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Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Frozen Lake Michigan


I grew up in the northwestern most part of Illinois where we were had small towns and cornfields. Almost 4 1/2 years ago, my husband and I moved to the other side of Illinois where we have Lake Michigan to the East and Wisconsin to the north.



Since living here, the winters have a mind of their own. Some winters we'll hardly have snow or it will snow, but be so cold that we can't play in it.

This is Lake Michigan from parking lot, last year. I had my cranky three year old with me in the car, so I didn't want to get out to get closer, but the site was still beautiful! The waves on a normal day, don't usually get to high, but these were at least two and a half feet high and they lined the whole beach. This was a more mild winter, so there was no ice. 

Last week, we had record breaking low temperatures with the lowest temperature reaching -50 degrees. A couple of days later, the temperature made it to 40.

So, naturally, we had to take the opportunity to check out the lake to see what changes had happened. Every year is different and this year, the change was amazing!


Lake Michigan/ Beach Park, Illinois Beach Resort Feb 2, 2019

Kids with Daddy and Grandma (Daddy's mom)

We have to put me in too!

There were a LOT of Glaciers and Icebergs

On a clear day, you can see Chicago's skyline right over where the last iceberg is sitting. 

This is the space between the top of the "glacier" and the beach. There was a small cave made from the erosion. 



This really made me want to take the kids to go explore a cave. Know any good ones in Illinois?

Ice meets pebbly beach.

40 degree weather means melting ice.


Other spectators. When we arrived it was just us and a woman and her daughter. Everyone is climbing on the ice glaciers. Always be aware of your surroundings. We warned our kids not to go past a point on the ice.


He was so excited!

Mountain woman!

*Sings* Climb every mountain! Ford every stream!- Sound of Music. 

Who needs a sled when you have a perfectly good bottom? Sliding down the snow covered ice. Again, we made sure they didn't cross a certain point. This part of the ice was still on the beach.

Who doesn't build snowmen on top of a frozen lake? This is the first time that we had a LOT of snow and it was packable!


This is why you watch your surroundings. Ice melts! I bet if we went back, today, the lake would look so different.

I was kind of sad that there were no whales to breach and make their presence. I guess that's a downside to the lake, but I bet there are some pretty big catfish and salmon in there. Yes! There's salmon in Lake Michigan!

Questions to leave with you:

Do you live in an area that gets cold?
Have you seen something like this before?
What do you do in the winter?
If you live some place warm, is this something you'd like to see?


23 comments:

  1. I moved out of the US to Lisbon Portugal to get away from the cold. It gets to about 40 the lowest here which is fine my me. Worst snow i have been in was in Buffalo NY. Driving in zero visibility is no fun...but whales may make me change my mind ;)

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    1. Family keeps me here. I wonder if there are any freshwater whales?

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  2. This makes me so happy that I live in a WARM ENVIRONMENT - lol! I just can't with cold weather!!

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  3. omg these pictures!!! Gorgeous to say the least, wow!!! You guys look like you had so much fun, it is amazing.

    Chad
    www.mosaicslab.com

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  4. Thanks for the awesome photos. I like seeing them this way and not in the cold where you are.

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    1. The cold really makes me appreciate the warm when it comes

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  5. I love all the pictures. They all are awesome.

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  6. The pictures are great! I loved the ice glacier picture! It looks like you all enjoyed the weather even with it being super cold. We live in an area where it gets cold, not as cold as Michigan. The creek behind our house froze over so that is how cold it got last week for us. -Jessica Martin

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    1. We're just used to the cold. I think if we ever went somewhere where it was warm all year round, we'd actually miss the snow.

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  7. I live in Wisconsin so we experienced that negative 50-degree weather as well! How crazy was that?! These pictures are beautiful! What a great way to make the most out of the cold weather!

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  8. I live in a very cold climate, sadly though, it's not near a lake. However, I have been in Chicago during the winter and seeing the lake all frozen and covered in ice was such a unique experience.

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  9. Great pictures really make me feel the cold. I bet your kids had a blast. I live in California where is never cold so my kids dream of going to the snow.

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  10. This looks like it would be so amazing to see! I have never seen anything quite like this completely frozen over.

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  11. I went to school in Eastern Michigan, so I am familar with Lake Michigan. It is beautiful to see it frozen.

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    Replies
    1. I haven't seen it from the Michigan side. I'm sure it's even more beautiful!

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  12. It looks like an amazing time out there. I have only been out on a frozen lake once. It was quite an experience. Glad you and the family had such a good time.

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