Taking the plunge…
I only took 866 pictures over a twelve hour day. This is sunset on the 4th from the US side of the Falls. Photo from Rob Akers
Hey Y’all,
Short and quick post today, this past weekend was my twelfth wedding anniversary. To celebrate the achievement, we left the kids at the house and went to Niagara Falls for a couple of days. I’m sure many of you are surprised that we left the kids, but don’t be concerned. The dogs were watching the kids and the cats were watching the dogs. I guess it all went well because when we returned, everyone had survived.
One more from almost the same spot six hours earlier. The blue dots are people walking up the trail next to the American Fall. Photo from Rob Akers.
For those of you who have never been to Niagara Falls, I would highly encourage you to go. It is simply amazing watching the amount of water fly past and down to the river below. Quick facts about the area for your general knowledge on the off chance you are appearing on Jeopardy soon. Niagara is the Native American word for thundering river. In the past 9,000 years the falls have recessed at the rate of six feet a year for a total of seven miles. In the late 1800s Nikola Tesla began his work with transferring electricity over a distance. Using the falls as a power source, his experiments were successful and he generated enough power to transmit it twenty five miles to Buffalo.
Another triva answer. Hope this usless knowledge pays off better for you than it did for Ms. Taylor. Photo from yahoo.
In the 1960s, the US and Canada began a joint project to divert the water flow and engineered four tunnels to divert between 50-75% of the water of the Niagara River. Thanks to this diversion the recession rate of the falls has dropped dramatically to ten inches a year. Of course there are so many stories of people making their way down the falls in a barrel or walking over it on a tight rope. The way most of those stories is in death. In total six people have survived the journey and two people have survived it twice. I think if I were that lucky, I would play the lottery.
I guess this guy lived. But finishing in second place to Ms. Taylor and all he got was a picture. Photo from yahoo.
This guy didnt even get a close up. Guess walking over the Falls isnt the trick it used to be. Photo from yahoo.
Unfortunately, my time is limited this week. I am trying to write out two interviews of veterans. I did those interviews last week and they both turned out wonderfully. But I am on a time crunch since the first interview is scheduled to be published this Friday and I need to have the next one ready very soon. I will leave you with a link to the first essay about the importance of the Independence Day that I did for the Putnam Herald Dispatch and ran on the 4th. I hope you enjoy it and as the future interviews are published, I will link you to them here. The first interview was with Bert Clendenin, a WWII vet who enlisted following Pearl Harbor. His story is amazing and the lessons he learned are simple. “Never pass up chow.”
Until next time, keep on rockin.
robakers 
Excellent article! And… so glad you had a wonderful trip. I have yet to be… but on my bucket list as of now.
Karlene,
Yes you need to get it on the list. It is only about 70 miles south east of Toronto so it would be a easy drive. You only need a day or two tops to see everything. But it is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.
Happy Anniversary to you and your wife! Good for you leaving the kids home and having some fun. Some of my best sibling memories are from when our parents did the same thing. Its a good bonding time for them and you. I’ve never been to the falls…maybe someday!
Thanks for the comments and wishes Abby,
You should also put it on the list. It is a long way up there. It would be a part of a journey not a destination. But for extra motivation, I bought a sweatshirt last weekend because it was chilly. A little different from the Texas heat.
Yep! Its getting pretty hot, but I’ll say this, up till now its been pretty pleasant which is unusual for us. We’re all hoping for a short summer. 🙂
Global Cooling should kick in soon enough.
“some could make the argument that being a good neighbor is the highest form of patriotism.” From your article. The article was an inspiring read.
WS,
Thank you for the warm compliment. That article that I wrote for the paper was very moving and important to me. I firmly believe what I said in that article. Thank you again for reading it.