Icy Build Up: What a difference two weeks of subzero temperatures can make. Lake Superior has grown more solid and created a graph jump that the stock market could only dream of, shooting straight up (as seen here) to show the percentage of ice cover from below 10% at the beginning of February to nearly 50% now. Meanwhile, these three graphics from NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL) show how much more ice coverage we had on Thursday (Feb. 18; bottom graph) compared to the same day in 2020 and 2019. The Great Lakes overall are at about 40% ice coverage. GLERL has additional graphics showing ice thickness, etc. Work has been done on the ice road between Madeline Island and the mainland, but traversing it remains iffy. The hotline listed on the Madeline Island Ferry Lines Facebook page helps for updates. AirFox Photography did a video of the windsled, which is servicing crossings, trying to smooth out a pressure ridge on the ice. Despite the extended cold and the icing of the Lake, walking access to the mainland sea caves (aka winter ice caves) of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore continue to be closed because of dangerous conditions. The park posted satellite views of this week, with open water quite visible, and 2014, when there was plenty of ice cave visitation available to show the difference. However, the park reports, "If you'd still like to view the ice formations, the Lakeshore Trail provides views from the cliffs above, but it is a 4-6 mile round trip hike from the Meyers Beach parking lot. The trail is packed and can be a little slick in and out of the ravines."
Going National: Wisconsin's Lake Superior Scenic Byway is now a National Scenic Byway as well, the Federal Highway Administration announced this week. It was one of 49 routes newly designed as Scenic Byways or All American Roads. It is the third national byway in Wisconsin. The Lake Superior Scenic Byway page describes what one can see on the 70-mile route along the Bayfield Peninsula. "Wisconsin’s Lake Superior Byway (WLSB) begins its journey at the roundabout junction of US Highway 2 and State Highway 13 in the Town of Barksdale in Bayfield County - approximately 2 miles west of the Ashland city limits. The Byway continues for 70 miles on State Highway 13 up and around the Bayfield Peninsula and ends at the intersection of County Highway H and State Highway 13 in the Town of Cloverland in Douglas County (near the mouth of the famous Brule River where multiple U.S. Presidents have come to fish)." There is a downloadable brochure about the byway to make your travel plans.
Off to the Races: Looking for something to do outside ... now that most temperatures no longer have a "minus" in front of them? The Northern Pines Sled Dog Race takes place Saturday (Feb. 20). The sprint and mid-distance races start throughout the day, traveling in Bayfield County and the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. In keeping with state safety guidelines for outdoor events, masks will be required in the parking and club house areas. Spectators cannot enter the participant spaces and volunteers will not be used to aid teams, but you can still see the dogs start and run. A three-film collection that includes the "Great Alaskan Race," "Iditarod's Why Do They Run?" and the "Lure of the North" presented by the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon can also be purchased on the race website to benefit the organization. We're fond of the little video opener on the site, a still shot of which is shown here.
Good Cookies Doing Good: The folks at Bay Village Coffee in Thunder Bay have been baking up a storm this month, creating hundreds of heart-shaped cookies to support the local hospital's Our Hearts at Home Campaign. The cookies have been selling for $5 with half of that going toward the campaign in honor of baker Shannon Hobb's mom, Patti, who died of a heart attack. The project raised $10,000 already, according to Leith Dunick of TBNewsWatch.com. “My mom was just a very giving, loving, kind person who always tried to give back to the community,” Shannon tells Leith. “We just thought this way one way to honour her. This is something she would have done for somebody else, so we just something we decided to do in her honour, in her name.” Here co-owners Alan Forbes and Gary Mack show off the cookies – 933 of them baked by 2:45 a.m. Thursday.
OverTheWaves
Up and Down in the U.P.: Our intrepid audio reporter, Bick Smith of CyBick Productions, makes a stop at the Quincy Mine at Hancock, Mich., to bring us loads of Keweenaw Peninsula history above and below ground. Bick walks us a through a bit of mining heritage from the area and features a conversation with Brad Barnett, executive director of the Keweenaw Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Quincy tours and exhibits let visitors "get a sense of what it was like to be a miner," Brad says. "… The hard work, the ebbs and flows of the industry, you get a real sense of that and I think that sticks with people."
Photo & graphic credits: Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab; NOAA/Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; Lake Superior National Scenic Byway; Northern Pines Sled Dog RaceBay Village Coffee; Bick Smith/Over the Waves