Thursday, September 19, 2013

Chippewa Falls

Our next stop on Allen's Waterfall Tour was Chippewa Falls. The Trans-Canadian Highway crosses right over the Chippewa River, so the falls are visible from the road. And, they were totally worth our time to stop and explore. 

The rocks in this part of Canada are mainly granite - much of it being a beautiful orangey-red color. It's amazing to me that the rocks are so different from the gray limestone of the Straits of Mackinac - just an hour or two south. 

  The trails along the side of the falls were absolutely breathtaking; like something out of a movie. Plus, it was sprinkling the afternoon we were there, so everything had an greenish ethereal glow.

 

The falls were lovely as well. I had fun playing with the shutter speed on my camera.


In a few spots we were able to walk out into the rocks. My daughter was very frustrated that we wouldn't let her swim, but was happier when her father walked her out into some of the slower moving water. Luckily she didn't see the folks jumping off rocks into one of the pools upstream. We wondered how they knew how deep it was. At each of the falls we visited there were signs warning visitors about how quickly the flow rates of the falls can change. Apparently, many of the falls are used by hydro-electric plants to generate electricity, and if they open up the gates, the amount of water flowing over that falls can increase dramatically in the blink of an eye.

Such a beautiful spot... 

3 comments:

kate said...

Hydro dams and managing water flow for recreational use is very common in Canada - we have many on our rivers here on Vancouver Island. The locals generally know where the deeper and slower water is. That said, there are fatalities on the island rivers almost every year from people who underestimated the water.

Debi said...

Looks like a fun trip!

pam said...

Sure do wish I were tucked away in your suitcase! What a fabulous adventure. Lucky girl!