Skyline view of a big still-frozen lake

Lake Superior from Skyline Drive

It was another trip to Duluth today.  We had some time between errands and doctors' appointments, so we checked out Skyline Drive which curves around the upper areas of Duluth.  From there I was able to take this -rather bleak- picture of the aerial lift bridge - it's that little bump far, far away in the middle of the picture and behind the bush.  (It seemed like wherever I stood, there was a scraggly bush in my way.)  And behind the bridge and that long spit of land to the right, which is the Minnesota side of Park Point, is the full expanse of Lake Superior, still covered by ice.  

If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can faintly see the trail of ice that has been broken through recently by the Coast Guard Cutter Alder.  With temperatures back down to single digits, I'm sure it's hard to keep the shipping lanes open.

Here's an interesting article highlighting the Coast Guard's work last week, breaking through ice that was up to four feet thick in places.  A scientist quoted in the article warns that, with all this ice in a lake this big, it's going to be "a lousy year for swimming in here until about August."

But up here, that's about what we would expect.  

More snow tomorrow (sigh).