Updated 06/16/2012 12:09 AM
Nik Wallenda Completes Historic Walk
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NIAGARA FALLS, ON — In just 25 minutes, daredevil Nik Wallenda fulfilled a life-long dream: walking 1,500 feet on a high wire from Niagara Falls, New York and into Niagara Falls, Canada.
Just getting permission to attempt this stunt wasn't easy. It took two years of negotiations and $1.3 million to make this happen for the seventh generation member of the Flying Wallendas.
The possible drop was 173 feet. He wore a tether as part an agreement with ABC, and while some thought that took away from the drama, for most, it had no effect on the experience.
Wallenda has made longer tight rope walks before. He's gone across a tight rope on a bike. He proposed to his wife on one, but says this stunt was the most challenging.
"What was going through my mind? I was very focused. The wind was definitely something that you could not train for. It was coming from every which way, but you know what, I made it through it," Wallenda said. "And the mist was powerful. It was in my eyes. There were a couple times I had to blink so I could see, but again, praise God, here I am, in one piece."
Thousands of people turned out on both the American and Canadian side of the Falls. They got what they came out here to see.