The snow and ice of winter does not stop all adventurers from taking hikes to waterfalls and other scenic points. Although the normal swirl of foamy water from the small waterfall doesn’t exist with the icy cover. And while some may do some hiking this weekend, I would wait until the following day so hopefully the trails are packed down so I wouldn’t need snowshoes to explore the area.
Winter at Echo Dells
At 1013.5 feet, the reigning “Queen of the Lakes” is the Paul R. Tregurtha and she came through the Duluth canal and under the lift bridge for last time this shipping season. With the Soo Locks closing next week, many of the vessels are beginning their winter lay up in various ports around the Great Lakes. The Paul R. Tregurtha docked at the Superior Midwest Energy Terminal this afternoon for the winter until the Soo locks reopens on March 25. A tugboat had to sweep ice away from the dock area for the freighter as it neared the dock.
Winter Layup Time
The day was warmer than yesterday, but it was still below freezing as winter will keep its hold on the season for several more months preventing the early wildflowers, like these hepaticas, from making their appearance.
White Wildflowers Winter Delayed
This old silo looks cold and other than providing some wind protection, the cement blocks probably didn’t warm up too much in the frigid sunshine today.
Cold Old Silo
The sunshine today was a bit deceiving this afternoon as the temperature dropped instead rising. The cold winter temperatures, like the predicted below zero for tonight, prevent any flower blooming outside. Old seed pods or dry flowers are about that I can find if not buried under the snow. The cattail seed pods have managed to stay above the snow so far this year.
Winter Cattails
The trees and weeds look naked now that the snow finally blow or melted off of them. The filtered sun revealed the white landscape with the only bright color coming from the blue sky.
White Landscape
The day remained cloudy most of this Sunday, giving the snow a duller white color without the sun sparkling off the snowflakes. St Mary’s Orthodox Church in Cornucopia was founded in 1909 by Eastern European immigrants who settled in Northern Wisconsin because of the promise of land ownership and employment in the logging industry. Although many families migrated to other parts of the region when the lumber era ended.
Sunday White
It was a nice October day when I hiked to Lost Creek Falls this past autumn. It would be interesting to see what it looks like now in the winter although the trek the trail to the falls would be more difficult to made in the deep snow and slippery ice.
Autumn Waterfall
With the rain and warmer temperatures earlier in the week, the ice that was forming on some of the shores of Lake Superior have melted. But unfrozen beaches will not last all winter and will soon be iced over again until spring.
Unfrozen Beach
The peaceful low flow of this waterfall in the fall doesn’t have the roar of the springtime run off. There was very little dripping from the snow melting in temperatures just barely above freezing today since not a spring melt.
Quiet Flow
