F is for Falls – #atozchallenge

I love visiting all of the offbeat and quirky places when I’m out on the road. But, I must confess that I am also addicted to the beauty of nature in all its forms.

One of the more splendid beautiful objects of nature is the waterfall. Every state in the country has waterfalls, those though some are more magnificent than others.

Like millions of other tourists, I have most certainly been to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side and to American Falls on the American side. These are beyond spectacular!

Though the roar of Niagara Falls will always be in the back of my mind, there are others that I’ve drawn me closer in that I have enjoyed.

When I made my first trip to Portland Oregon in 2011, one of my main objectives besides visiting voodoo doughnut, was to visit Multnomah Falls. Of course you know that one! That’s that beautiful tall waterfall with a bridge going in front of it that shows up all over the place.

When I first saw photograph of that waterfall I had to research and find out what it’s name was and where it was and when I realized it was in Oregon it became the top of my list to get to and I didn’t make it.

The wonderful thing about going to Multnomah is that there are numerous other waterfalls along the highway before you get there. So, along the way I did drop by to see a couple of them. In their own right, these are beautiful waterfalls.

Over the years and over the miles on my road trips, I have made it a point to visit waterfalls and in some cases have just come across some.

One of those that I made a point to get to was the beautiful waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park. The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River are magnificent. Of course, this canyon in Yellowstone was forged by the river.  The walls of the canyon a filled with stone that is yellow and this is where the actual name of the park comes from.

Yellowstone has numerous waterfalls, but none as glorious as this one.  Indeed, this has to be one of America’s greatest waterfalls to visit.  I certainly was in awe.

Another of the classic waterfalls that I have enjoyed thoroughly is right here in my own state of Kentucky. Cumberland Falls is down in Southern Kentucky near the Tennessee border. This lovely waterfall is similar to Niagara Falls, but of course, not nearly is huge. The falls themselves are beautiful, but this waterfall is also known for its famed “Moonbow”, something which I have yet to witness.  Sometime….

One more waterfall of note today must include in this is in the desert of Arizona of all places. This waterfall is typically only visible in the springtime as the remainder of the year there’s typically nothing but a trickle. I am referring to the Grand Falls of the Little Colorado River. This large stairstep waterfall is located east of the Grand Canyon near Cameron, AZ. The Little Colorado River always flows red because of all of the red sandstone. When there are heavy rains in the spring, the falls can be seen in their magnificence. As a tour guide in Flagstaff in the 1980s, I was able to visit Grand Falls numerous times. And I’ve been able to pick up a couple of wonderful photos of it.

Most of the waterfalls I’ve noted above are not in the middle of towns, but on the outskirts are far removed. There are, however, some waterfalls that can be seen within towns. Perhaps one of the most interesting is the town of Chagrin Falls in Ohio. This town is south of Cleveland and actually has two waterfalls flowing right through the middle of town. You can stand on one bridge and look at one fall to your left and one to the right. The town is a little tourist attraction because of the falls and has restaurants that reside right on the edge of the falls to where you can eat and look at the beauty of the falls. On our visit in 2016 we did not have time to sit down and eat there but we still got to enjoy the waterfall.

Another set of lovely waterfalls in the middle of a town are those in Idaho Falls, Idaho. From the waterfalls you can actually view the Idaho Falls Temple of the Mormon church but also enjoy the lovely view of the falls from the pathways to go along it.

Heading east from Idaho Falls to Montana, there are the famed Great Falls of the Missouri River located in, you got it, Great Falls, MT. Back in the days when Lewis and Clark we’re traversing the Missouri River, they came across the falls and all of their glory but now the falls have been dammed up a bit. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful sight to visit.

The same Lewis and Clark start of their adventure on another river waterfall in Kentucky and Indiana as they passed by the falls of the Ohio River. Today, these falls or not so exciting to see as they probably were back in the days of Lewis and Clark.

For the real fan of waterfalls, perhaps the best thing to do is go into Hamilton, Ontario northwest of Niagara Falls. There are a number of waterfalls that feed into the Niagara River eventually. One can walk literally to the side of many of these waterfalls and look down. There is Tews Falls and a couple of others that were very nice and easily can all be seen the same day as one sees Niagara Falls.

I have yet to hit many of the huge waterfalls in California. I have missed some of the other big ones in the United States and Canada as well, but I’ve been fortunate enough to see a number of them. In the following photos you will see a few other waterfalls including one in Alaska and some from other points across the United States.

When you are on the back roads of America, always keep your eye open for a sign to a waterfall. You’ll be glad that you did.