Watch CBS News

Jack's Journal: Niagara Falls

CBS News producer Jack Halsbond is behind the wheel of The Early Show's Winnebago Destination, traveling the country in July and August as part of the "Great American Vacation" giveaway road trip. Read his Web-exclusive road diary.

Niagara Falls was a spectacular backdrop to a magnificent morning highlighted by a full rainbow that appeared from out of the mist, crowning our vacation giveaway with beauty and wonder.

On hand at Niagara Falls are Park Ambassadors, there to help with any questions about the Falls that visitors may have, with their assistance you'll have the best experience when visiting this magnificent natural wonder.

Geologically speaking, the Falls are relatively young: they date back to the last ice age, roughly 12,000 years ago, a wink of the eye, if you will. They were formed when mammoth ice melts at the end of that ice age gorged the valley while creating the Great Lakes.

Our thanks extend to Niagara Falls Park Ambassadors Derek Presti and Dan Buttery, who met us the day before and were responsible for getting our Winnebago down close to the horseshoe for our incredible shots. Thanks also to Peter Moriarity, another Park Ambassador who helped handle the crowds Thursday morning.

The Falls lie between the United States and Canada. The Horseshoe Falls, where our Great American Vacation was located, are Canadian, although about two-thirds of the horseshoe is actually on American soil, or water as it were.

I owe a large atta-girl to both Clarise Phelps and Chris D'Aloise from the Niagara Seneca Casino, located just on the other side of Goat Island, across from the Crowne Plaza in Niagara Falls, NY. The casino stands out as a hot spot of fun and games of chance. Chris and Clarise "gamely" helped me and seemed to have a ball doing so. Thank you, ladies.

We headed north to Niagara Falls from Charleston, South Carolina and didn't stop until we hit the home of the original hot chicken wings, The Anchor Bar, on the corner of North and Main in the football-crazed city of Buffalo, NY.

As we maneuvered our 40 foot Winnebago into the Downtown Holiday Inn, there were a few anxious moments when I realized that the parking lot at the Downtown Holdiay Inn was filled and I would have to back out. My hero of the day, Harry Flak, the hotel manager came to the rescue. With the able assistance of an anonymous fellow traveler, Harry stopped the traffic on Delaware Avenue, allowing me to back out and secure parking on the street.

It was then onward to the Anchor Bar and a fun-filled evening; Ivano Toscani told us the tale of how the original Buffalo wings were born. By the way, in Buffalo, they are simply chicken wings. And real Buffoloans know that Jack Kemp is a quarterback, not a politician and that driving in snow is fun! Ivano appeared on our show with Dave and gave a hands-on demonstration that left plenty of wings available for the audience and crew to sample. A week later I'm still reheating mine and lovin' it. Bravisimo Iavano.

From the shore of the mighty Niagara River flowing down from Lake Erie, we bade farewell to the natural splendor of The Falls and headed our Winnebago south, way south, down to South Padre Island, off the Gulf of Mexico.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.