. winter. Winter’s winning.

Leaves on a bush encased in ice

Winter is winning here, too, but eventually spring will take hold. The ice will melt and these leftover fall leaves will be pushed off by new growth.

Icicles dangling from garbage can

Even the garbage can was beautiful with its necklace of icicles.

Praise God for ice melt, highway maintenance crews and the beauty of His creation — even when it’s dangerous.

Pictures from the eastbound Adair rest area:

To see pictures full screen or to purchase them, click on the “visit gallery” link here or in the slideshow.

GHTime Code(s): 89f63 fb158 4aef1 0b59a nc nc nc nc

Tags: adair, automobile, cold, dad, fall, flag, flags, frozen, ice, interstate, iowa, leaf, newspaper, newsstand, rest area, sculpture, travel, trip, winter

Winter transformation

Jan 6

Posted by Roxie in flowers, garden, photography, photos, plants, scenery, trees | No Comments

After I photographed the statue outside the library, I shot pictures in my “backyard studio”. I leave up the dead vegetation as a snow trap. It doesn’t look all that great. But the frost wrought a wonderful transformation.