Winter has arrived

A picture is worth a thousand words. This shot from the cam at Northern State bank
in Ashland shows the frozen Chequamegon Bay on Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.
Winter has arrived!  A huge snow desert waiting for the ice fisherman on a sunny day.

Where is the deep snow?

That time again!

The wonderful Lake Effect snows dumped on Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. These shots provided by UW Madison are so interesting. No shortage of snow this November on the south shore.

Annual Fall Color Touring

It's mandatory in my life to do Fall Color Touring each fall in Minnesota. No wildlife was seen this year, not a moose or even a deer. But plenty of nice color on the back roads. I wonder if anyone can guess this road?

BIG Leisure Craft

Not  sure who was in the harbor last night but it was a massive leisure craft!  You don't see a boat like that everyday in Grand Marais.

Fishermans Picnic weekend time again!

Time again for the summer time big Festival. Great fun! 

Northshore fun in June

The rivers are still flowing strong on the Northshore due all the rain lately.

A bit of fog as well on these humid days. This shot taken at SugarLoaf Cove.

Always amusing are the toilets on the Superior Hiking Trail. You can joke about them but when needed after miles of walking they look pretty good.

A memorable Memorial Day Weekend

Ice in Duluth

Slowly Lake Superior gives up her icy grip.

Mother of Lakes

In keeping with this weekends Game of Thrones theme, the Mother of all Lakes is still keeping
her icy grip on the Northland and refuses to yield. Even the Ice Road in Bayfield over to Madeline
Island is still open and just set a record for longest period of time open in history. A ship took nine days to cross the lake with aid of a ice breaker. Normal time is mere hours, perhaps 24-30 hours depending on the ship. When will the ice go out this year? 

The never ending winter of 2013-14

But there are positives such as spring skiing into April and a incredible waterfall season when it all melts sometime next June.  And a new hobby of mine, finding snow on Memorial Day weekend
on hikes. I'm guessing we shall find snow again this coming Memorial Day holiday.

Who got the big snow?

It's Fourth of July in February!

Bayfield has a unexpected boom this year due to the Polar Vortex. You can walk to the Sea Caves this year. Thousands are coming to the area to do just that. It's a influx of tourists not normally seen in February. Motels are full, restaurants are busy. The Chamber of Commerce said it's a 5 million dollar boom. There are visitors from all over the world. Word of mouth and postings on Social Media are fueling the interest. Stories on the Weather Channel and Nightly News. Pictures in Newspapers around the Midwest. The above shot taken by the National Park Service shows just hundreds of people treking to and from the caves. I did the trek in the 90's and it was never like this!


We have some real gems right in our own backyard.

Apostle Island Sled Dog Race Feb. 2nd in Bayfield.

http://bayfield.org/aisdr Ice Caves are also open! Park at Meyers Beach parking lot north of Bayfield off of HWY 13. This doesn't happen every year!