We arranged for a tour of the prime sites with Bedore Tours ($125 each). Our guide, Edwardo, picked us up at the KOA office so we would not have to worry about finding parking for the Behemoth. There were only two other people on the tour, Pat and Terry from Compton California. Our first stop was Niagara Falls State Park where we picked up our tickets for the Maiden of the Mist boat ride into the falls. We got our first glimpse of the falls from the deck before we descended to board the boat. We were on the second boat of the day and it was not very crowded compared to boats we saw later in the day. So, we had plenty of room to move around. As we approached the Rainbow Falls we were hit by high winds and mist that immediately soaked anything that was exposed outside our supplied ponchos. The force and sound of the thundering falls was incredible. As we passed through the cloud of mist from Rainbow Falls, Bridal Falls came into view and we were surprised to see the large number of sea gulls on the water and shore below the falls in what is apparently a rockery. Then the boat sailed into the mist cloud from the Horseshoe Falls (mostly on the Canadian side). The wind, thundering sound and the sheer quantity of water falling in front of us (over 90% of the Niagara River flows over the Horseshoe Falls) was amazing. Many of the pictures from here are distorted from water on the lens of the iPhone Camera. The boat hung in position below the Horseshoe Falls for several minutes so we could feel the power of the falls before spinning around and heading back to the dock. We disembarked and found our guide. After a brief visit to the observation deck, we loaded back in the van and went down the river to the Devils Whirlpool. The river, about a mile below the falls, makes a 90 degree turn. Over the centuries the water had carved out the corner resulting an area that generates a large slow whirlpool. We then stopped at a Bakery for a snack before heading to Goat Island. On Goat Island we stopped to see the rapids above the Horseshoe Falls before heading for our tour of Cave of the Winds. We took the elevator down to river level where we were given another poncho to wear. We put them on fairly quickly because we were right in the middle of that Sea Gull rockery and wanted to fend off gull poop. We walked the trail to the stairs along the base of Rainbow Falls. The cave that used to go behind Bridle Vail Falls is no longer accessible due to rock collapses. But the stairs take you right into the spray from the Rainbow and Bridle Vail falls. The power of the water was incredible. Both exciting and scary at the same time. We watched the kids plunge into the overspray on the deck and come out soaked even with their ponchos. Being below the lip of the falls and looking up at thousands of gallons of water flowing over the edge was awe inspiring. After we went back up the elevator, we walked over to the Horseshoe Falls overlook and once again were in awe of the sheer amount of water flowing over the falls. That ended our tour with Eduardo and he drove us back to the KOA. Total tour time was about five and a half hours.
