Archive for the ‘wineries’ Category

(click on picture to enlarge)

Yesterday morning I promised some pictures taken of Niagara Falls in a cold winter day. The first was taken at the brink of the Canadian-Horseshoe Falls, looking somewhat into the horseshoe. Clear, cold water, surrounded by ice and snow.

In this second picture I just turn around, looking north downriver at the ice that is in the Niagara River below the Canadian-Horseshoe Falls. In the distance is the Rainbow Bridge connecting Canada and the U.S. and on the right surrounded by mist is the American Falls.

The power of the Niagara River. Day and night, 365 days a year for thousands of years, Niagara Falls never sleeps. When you visit Niagara Falls and Table Rock, you stand at this very spot looking over the bring of the Falls.

Across the way from Table Rock at Niagara Falls is a parking lot. These trees line the hillside around the parking lot. They are ice covered by the mist from the Falls. It has been overcast a lot lately, so the sun isn’t glistening off these trees. I’ll try to get down to the Falls when the sky is clear and the sun is shining.

If you look carefully, you can see that portion of the Falls that is in the third picture above. Here I take in more because I wanted to capture the ice along the edges of the Falls at the brink. The water is clear and you can see the bottom as it rushes over the brink into the gorge below.

Again, when you visit Table Rock, where you stand at the brink, overlooking the plunging water, there is just a railing separating you from the thundering power of Niagara. On February 11th, here’s what the railing looked like. All ice covered. Even the metal is feeling extra cold.

On this day I took 4 lovely folks from Port Hedland in Western Australia on a tour of the Niagara Region. We had a lot of laughs and they enjoyed the beauty and power of the Falls, and downriver to a couple of wineries (for some warming ice wine), a visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake and then to the Chocolate F/X for a chocolate fix. It was over 100F when they left home, so this was truly a different place to visit for them.

For more pictures, be sure to visit Gateway Niagara my picture blog.

Last Tuesday had the pleasure of showing the sights of Niagara to two lovely ladies from Colorado (Golden) and Nevada (Reno) who wanted to see all of Niagara.

It was a beautiful day and as they visited Table Rock and the brink of the Canadian or Horseshoe Falls, then worked their our way over to the Maid dock. The famous Maid-of-the-Mist main dock is opposite the American Falls. It picks up on the American side at the base of the observation deck in Niagara Falls, NY.

All that brown stuff in the water around the boat is ground up sand and silt from the bottom of the river. It is forced to the surface because the falls adds tiny air bubbles to the sand at the bottom of the river (below the falls) and it rises to the top. As soon as the air bubbles disappear, it sinks but because the falls are continually pounding the river bed, the silt never stops rising to the surface.

After lunch, we headed for the Whirlpool and the Spanish or Whirlpool Aero Car ride over the whirlpool. Such a great day to be touring Niagara too.

We were lucky because one of the Whirlpool Jet boats arrived as we were enjoying the picture perfect scene. It’s a ride on the water from Niagara-On-The-Lake to the Whirlpool (more info here). It spins around and takes advantage of the churning waters.

Then it was on to Niagara-on-the-Lake with some stops along the way including slipping into Reif Winery for some Icewine. Whew, what a day.

More again on Thursday

Saturday was a fun day for some folks that I took on a tour of Niagara Wineries. These happy wine tasters didn’t come far, Michigan and Ontario, to enjoy the taste of Niagara wines, but they certainly enjoyed the day.

We visited the Chateau Des Charmes and Inniskillen wineries for conducted tours of the wineries and wine making. Then it was to the tasting bar for samples of white, red and icewine. Of course it is hard to leave each winery without taking a bottle or two for another day.

We also spent a couple of hours in Niagara-on-the-Lake and touring some of the sights of the Niagara Region. It is filled with boutique and International wineries, surrounded by miles and miles (or should I say kilometers and kilometers) of grapes plants and tender fruit trees. Proving there is a lot more to Niagara than just the Falls.

Well fisherman may be a stretch, but take a look at this video from YouTube. This guy had to be rescued from the edge of the Horseshoe/Canadian Falls.

So, could you stand there? And what’s with the helicopter? Of course the downdraft from the chopper blades is going to push the guy down. Ahh well, all is well that ends well.

As the buds begin to push toward the sun, Niagara-On-The-Lake in Ontario and a huge attraction of the Niagara Region comes to life for another summer season. This past weekend, while showing some folks from Winnipeg the sights, I could help but notice the garden at the Rogers-Blake-Harrison house coming to life.

One of the interesting inns of the area, boasts a nice garden for sitting and enjoying the local activity.

(Click on picture to see the garden)