This first photo was taken from the dock before departure. You can see two Maids of the Mist on the water, one on the way out and one returning.
Below is a view of the American falls from the boat. People don't go over these falls in barrels because of the rocks (amongst other reasons!!)
Aren't the falls beautiful? The white froth of the water sometimes looks like icing on a cake, or maybe whipped cream, or perhaps snow:
Now I have to make an embarrassing confession. After the American falls, the Maid of the Mist makes its way to the center of the "horseshoe" of the Canadian falls. I tried to soak it all in (literally and figuratively - you do get wet!!), and I took lots of pictures of the falls, the rising mist, and the churning, boiling waters under the boat. When we returned to the dock, I discovered I had not one picture of it all!! There was so much glare, and my sunglasses were so spotted with water, that I could not see what I was doing. It turns out my camera (iPhone) was in the wrong mode the whole time, and I got nothing! Rien! Nada!! ~sigh~ You will have to take my word for it, the experience was amazing, magical, thrilling, and beautiful, far better than any ride at Disneyland.
After disembarking from the boat, Lee and I went up the stairs that go half way up the cliff to offer a closer view of the American falls. I was enthralled by the changing patterns of the swirling mist:
We had new views of the falls from those stairs:
The mist in the background is from the Canadian falls:
This photograph gives the best perspective on how the American and Canadian falls are situated in relation to one another. The two specks in the water are two Maids of the Mist:
It took me awhile to figure this out, but the Niagara River flows from Lake Erie north into Lake Ontario.
