A boat trip on Lake Superior would have felt nice today with the cooler temperatures coming from the water surface to provide some relief from the warm day. Raspberry Island Lighthouse was ready for use by the end of 1862 but when more lighthouse assistant keepers were stationed on the island, the Lighthouse Service remodeled the building from the ground up in 1906 using parts of the older structure.
Raspberry Island Lighthouse
The wind was blowing a little stronger today which can cause a surf on lakes and those waves can carve out sea caves in the softer sandstone bedrock. Waves can thunder and boom in the sea caves when the surf is heavy and the Ojibwe tribe interpreted this noise as the sound of evil spirits and may be how Devil’s Island received it name.
Sea Caves on Devil’s Island
The rain today has caused some flooding and some might feel a boat could be handy instead of a car, unless it is like this Lake Superior shipwreck which isn’t too seaworthy anymore.
Lake Superior Shipwreck
In 1884, Congress created the Labor Day holiday, which came about because workers felt they were spending too many hours (60 to 70) on the job. The holiday today for many people marks the end of summer with outings and barbecuing, but also Labor Day sales so retail workers end up working more on the holiday instead of having the day off. So maybe we should get back to the original spirit of the holiday by not working and getting away from the daily grind by disconnecting from electronics while enjoying some of nature’s beauty.
Mouth of the Baptism River
Although it was above freezing today, it felt cold with the wind so it wasn’t a day to go boating on a Sunday afternoon, especially since many of the boats are still frozen in ice.
Frozen in Place
I spotted an icicle on the corner of my house which was about four feet long and while it appeared super long to me, it paled compared to the ice formations on the shores of Lake Superior.
Long Icicles
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
The morning started out rather chilling with the sub-zero temperature, even without being near the ice caves. Ice is being to form again near the caves, after the wind blew away the ice layer that had been created, but it is still not stable enough for people walk across yet.
Icy Cliffs
At the end of the icy tunnel, you could look out to see other people walking on the ice. This year, the ice caves have not been open because the ice isn’t safe, especially since last week the wind blew all the ice away and it is open water where these hikers were standing in past years.
Peering Out an Icy Tunnel
The wind during the last snow storm whipped some areas bare and piled it high in others, sometimes making it look like waves on a lake rolling in instead of snow drifts. By the end of January, seeing waves on a lake not frozen would be a welcome sight.
Waves Rolling In
