“The grandeur of God reveals itself through simple things” ― Paulo Coelho

 

When my family and I lived in Europe, we traveled everywhere we could, as often as we could. Usually by car, a few times by plane, we visited more than twenty countries and learned more in every way than we ever could have imagined. Actually going to a place and being able to fully experience it — to feel the texture of the land, see the colors and the architecture, hear the sounds, smell the smells, meet the people, eat the foods, speak the language — is crucial to understanding, to having a wide world-view. Travel is important.

We visited common places in Europe, ones we knew our boys’ American schoolmates would ask them about when we returned. Most Americans know Paris and the Eiffel Tower, and Rome and the Coliseum. And though we experienced much more than these European landmarks while in Europe, they were also important to touch and see.

It is similar now that we are back in the United States. Our boys are older now (two teens, one preteen) and they’re catching up on their knowledge of their home country. While they can identify every European country on a blank map, give most currencies used there, and speak many words in several of the European languages, they have a deficit when it comes to the US. And so we’re working hard to help catch them up …

12 States and 2500 Miles

Last week, I wrote about and shared a few photos from our summer road-trip … it was wonderful! As I’m getting through the oodles of photographs I took while we traveled, I’m posting some of my favorites here, place by place, for the next few weeks.

Niagara Falls

Our first stop was Niagara Falls, one of our most important US landmarks, one as American as apple pie.

I visited Niagara Falls many years ago, from the Canadian side and from one of the tour boats. During this visit, I felt awestruck by the sheer power of the Falls. It is reported that at its peak flow 2,832 cubic meters of water go over the falls each second (a good site for more info).

I don’t know if it was because this time, we chose to see the Falls from the American side, which involved lots of walking (which is good for teens to burn off some steam!), but also offered a close-up stand-almost-touching-distance from the water view, but the grandeur of the entire Falls was stunning.

 

And as the sun set, the light caught the water at just the right angle and the Falls became luminous.

The sunset was beautiful, too.

Certainly, Niagara Falls knows how to show off.

Have you visited Niagara Falls? What was your favorite place / way to view the waterfalls?