Chasing Waterfalls

My alarm went off at four in the morning, and I jumped out of bed in my DC pajamas and turned it off. Still in the bed, my wife rolled over and groaned.

"I'll get the kid," I said, and left the bedroom.

Paul's room is down the hall. I entered the room, where Rosie and Butters were in bed with him. Both of the dogs popped awake when I came in. Paul did not; I had to shake him gently.

"Hop up, buddy," I said. "Today's the day. Your mom's bus trip to Niagara Falls."

Every now and again, Michelle's company has a bus trip for morale purposes. We've been to Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware in the past. This trip was to Niagara Falls.

"Daddy, can I have another Slim Jim?" Paul asked from across the aisle.

I passed him one. I'd learned from our last trip, and packed up a huge bag of snacks and water bottles. "We just left Pennsylvania," I said. "I saw the sign. We're in New York state now. You're going to like Niagara Falls, little man."

"What is it really?"

"It's some huge waterfalls. They're awesome; you're going to love it. And there are three islands up there---They're on the south end of Goat Island, and they're called Three Sisters Islands. They're said to be haunted by Native American spirits, so we're going to check that out, as well."

"Cool," said Paul. "How long until we get there?"
"Well, I'm glad you brought your tablet. Gonna be a couple of hours. I'll be looking out the window for Bigfoot, the Coney Island Creature....What other cryptids are in New York? Couple of sewergators, maybe."

We got off the bus about ten AM, after a four-hour ride straight through. Immediately I felt the mist from the falls on my face as I walked along the sidewalk. The nearest of the falls was at least a quarter-mile from me, but I could feel the water droplets in the air.

"Everything's wet here," I observed.

"I think we should start by getting something to eat," said Michelle. "We never did get breakfast."

"According to the map, there's food right over there."

I slung my small pack over my shoulder. I'd come prepared---My usual go bag was in the bus, with most of my stuff in it. Not wanting to carry the whole thing around all day, I'd used a trick I'd discovered on a trip to Georgia a few years ago. I'd taken a much smaller shoulder bag, dropped a map, camera, and EMF detector into it, and packed it inside the go bag. When we'd arrived, I'd pulled the small bag out of the big one, and only carried it around. I was prepared without having to haul a lot of heavy stuff all day.

We walked along the railing, by the falls. I said,"Look, kiddo. See over there? That's Canada. If you jumped in the water and swam over there---Don't do it because you would drown, but if you did, you wouldn't be in America anymore. You'd be in Canada."

"I want to learn to talk Canada," said Paul.

"Well, they speak English over there, but also French. You'd have to learn French."

"Oui."

It always amazes me how travel works. Like, all you have to do is make the arrangements and then be patient, and you can just be someplace. Someplace you've heard about your whole life. Like Niagara Falls. 

We passed a statue of Nikola Tesla. I said,"Check it out, Pipper. That's Nikola Tesla, one of the best scientists ever. He invented an earthquake machine once. If anyone knew how to find aliens, it was Tesla."

"Cool."

We walked over and got our food, sitting at an outdoor picnic area. I had a hot dog, and Paul had a thick pizza. He tossed a piece of crust to the little birds hopping around, and they started picking at it.

"Birds in places like this get used to humans," I said. "They're not scared of much. Look, there's a pigeon. They're ballsy city birds."

"What do they do?" Paul asked.

"Mug you for that pizza you're eating."

He tossed another piece of crust to the pigeon, who hopped over and began pecking at it. Paul watched with some fascination as the birds gathered for food; he wasn't the only one feeding them.

"I want to try the Cave of the Winds," Michelle said. "Apparently you can get right up under the waterfalls."

"Sounds good to me," I said. "I want to get to Three Sisters Islands sometime today, but it can be whenever."

We stood up and picked up our trash.

"Nice meeting you, birds," said Paul.

The Cave of the Winds isn't a cave in the strictest sense. We took an elevator to a tunnel, walked out, and put on some cheap ponchos handed out from a booth. Then we walked down a path to a series of stairs and decks that were, essentially, under Niagara Falls, exactly where you could get splashed as you walk, in case that was a priority.

I was soaked to the knees within the first few yards. Ordinarily I'd be annoyed that my sneakers got wet, but I'd expected this. No point visiting Niagara Falls and attempting to stay dry. I was kind of glad I had my pack under my poncho.

