Sunday, February 20, 2022

Ice!! - 2022/02/20

 I'm not a "Gotta ride every month guy..." but I know a good day when I see one.

That is genu-wine Mississippi River Hard Water!!  I have no idea how much of it is present (right here) but it was a great plenty for 'Ol Coop and his trusty steed, The Rig!

Again, right here.

I'm not the only one ready for a lot more of this... the numbers not the Wintercast.

 


 
Crossing the threshold..... 

And off we go!!   

This poor guy took the shortcut, I'm guessing that he had got on the river over in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin.  What he didn't know, possibly forgot is that there's a very shallow sandbar here out from the old Frontenac Hotel site (back in the steamboat paddle days).  They got him out, no one was hurt but there were some wet feet.



Progress was being made, the shallow sandbar is obvious from up high.

Point-No-Point that I'm always going on about.  The Mississippi River makes an almost 90 degree corner here.  Frontenac State Park is up on top and from here with the winter woods view, the old limestone quarry is easily seen.

The former site of the Old Frontenac Lakeside Hotel, a famous stopping point in steamboat days.  For years a Methodist Campus, now under private ownership, the Frontenac Beach to the immediate left.


I was tempted to dip my toes and cool off!

After leaving the ice, I ventured up into Frontenac State Park on the hill.  There has been a lot of tree removal in the park.

The new campground restroom....must be a 5 year project.


You can see the broadening funnel of traffic paths fanning out from across the river at Maiden Rock, Wisconsin.  That ice and where the folks are fishing directly beneath Point-No-Point must be solid.

The thin ice is between these fisher people and just downriver, around the corner where that shallow sandbar protrudes from the point that got the guy in the red pickup in trouble.  There are a lot people below and they drove a long ways, the entire width of Lake Pepin to almost reach the MN shore.  Frontenac State Park's toes are the shoreline.

Seems only fitting that after an easy day on the cold hard ice that we enjoyed some Alaska Salmon, the fish courtesy of a couple of dear friends.

It was very good!

Don't leave yet, you'll most certainly want to better check out a Royal Enfield on a frozen lake.


6 comments:

  1. Ah Yup, one of the main reasons a sidecar rig entered my life....no more being trapped by snow! "Cool" video of your rig on the frozen lake! Posts such as yours have me wondering about getting into drone videos....

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    1. I messed up out there, the sun was so bright I thought the RECORD button had been pushed. While I was still out there, I should have run through everything again.

      But...

      I'll never be a Vlogger because I lack the patience to do all of the staging. I pushed my envelope yesterday and then to find out it was all for naught!

      It is fun, I'm learning from watching what other real pilots and video artists are doing. I'll find my balance.

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  2. Great post.... enjoy'd the drone... adds a nice dimension to the presentation :)

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  3. It seems that every year, at least one person’s vehicle breaks through the ice in Fairbanks. There are some ice bridges that are commonly used by vehicles and when spring arrives, someone needs to break through to signal when it’s time to close the bridges.

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    1. I'm guessing that our frequency of break through's matches yours. Unless they appear in the police reports, most of us may not even know. I went to the lake unaware of that guy's problem, even seeing the tow truck on the beach didn't raise the alarm. Once I was actually down on the ice and looked over, that's when it dawned on me that something had happened.

      In our part of the state, overnight ice houses need to be legally removed by the end of February. The portable day 'tents' can be used as long as individuals feel safe.

      I've never fished and have never spent as much time on the ice just standing as I did that day. I kept expecting to see a car out there with 30" rims and a mega stereo system with booming bass. What I was hearing was a very much alive river working the ice.

      Might be best if we just stay on shore.

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