Water and Ice

I really don't know why water and ice is so attractive to some photographers.

If I go somewhere, I am always hoping to see a pond or a stream. I love them.
Big lakes are incredible too. But I don't live near any. However, I think a few trips along Lake Michigan or Lake Superior in the winter would be great fun.

That is if one could take the cold weather.

Mirror Lake was interesting and I will definitely want to go back in the spring and visit one little known place. In fact I am not even going to mention the name of the place or how to find it.

Pewitt's Nest used to be a pleasure to go to. Now you have to visit it during a time that normal people wouldn't show up. In the summer people crowd to it.

This place did not disappoint.  And now that we've found it, we'll leave it to local knowledge to keep it somewhat quiet.
It isn't easy to get to, it is pretty much unmarked, and if you are resourceful, you could figure out where it is.

In the shot below can you see the person? She is one of the avid hikers and part of our 'gang'. She is in the lower left portion of the pano shot.

We were just...Wowed.

A natural gorge where none seemed to be. Hidden in a forest.
Naturally with the sandstone and limestone formations, the water drips off the sides of the gorge and forms fantastic ice flows.

Last week we had days of warm weather and we were pretty sure that no ice formations would be left.
However.
Looking at these indeed they must have been massive, monstrous!

It seems the mostly melted and then were frozen when the next storm moved in, so there was new and old ice formations mixed in together.

We'd found an 'ultimate' ice gorge full of formations.

And because it would be nice to get an idea of the size of the ice, here is my friend climbing along the icy precipice to get a different view.
I was not that brave.

Here are my friends exploring also.

One might wonder about the camouflage colored clothes. If you want outdoor gear that is warm and will stand up to hard hiking you seek the sales rack for hunting clothing. It is pretty simple. Besides it is fun to 'hide' from each other!

We found open water and the ones with tripods split up each of us hunting for a neater spot to grab some shots of the icy waters.

We haven't all yet traded our shots with each other so here are the ones I took.
Yes, we generally share our photo adventures with each other so we can look at how each of us saw our adventure.

I find that interesting because not everyone has the same perspective on things.

After a snack for the kids we headed back. The sun was breaking from the clouds and we still had to visit Parfrey's Glen.

Dells of Eau Claire

I woke up at 5:30 am. Motel rooms aren't the best places to get a lot of sleep. I suppose some folks can sleep in but I can't.

I had to be at work at midnight and I had a four hour drive home yet. I read the weather report and noted the time of sunrise.
Then I decided to see how far away the Dells of Eau Claire were from where I was staying.

I'd have to drive 30 minutes north east to get there. I sat for a moment and then went for a coffee in the motel lounge. The gentleman at the check in desk and I talked for a few moments. He told me that his son's Boy Scout group work on the Yellow Trail each summer. He said I should go to the 'Dells'.

Off I went. It is fairly rare for me to go somewhere like the Dells, so I thought, why not?

I was not disappointed.

And this sign is not kidding.

I found a place to park. I was the only person in the area. I thought I'd best stay with the well traveled areas as no one knew where I'd gone.
I followed the worn trail through the snow...

And... was wowed.
These shots were taken with my cheap little cell phone camera.
I felt like I'd hit the mother lode of coolness and ice.
Indeed and I was there all alone to enjoy it.

I'd been here this past August and it had been so crowded with people that I really didn't get a good shot of the Eau Claire River. However, at dawn with the temperatures hovering about 19 degrees above the water, there was not another soul to be found.

A note here. Rivers and Ice are dangerous. Wandering around on ice that has fast running water under it is not a smart thing to do. I stuck to safe areas only. If I fell in, no one would be there to rescue me or call for help.

I had a hard time deciding which lens to use. I wanted to get the full scope of the place, yet wanted to get the fantastic details of the ice formations also.

I was so delighted with what I was seeing that I wanted to jump up and down and do a little dance.
I found myself holding my breath and enjoying the pounding noise of the river.

Okay.
I did do a Happy Dance.
And no one saw it.

Then the sun came through the clouds and hit the water on the other side of the bridge.

Stunning.

It was magic.
And yes there was another little Happy Dance.

I was not going to regret any loss of sleep or extra travel time.

I decided to cross the bridge and take a quick look at the other side.

