On The Road to Zip Lining Along Niagara Falls
/Nothing like going out with a bang! The WildPlay MistRider ZipLine To The Falls just opened a month ago and we were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to give it a try! First, we made our way through Niagara Parks, a beautiful area unto its own across from the falls.
Taking advantage of every opportunity to capture the magnificence of the falls, check out this panoramic view of both the American and Canadian Falls!
The downtown area of Niagara has a very touristy feel to it - reminded me a lot of Wisconsin Dells! We rode the Niagara Sky Wheel - at 175 ft. this 10 minute ride gave us another spectacular view of the falls, and downtown Niagara!
As we made our way to the ZipLine kiosk my nerves were just a tad unsettled. I've been zip lining before, but this was quite different! 220 ft. above the Niagara Gorge, riders are actually seated in a custom made harness as they zip 2200 ft. at 40 mph in roughly one minute! It turned out to be an amazing experience - not frightening, but exhilarating! I felt like I was floating alongside of one of nature's masterpieces!
Much thanks to Lindsay Di Cosimo at WildPlay Niagara Falls for setting this up, and allowing us to capture several points of view!
It was still early enough in the day to catch one more sight - we opted for the White Water Walk, along the Niagara River to see the powerful rapids!
Surrounded by 410-million year old rock layers, the water rushes by at speeds of approximately 24 mph to 67 mph creating Class 6 (the most dangerous) whitewater rapids!
The distinct green color of the water is due to erosion - an estimated 60 tons of dissolved minerals are swept over Niagara Falls every minute! The green hue comes from the dissolved salts and finely ground rock from the limestone bed, shales and sandstones.
I don't think we could have packed any more into one day! We took the Falls Incline Railway -a nice little shortcut - to back to our hotel (look what appeared at the end!).
It was a late dinner at Canyon Creek Chophouse, trying to time it so we could see the Fireworks over the Falls at 10:00 pm. Kudos to our server Ryan, for 1) recommending the Chipotle Sirloin and 2) showing us the super-secret spot for perfect fireworks viewing! (And he's a Bulls fan!)
Since we had to walk past the casino to get back to our hotel, and the legal age for gambling in Canada is 19, what the heck...Sara and I played the penny slots just for kicks!
12 days, 7 states, 3 Canadian cities and 2,200 miles later our road trip came to and end. One last sunrise over Niagara before heading home to Chicago.