I have hiked to see ice formations and in my much younger days, it was a treat when a new smooth layer of ice formed on the creek for ice skating adventures. But in my older years, my car and I do not like that smooth ice that causes too much slipping and sliding. The frozen tower of ice was hollow inside as you hear the water running inside before flowing out on top of the ice.
Tower of Ice
The highway department has been busy thawing out frozen culverts where the melting snow is causing water to run over the road. But those culverts don’t look as interesting or as pretty as these near Houghton Falls, where when this ice melts, it will flow into Lake Superior.
Frozen Culverts
The ice mixed with the snow made some slippery conditions today. I rather see ice on a planned event, like visiting the ice caves and formations along Lake Superior, than on the sidewalk and roads. This year the surface ice of Lake Superior near the Meyer Beach sea caves still has not been stable for visitors to walk on to view the ice formations. The strong winds keep pulling the ice layer away from shore.
Frozen Steps
The day was cold but even though the temperature was barely above zero, the sunshine melted some of the icicles, causing them to fall off the roof. The sidewalk had pieces of the icicles but at least none of them were as huge as these on the shore of Lake Superior since it would be hard to open the door with those pieces blocking the way.
Large Icicle
Although the temperature never climbed above freezing today, the sun was strong enough to do some melting and causing some icicles to form on the edge of the roofs. They may be interesting to look at but I rather gaze on some spring flowers instead.
More Icicles
The ice on the roads and sidewalks were not fun to deal with today. If I have to see ice, viewing ice formations in caves would be a more preferable option.
Ice Hanging On
Old Man Winter might be losing his grip as only patches of snow remain, but I’m sure he will try to take a few more bites before spring arrives.
Old Man Winter
Many people are headed to the most northern city in Wisconsin with a post office to visit the ice caves near Cornucopia and by 8 am, a thousand visitors have started the hike across the ice this morning and will only get busier this weekend with the short window this year to see the caves. (There were 5,000 people by 1 pm).
When it comes to nature and beautiful scenery, I have to admit I don’t like to share the experience with thousands of people as it gets way too crowded for this country gal. So yesterday I took my mom to the Devil’s Punchbowl to see some ice formations (and even there, we weren’t alone but a less than a dozen people is better than thousands).
And while it didn’t take miles of walking to reach the destination, it did involve some slippery slopes and 111 or so very icy stair steps but we made it down and back without landing on our butts (but one college student wasn’t as lucky).
I normally try to take nature scenes without people, but then you don’t always realize the scale without a reference point (as my mom picks on me for shooting a very close up tickle of water running down the driveway because it looked like a huge river) so this shot has my mom in the picture for scale.
Devil’s Punchbowl Ice Formations
