It's awesome! Majestic. Spectacular. Powerful. Blissful. Lovely. The Niagara Falls on one good Saturday on August 22. No words can fully capture the enormity and immensity of this natural resource. An enduring creation! No wonder the first French, Swedish and Belgian explorers in as early as 1600s were all enchanted in their memoirs and chronicles of the Falls located very intimately between Canada and New York. On why they are referred to as Niagara is mostly allegorical, most probably coming from the 17th century inhabitants known as the Niagagaregans. Tourism and hydro-power industry began to boom in Niagara in 1800s, while a series of preservation programs from both countries were implemented in the mid-1800s to early 1900s. Niagara Falls has since become a huge tourist attraction and favorite spot for wedding ceremonies and among honeymooners. I glimpsed on two wedding ceremonies held against the backdrop of the Falls and raging river flows! Very romantic! A popular 19th century romantic story claims that Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Jérôme and his bride came to the Niagara Falls for their honeymoon.Click on my album here to see more photos of my Niagara experience with my in-laws and family friends. The wallpaper-quality photos are courtesy of Bong Asuelo.
Lovers, honeymooners, poets, painters, photographers, chroniclers, geologists, and plain sightseers from all over the world come to Niagara Falls to experience its awe and magic. Like this poem written by J.S. Buckingham in 1837, it's indeed a gift from the Great Creator!
To NIAGARA
Thy diadem's an emerald, of the clearest, purest hue,
Set round with waves of snow-white foam,
and spray of feathery dew;
While tresses of the brightest pearls float
o'er thine ample sheet,
And the rainbow lays its gorgeous gems
in tribute at thy feet!
And from that hour to this,
in which I gaze upon thy stream,
From age to age, in Winter's frost
or Summer's sultry beam,
By day, by night, without a pause,
thy waves, with loud acclaim,
In ceaseless sounds have still proclaim'd
the Great Eternal's name!
Thy diadem's an emerald, of the clearest, purest hue,
Set round with waves of snow-white foam,
and spray of feathery dew;
While tresses of the brightest pearls float
o'er thine ample sheet,
And the rainbow lays its gorgeous gems
in tribute at thy feet!
And from that hour to this,
in which I gaze upon thy stream,
From age to age, in Winter's frost
or Summer's sultry beam,
By day, by night, without a pause,
thy waves, with loud acclaim,
In ceaseless sounds have still proclaim'd
the Great Eternal's name!
