Never in my life did I imagine I would ever see Niagra Falls, one of the best-known and most powerful waterfalls in all the world. On Saturday, we took a tour which brought us to see this amazing sight in the city of Niagra Falls, Ontario. It was a beautiful, sunny day as we watched the water fall over the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. They say more than 6 million cubic feet of water falls over the crestline of Niagra Falls every minute. That’s more than 1 million bathtubs full of water. With speeds of 25 mph, about 70% of the water on the Niagra River is used for hydroelectric power for areas in Canada and the United States.
The Maid of the Mist tour was the highlight of our visit to Niagra Falls. It is awesome to see Niagra Falls at such a close distance and from a different point of view. By taking the tour you also get a glimpse of the tremendous power this natural wonder holds. Maid of the Mist? It was more like a typhoon!
Our tour guide told us the following story: In the 1960’s, a father and his little boy and girl went out on the river in a motorized boat. The motor stopped and the boat got caught in the rapids then capsized. The two children were wearing lifejackets, but the father was not. The little girl swam safely to shore, but both the father and son went over the falls. Below, the little boy was rescued by the Maid of the Mist but tragically the adult did not make it.
Later on our trip, we saw on the news and read in a Canadian newspaper that on that exact same day we were at Niagra Falls, a father and his two sons had actually fallen into the River. All three were heroically rescued by a bystander. After the 11 year old boy fell in, his 17 year old brother jumped in to rescue him. Their father soon followed after to rescue his two sons but all three were left hopeless and exhausted in the dangerous river. A bystander who heard their mother’s screaming saw the need for help and jumped right in, eventually saving all three.
