The day before Sam's workshop, our hosts took us to see Niagara Falls, a couple hours away from Toronto. I didn't know the falls would be so beautiful in the winter. I loved it! The ice and snow made everything look so dramatic. It was amazing. I went to Niagara Falls with my family when I was probably about 12 or 13, when it was summer, and hot, and we stood close to the water so the mist would cool us off a little. Experiencing the place in the winter time was so different!
I was pleased to have a chance to wear the furry shapka I got in Moscow. I do wear it at home in Utah, but it feels that it is only fulfilling its highest, holiest purpose when it's very cold outside. I hate to insult it with merely semi-cold weather.
Our photographer liked my furry hat and kept taking pictures of it. It IS a particularly fine hat. And in case you're wondering what Teddy was doing inside that bundle, it was this:
Little sweetie pie.
Workshop teachers. A lovely assortment of people.
My yellow coat made it easy to find me in a crowd. :) There weren't actually many people there, though; I suppose the cold keeps people away.
I've seen pictures before of Niagara Falls supposedly "freezing over," but I read somewhere that they never actually freeze all the way. The top surface of the water often freezes, but most of the water below remains liquid and still falls over the drop-off.
As you can see, though, a lot of the water does freeze and the spray builds up into big mounds of ice. There are tons of cool cracks and wrinkles and fissures running through them. (This picture is of the American Falls part of Niagara Falls.)
The long ice formations look like stalactites, and they also reminded me of this man-made ice castle. Except these formations are made by nature alone! I love the smooth sweep of snow on top. And look at the foamy water cascading over those rocks, and the mist. So beautiful!
The American Falls had the coolest icicles and ice-knobs and crystal formations on and around the rocks! The moving water crashed down here and made a channel between two ice mounds.
I loved this. The same birds (mostly seagulls, it looked like) appear black when they're on the snow—and white when they're on the water.
I loved the way the foam was carried along by the current in swirls, too.
Horseshoe falls. So spectacular!
I loved seeing the birds swooping in and out of the mist. They give you a sense of how huge these falls are!
Amazing green color as the water plunges over the edge.
Bird, surveying his domain.
Iceberg. You could see the layers built up in the snow, like rock layers in a cliff face. I like the little ice-hat on top of that rock, too.
Um, we rode to Niagara Falls in this. (!!)
A ha ha ha ha! Sam and me laughing at some jest that only limo-riding people would understand, no doubt.
The colors below the falls—deep, swirling, boiling greens and whites—were breathtaking.
I could have stood there looking at the water tumbling over itself for hours, in spite of the cold. So mesmerizing and powerful!
Such a cool place to visit. I'm so glad we got to go there!
You guys are ballers riding in that limo! Awesome.
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