We recently spent a wonderful three weeks up north. Prior to our last week there, we were treated to 4" of fresh snow, which really made everything pretty and which provided some great opportunities for skiing.
I'm pretty sure that the snow is on its way out now, though. Temperatures were trending upward the day we left. Although one of my little bears was covered at one point, I'll bet he is free of any of the white stuff by now.
Ice on the lake was really interesting. We think that it initially froze over when the lake was higher. When Xcel Energy started taking more water for energy production, the lake surely dropped under the ice. We saw evidence of this in a variety of ways. One of the most fascinating to us was the way in which the ice curved down, rather than breaking down, under the bridge. I don't suppose the pictures will do it justice, but the result was a kind of saddle shape. It was really glassy and curved down in both directions, across both the length and width of the bridge.
Where the ice did break, we could see how thick it was, on the order of 10" or more. Weather had smoothed it, and there were streaks of air in it, but it was the prettiest pale blue color you can imagine.
This may have been the best time so far that we have had at our place during winter months. When we return, spring will be showing itself. In the meantime, it will be fun to remember the fun we had, and the beautiful snow and ice we enjoyed. Here is a final picture demonstrating how deep the snow can really be up there. (Or maybe the subject of this photo is trying to play tricks on us!!)
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