The sun has been out for several days and this time of year you have to get out and enjoy it. Vitamin D and all that. The air temps are slowly warming up and it was a good day to go for a drive. We drove over to Lake Huron and up to the Mackinaw Bridge. Heard the ice was stacking up on the beaches of the Straits, the narrow area between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsula,  and it is a pretty blue color up close. All along the way, we could see spots where the ice was broken up and stacking up on the beach. It is a very interesting spring phenomenon. I guess the water’s current, the winds and where the Coast Guard cuts the ice for the lake freighters, all are factors in how the ice stacks up on the beaches this time of year.

The locks in the Soo have opened, this connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron,  and we saw lots of open water so the shipping freighters will be on the lakes now. We didn’t see any this trip. I got up close and videoed the Freighters last year while in the locks, you can see the post here  and learn about the engineering marvel. The locks are two hours north of where we were on this trip.

A very beautiful day to see the “blue” ice. The bitterly cold wind was painful in spots but we found an area to get up close and the ice blocked the wind! Look at the big ice mountain that was at least 40 feet tall and people walked out into the Straits to get photos. Ummm, nope didn’t wanna fall or get wet if the ice wasn’t solid. Another interesting tradition by Cheboygan, Michigan near the Straits,  was the line of old Christmas trees on the ice. My great grandfather told me they did that back in the day so when he drove a team of horses to Mackinac Island he wouldn’t get lost. He told me he did that only once because the ice cracked and he crawled his way to the mainland. I assume the trees are for snowmobilers these days.

Enjoy nature!

Vicki