Whirlpool State Park - Geology in Action

On Saturday, August 13 we headed down the Niagara River which travels north, so, in a way, we were going down and up at the same time. Get it?

After the Niagara River goes over the falls the water is still rushing at great speeds through a narrow gorge. There is white water everywhere.

Lucy and Sophie are ready to explore Whirlpool State Park. The views from the top of the gorge are amazing.

The water is a brilliant light green because of the millions of mineral particles that are worn loose from the rock by the rushing water before, during and after the falls.

The water is coming down so rapidly that it can not go straight through the bends in the gorge, so it has to double back on itself creating a whirlpool.


Here you can see the water moving in both directions. The lighter water in the foreground has just come through the rapids. The darker water in the background is forced to go upstream and gets pulled under the faster water.

There are two whirlpools but the second one is bigger than a couple football fields. You could not pay Lucy, Sophie or I enough money to ride on this attraction over that whirlpool!

This open air ride travels from the Canadian side of the gorge directly over the whirlpool, up to the observation platform on the American side and then back again.

No way! We're too afraid of heights! It's back to the car for us! You can find more information about Whirlpool State Park at http://www.nysparks.com/parks/info.asp?parkID=29

Niagara Falls!!

We made it! Here we are at Niagara Falls!

Sophie was really afraid of all the people who had come to see the falls. I'm sure she thought they were all going to bite her. I was afraid she'd break her leash and on a hot day, the first place she'll run is to water. Yikes! I'm glad that didn't happen. So we were able to get about 47 seconds of video for our show before I returned the girls to the peace and quiet of our hotel room. Once they were settled, Dominic and I went back to explore some more.

We decided that "The Maid of the Mist" boat tour was definitely for us.

So we took the elevator down from the observation deck at the top of this tower. We put on our beautiful "waterproof" ponchos and we were off. It sure was misty!

The American Falls

The Bridal Veil Falls with a tour group in yellow ponchos climbing a very rickety stair case up the side.

Canada's Horseshoe Falls

By now we were soaked, but the fun wasn't over yet.

When our boat ride was finished, we climbed up the staircase on the side of the American Falls. Then we got really soaked!!

Dominic and I had a blast!

Lucy and Sophie had a nap.

Here are some quick facts about Niagara Falls.

-the Canadian Horseshoe Falls plunges 52 metres (170 feet) into the Maid of the Mist Pool.
-at the American Falls the water's vertical descent ranges from 21 to 34 metres (70 to 110 feet) to the rock at the base of the Falls.
-the Niagara Gorge extends from the Falls for 11 kilometres (7 miles) downstream to the foot of the escarpment at Queenston.
-more than 168,000 cubic metres (6 million cubic feet) of water go over the crestline every minute during peak daytime tourist hours.

You can find out a lot more about tourist information, the history and geology of Niagara Falls at www.infoniagara.com

Oriskany Battlefield

With Dominic as our cameraman, we shot a segment for our "Lucy and Sophie Travel New York" video at the Oriskany Battlefield. The battlefield is located near Rome, New York. It was the first stop on our western New York road trip.




During the American Revolution, British General John Burgoyne had a plan to attack Albany. If he could get control of the New York Colony, he could drive a wedge between the New England colonies and the other Atlantic colonies. The old "divide and conquer" kind of thing. This plan was called the "three pronged attack" because he planned to have regiments of men come north up the Hudson, south through Saratoga and west down the Mohawk.

However, this plan was foiled by General Nicholas Herkimer. The fighting was bloody. Herkimer and his horse were shot early on but he continued to direct his men from a log under a tree. Many of the Indian allies of the British gave up. Herkimer's Tryon County militia men were too fierce for them. The British eventually had to retreat. This defeat, together with the British defeat at Saratoga turned the tides for the Patriots leading to their eventual victory in the Revolution.






Phew! That's a lot of history. Release the hounds!!!





"We're NOT hounds!! We're sporting dogs!"










Sophie is well camouflaged in this kind of field. Lucy's quite a bit easier to spot.













AND Lucy comes back when you call her! Sophie had a great run exploring the Oriskany Battlefield. You can find out more about the Battle of Oriskany at
http://nysparks.state.ny.us/sites/info.asp?siteID=21

The New York State Capitol Building

Here are Lucy and Sophie at the bottom of the grand staircase of the New York State Capitol Building in Albany.

Lucy and Sophie are each about 2 feet tall, so this picture gives you some idea of the size of the staircase and the Capitol. I've been told that when Teddy Roosevelt was Governor of New York, he ran up and down the staircase for exercise, just as Sophie and I do in Empire State Plaza.

Construction on the Capitol began in 1875 and took 25 years to complete! It cost more than $25,000,000 to build. It is made of solid masonry and in some places the walls are 4 or 5 feet thick. I have also heard that it is slowly sliding down the hill toward the Hudson River. Thankfully, restoration work is helping to stop that from happening. Thousands of people work in the building every day to run our state government. When you see our current Governor, George Pataki speak on the news, he is in the Executive Chamber of the Capitol.

The Capitol has beautiful hand carvings in wood and stone, inside and outside the building. Guided tours are given every weekday. On the tour, you can go into many of the Capitols grand rooms like the Assembly and Senate Galleries. To get a tour schedule you can call the Plaza Vistor Center at 518-474-2418.

Notice anything unusual about this section of stone carving?????

We'd love to know why there is a Golden Retriever in this frieze!! A frieze is a decorative boarder of carving usually found in stone on the outside of a building.

Lucy and Sophie have the strange feeling that they aren't the only 4 legged creatures in the park surrounding the Capitol.

It's the equestrian statue of Civil War General Philip Sheridan. Equestrian means horse and this is one BIG horse!

If you're not a dog, you can take the Albany Duck Tour. It travels on land and water to show you the sights there are to see all around Albany. It even passes by our house 4 or 5 times a day!

We hope you enjoyed out trip to the Capitol.

Lucy poses for her frieze portrait.