Paul, however, was loving it. He was racing into the wettest, splashiest areas and laughing like hell. 

We walked up a set of stairs---I took a moment to wonder how often they had to replace wet and rotted pieces---And we were standing on a huge deck, one corner of which was more or less under the falls entirely.

Paul ran over and stood underneath it, getting drenched. I could barely see him under the cascading water. He emerged a moment later, pulling off his poncho.

"This is going to take forever to dry," he said.

"Maybe not that long," I said. "Some of your back didn't even get wet."

He handed me his poncho.

"Hold this," he said, and ran right back under.

A moment later, he was back, this time soaked completely. He strode out of the falls and said,"Can we get more pizza?"

"Next stop---Three Sisters Island."

The trolley pulled up at the little booth, and we got off. I was saying,"I don't get it. Everything else is outrageously priced here, because it's a tourism spot. Five dollars for water. Ten for a hot dog. Sixty for admission to the Cave of the Winds. But an all-day pass for the trolley? Three bucks will do."

There was a pretty stone bridge going over to Three Sisters Island. We walked across it, Paul and I looking over the edge and into the rushing water. And then we were over on the island. which was nice and grown up with trees and plants.

I got out my EMF detector and turned it on. I'd brought the travel model, the little all-in-one with a thermometer included, which makes it easier to carry than a whole bag full of equipment. I got nothing, no EMF readings. The temperature was seventy-nine, which felt about right.

"There are snakes down there," a couple warned us as we passed an observation platform. 

Niagara Falls. Slowly I turned....Step by step, inch by inch....I looked down at the platform, and there were three fat gray snakes curled on the the rocks.

"Holy shit. Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"

"They're not poisonous."

"I'll never get close enough to find out."

"Cool!" said Paul, leaning over to look at the snakes. One of them crawled in between the rocks, hiding itself.

I collared Paul and moved back, checking with my EMF detector. Nothing. We walked down the path, across to the second island. Two snakes sat on rocks below the bridge, in full view.

"This whole goddamn island is infested with snakes," I said.

I skirted the edge, staying away from anywhere the snake could, you know, reach up and grab me. Still no readings on the EMF; it was a pretty peaceful place.

"I think we're on the second island now," I said. "These are said to be haunted by a Native American ghost. The Iroquois believed there was a Mighty Thunder spirit who lurked on this island."

"I think we're on the third island," said Paul.

I checked the map. "You may be right."

A moment later, the path ran out, ending in a small observation point. I stopped, set my EMF detector down, and looked out over the water.

"It's beautiful," said Michelle.

"It is," I agreed.

"What's that over there?" she asked.

I glanced north. "Looks like a hydroelectric dam. I can't be sure, but it's probably what Dad would tell me."

"I thought it might be."

My EMF detector was registering a few flickers. I thought it through for a second, and then decided that an electrical field was not the wildest discovery just downstream from a hydroelectric dam. 

And then it all fell into place.

"Come on, let's go back," said Paul, walking back up the path.

Michelle and I followed. I said,"So I can see where some of the ghost stories come from. Old Native American legends originally. Then, as people began investigating....Well, EMFs and orbs are not too unlikely on an island covered in waterfall mist, just down from a hydroelectric dam."

"You're right," said Michelle. "That makes sense."

"Great trip."
"Daddy! Come on!" Paul called back. "We can get on the next trolley!"

The bus was headed south on the way home. Paul was across the aisle from me, watching his tablet, and I was looking out the window, watching the state of New York go by.

I felt good. Last summer, I'd been something of a mess at the tail end of the COVID crisis, and I'd spent a lot of the summer trying to get my act back together. This summer, things were better. I was feeling good about myself, more confident, and more able to do what I do.

I saw a bright flash in the distance through the left bus window. I reached across the aisle. "Paul! Paul Paul Paul!"

He looked up at me.

I pointed. "Fireworks!"
He turned and looked out the window, and smiled. Bright red and blue fireworks were going off over the mountains, off in the distance. The show went on quite a while as we passed along the highway, and we watched.

Then something caught my attention out my window. I glanced out, spotting a deer along the side of the highway. She looked at the bus for a moment, then turned and dashed off into the woods, gone. I was the only person who'd seen her.

I smiled.

There was always something interesting to discover, no matter what. I was glad I'd seen the deer, fleeting, by the highway. There was something about it, something....peaceful, somehow.