Devil's Hole State Park

About 90 minutes into my journey to Niagara Falls, in the midst of a conversation with a relative, I blurted out, "Oh my gosh, that's stunning!". At a turn in the road on the Niagara Scenic Parkway, the river came into view. Turquoise and aquamarine, hints of teal and blue-green with white caps from rapids in a gently curving line along the edge of the road: the Niagara River. 

At the first exit, I pulled off into Devil's Hole State Park. I had no idea this park even existed; it was just gorgeous from the road and had to be seen. Piper and I opted for a quick walk and bathroom breaks. Along the ledge there was a metal railing that even the dog stopped to look over. It's like the water was calling.

The Niagara River, from the trail at the top of
the gorge in Devil's Hole State Park.

The hydroelectric dam on the Niagara River.

The gorge steps trail looked like quite the adventure, but I wasn't sure I was ready to go down so many steep stairs while they were wet. This also led to my first science question of the trip: 

How can you tell if it is a canyon, gorge, or valley?

Some Internet research later, and I created this visual aid to help figure it out:

While this stop was unscheduled, and the name of the first park we vsited was less than auspicious, it was exactly what I needed in that moment - a pause for complete and utter beauty. 

More on the other parks from day one soon! Keep coming back.