In the spring 0f 2015, on our way to visit relatives in Michigan, we stopped for a brief visit to Niagra Falls. Looking straight down from the Canadian side, we could see an ant-like crowd of people in yellow ponchos, waiting for a tour boat to take them to the base of the falls. A rainbow created by the sun shining through the mist from the river framed the scene.

The winter had been unusually cold and snowy. Even in early May, much of the river bank was rimmed in white, and giant boulders of ice still sat at the base of the falls.