Hot topic, at least for now - Ice caves!

Another 11,000+ visitors came to see the ice caves today.  Our B&B guests spent most of 6 hours today getting to Meyers Beach--the starting point--and then walking out onto Lake Superior to make the trek over to the caves.  The weather was perfect--sunny and temps in the upper 30's, so it was a perfect day on the Lake.

Our pilot friend Carri posted a Facebook account from a friend who flew up here from Oshkosh (I think) today to see the caves.  Check out the link above to see the rest of his pictures, but I was interested in seeing the crystal clear ice he had to land on with the ice on the rock walls behind him.

They don't allow any motorized vehicles within a certain distance of the National Lakeshore area, so he had to land a distance away from the shore.  THEN he had to TIE DOWN his plane so it didn't "ski" away while he was away checking out the caves.  He did this with ice screws and apparently it worked great.  Last year Carri landed her plane out on the Lake on the day we were there, but then there was a think layer of snow so tying it down might have been easier.  There's something about ice that clear and that smooth on that BIG Lake that just fascinates me!

And finally, below is the crew of eight or nine deer that shows up every late afternoon around 5:30 to see what's what in the feedbox in our back yard.  They are usually pretty feisty with each other.  The bullies get up on their hind legs and "box" the others away with their front hooves.  It explains the marks and scars that some of them have on their backs.  

Time to change the clocks again!  I like this one best because it means spring will soon be here!