Niagara Falls! Slowly I Turned.......*

  This past weekend, we went to Niagara Falls.  First time I had ever been there and I highly recommend it.

The falls are amazing, breathtaking, awesome, and all the other adjectives that go along with it.  We went to the Canadian side.  There are three falls; the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls on the USA side and the Horseshoe Falls on Canada's side.

  In Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, the falls attraction is operated by the Canadian park service.  Interestingly, the park service is completely self-sustaining without the help of Canada tax dollars.  Probably something that we, in the US could learn from.  It is easy enough to enjoy the attraction for free because it is so big and THERE in a big way.  However, if you want to park your car, eat, sleep, and enjoy all the nuances of the falls, you better expect to pay.  You can also expect to be walking in a sea of people, which isn't a big problem because they do amazingly well in getting the masses through.  Also, you have to cope with the commercialism of a tourist attraction.  I don't know how the city had turned into a theme park atmosphere, but it has.  You walk up Clifton Hill and it is like a carnival with haunted houses, barkers flogging their wares, huge multi-coloured signs and lights.  I guess when you have a big tourist attraction, all these kinds of businesses roll in and set up shop.

  While learning about Niagara Falls, I was dismayed to learn how badly the Tuscarora Indians were treated in 1960 when the New York Power Authority decided it wanted a major portion of Tuscarora land to build power generating stations and the rich and powerful were able to legally seize their land.  Another black eye for America.

  I was happy to learn something about my hero, Nikola Tesla, that I didn't know before.  It was his genius that came up with a way to transport power from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, NY, twenty miles away.  Whereas, Thomas Edison's method would not work.

*  Anyone that recognizes "Niagara Falls!  Slowly I turn, step by step, inch by inch...", probably remembers it from a Three Stooges sketch.