I was not disappointed at all. However I knew that I was running out of time and had to head towards the south west pretty soon.
I really did not want to leave.
I wanted to see what the day would bring here.

Would there be ice?

We got going in pretty good time on Saturday morning. The girls wanted to do chores so Daryl and the girls stayed to help Rich while I ran with Amanda to town to get a few items from the store.

By the time we got back the girls had not only done chores but had also been sledding.
The snow was in perfect condition for sledding at high rates of speed until bail out time when they came up to the electric fence.

The morning talk was regarding the ice cave. Would there be a formation? I certainly hoped so. Which route would we take? I explained that we'd take the snowmobile trail route. I thought it might be easier if we went east along the creek and then up and over the cropland to drop down into the next valley.

We had to make a quick stop at the ice wall.  Some young lady had to give her mom and this old mom a slight OMG moment. I think I resisted yelling "BE careful!"

However, what kid can pass up a good scary slide down a wall of ice into a creek, right?

It is very rare that I have someone along that will take photos. Generally it is just Morris and myself taking a hike. However I must thank Daryl Clausen from the bottom of my heart for taking these shots and sharing them with me. Even better, allowing me to use them in this blog.

Here we are hiking in The First Valley.

I got caught having a conversation with Morris. He felt pretty sure that I was carrying a treat in one of my pockets and that he should pose for me.

And apparently this is what my backside looks like while carrying Mr. Morris.
He tapped me on the leg a few times and asked for a lift.

Daryl was able to capture some incredible shots of a doe that was grazing in the corn field. Every once in a while he'd hurry on ahead and I'd see him pointing his Olympus at us. Actually, he is one photographer that doesn't make me cringe at the thought of me in a photo of his. I don't like being on the other side of the lens generally but he seems to make me look pretty decent.

Long walk. Long talk.
We stopped for a breather and to chat about something.
Daryl captured Amanda and I.

We crossed the ridge and started down into the next valley on an old logging trail.

And then...
We were not disappointed.

Daryl and his girls swiftly descended into the ravine to thoroughly explore the magic of the ice cave. However the cave had been occupied recently by raccoon or 'possum recently. There was scat on the sandy floor of the ledge.

The girls explored the shelf behind the ice.

And Grace got this shot after she climbed out.

No, the Ice Cave did not disappoint.

Scout and Morris kept everyone in line by following us and keeping a close eye on us.

Morris took it upon himself to show Scout the best nasty things in the woods to eat. Good ol' Morris. Always willing to corrupt a new friend.

Last word about the 'Ice Cave'.
I highly doubt that any of the family owners even realize this Ice formation is back there. They don't hike, they don't hike in the winter, and they rarely visit the property at all except once in a while briefly during the summer months.

I told this to Daryl and Amanda as we started climbing down the ravine into The Lost Valley.

The Lost Valley and The Second Night Hike...
to be continued....

Morris Out and About ~by Morris

We love winter. She loves winter. I like going hiking with Her on the days when it isn't too cold. Indeed She once tried a coat for me, but I destroyed after snowplowing and then going through burdock and all sorts of things that clung to the jacket.

Of course there was the 'wardrobe' failure too as I dismantled another coat She tried.

Now She watches the temperatures a bit more closely and we don't go together on really cold days.
Besides,  I can't seem to stay out of the creek. But if my feet get cold, I will leap it.

I am an excellent 'leaper'.

My most favorite activity in the winter time is climbing the Ice Wall. I love scaring Her to death by running up the wall to the top and then disappearing so that She cannot see me.

I do come back when She starts calling me.
It must be terrible to be a human and not have the great balance and dexterity that I have as a dog.

Really? Nothing to worry about here!

Coming down off the wall can be a bit tricky.
But I think I've got it covered. I'm still pretty athletic.

However I do miss my pal Teslin. She is a real athlete and loves climbing ice walls as much as I do.

Another thing that makes Her nervous is the fact that I blend in so well with everything in the creek bottom in the winter.

She calls me Camo Dog.

I hope She doesn't decide to put a huge red scarf on me to keep track of my whereabouts.

But She might. Who knows?

Oh wow, She didn't have to include my ~~~
Whoopsie On Ice Photo now did She?

Someone should invent a doggy cam so I can follow Her around and get videos of when She slips on the ice.
Right?

Dang it all She does use ice cleats while hiking.
Sigh.