Four seasons

On my drive south from Marquette on the 24th of Nov. I stopped at several places I had stopped at when the weather was different – there was no snow.

I really like living in a place that has four seasons. I actually like winter/cold/snow. On another note on the subject of winter: I signed myself up for an winter endurance race that is held in northern Minnesota on the Arrowhead trail that is 135 miles long. The race covers the whole distance. You have a choice of whether to do it on skis, running, or on a bike – I'm going to do it on a bike. Wish me luck - I'll need it. It's going to start at 7 am Feb. 2nd and will finish after 60 hours, which is the cutoff time (hopefully it will take less than 60 hours but it may take me more than 24 hours to finish). I'd be happy to post some pictures on here of my training if anyone is interested.

This is a picture of some ice on the middle fork of the Ontonagon River at Bond Falls. The Ontonagon is a small river but Bond Falls is pretty big.

This is a bigger picture of Bond Falls. As you can see it's not a single sheer drop – it's more like a closely-spaced series of mini waterfalls that're about 3' high on average.

These are some icicles that formed on some rocks alongside Lake Superior. I managed to get this right after sunset. This picture was taken as a wave was coming in but if you time it right – when the waves are out so there's no water – you can quickly dart around this rock sticking out onto the sand on the other side. OK this is hard to explain...from above the rock would look roughly like a “V” with the point close to the water's edge so that when a wave comes in it gets wet and between waves it's dry. There's sand on either side of the “V.” Time it right and you can quick run from one side of the “V” to the other between waves.

These are the “dells” of the Prairie River. I have a pretty good idea of what a “dell” is but I looked it up in my Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary so I could explain it better (if a better explanation is necessary). It says, “a secluded hollow or small valley usually covered with trees of turf.” There, happy now? But I was curious what the difference is between a “dell” and a “glen” so I looked it up. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary says that a glen is a “secluded narrow valley.” That should clear it up.