The Niagra Falls experience is deeply profound, simply exotic and too spectacular to be described in words
THE strong smell of frying eggs woke me up from my deep slumber. For a moment, I was completely lost. Soon, memory of yesterday’s long and tiring drive all the way from New York to Buffalo filtered in. But that was no match for what was in store for the day itself: a visit to the Niagara Falls.
Quarter-of-an-hour later, within the confines of the host’s kitchen plus dinning area, I was in the company of my small family enjoying a hearty breakfast.
By 10AM we were ready and on our way. It was surprisingly a bright and pleasant day as just last night we had been drenched by a heavy downpour. The boys sang their favourite tunes as I contemplated the virtues of a working-lady wife, who also happens to be an excellent driver!
An hour into the drive and a highway patrol thought we were going too fast. Subsequently, an extremely attractive blonde female-officer politely and almost apologetically handed us a speeding ticket. What a way to start a journey! But our dampened spirits were taken care of when a further hour later, we drove into the park way of Niagara Falls.
The approach to the Falls is simply dramatic. Out of nowhere a couple of spectacular steel bridges built over the Niagara River make a sudden appearance, leaving one in complete awe. Soon enough, the $40 speeding ticket was completely forgotten!
The parkway leading to the Niagara River is very aesthetically landscaped. A small open train takes the visitors to a complete round of the park and other scenic vistas. We first went up to the bridge and took an elevator, with one side completely glazed and transparent, down to the Niagara River.
There, a double-decker boat ride, aptly named the Maid of the Mist, was our next destination. Slowly, the boat took a complete round of the pool where the Niagara dumps its water. Gradually, the American Falls, the Goat Island; the Canadian Falls, with its curved crest of 2,500 feet; the Bridal Falls, and the Horse-shoe Falls, came into-view. Each turn, each movement, each curve brought a different vista, a thrilling experience, a majestic spectacle and grandeur of gigantic proportion.
The whole experience was deeply profound, simply exotic, and too spectacular to describe in words. The most exciting moment was when the boat floated right through the rising mist and spray of the Horse-Shoe Falls. Soon everything was enveloped into a white hazy world of watery spray. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.
The Niagara tableland mass extends 100 kilometres, both east and west of the Niagara River. This plain is a small part of the Great Lakes lowlands, in which Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario lies. The Great Lakes hold 20 per cent of the worlds’ fresh water supply. Ninety-nine per cent of this water is of glacial origin.
The Niagara escarpment begins in Watertown, New York, USA and ends on the Maintoulin Island in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is 1609 kilometres in length and is the weathered edge of a very ancient sea bottom. The Niagara escarpment is the ultimate reason the Falls of the Niagara was born. Without the escarpment, Niagara Falls may never have materialized. Only in Niagara can one find a gravel beach, 147 meters above the nearest body of water!
Finally, at six in the evening, in the glow of the setting sun, a family of four reluctantly. turned their Volkswagen towards Buffalo. The car’s inhabitants were tired, yet satisfied for a day well-spent. All four were singing Pakistani songs, at the top of their voices. However, the guy on the driving seat was also keeping a weary eye on the car’s speedometer and the rear view mirror!
The Niagra Falls experience is deeply profound, simply exotic and too spectacular to be described in words 
