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26 August, 2003 Whatever Niagara Falls may offer in terms of corny tourist attractions, nothing can take away from the spectacular views. While it's widely held that the best views can be seen from the Canadian side, we much prefer the American side where you can be so much closer to the water. This time was walked round, starting at the American Falls, then going over the river onto Goat Island, where a kind passer-by took this rare picture of the whole family! There's a really good view of the Rainbow Bridge from there, and then a short walk through the parkland to the Horseshoe Falls, where Chris took a photo of Jim and I. Sometime since we were last at Niagara, we saw a TV program about how the Falls were formed, and how the force of the water created the Niagara Gorge and the whirlpools downstream, so that was the next place we went to. Because of the time we'd spent at the Falls, it was already late afternoon, but we thought a walk along the gorge would be a pleasant end to the day. We followed signs from the carpark for "Gorge Walk" and "Circular Gorge Trail - 2 miles" until we found the steps (around 300 of them) down into the gorge. At the bottom was another sign pointing back towards the Falls, again indicating a circular walk. So we started walking along the path, going down towards the river all the time, enjoying the view. The further we walked, the worse the trail got, going unmarked across large boulder fields and involving more strenuous climbing. Having only set out to take a short stroll, we didn't have so much as a bottle of water between us, and the further we went on, the further it was to go back, but there was no sign of a route back up the cliffs. Finally we realised that if we didn't turn back and walk fast, we would be finishing the walk in darkness. I was also concerned that once the sun had gone down, the insects would be out in force, enjoying some English delicacies. Over the years, I've had a few differences of opinion over the use of the English language on our respective sides of the pond, but can I just point out to all Americans who may think otherwise that "circular" means round, and NOT there-and-back. When, after a strenuous route march, we returned to the bottom of the steps back up the cliffs, we noticed the small (and I mean SMALL) lettering below the "Circular Gorge Trail" marker ... "return here to exit gorge". Powered by anger at our colonial brethren's lack of expertise in simple English, we were soon back in the car park, somewhat hot and sweaty, and much in need of a drink!
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