Ice Drapery

Ice formed on the St. Joseph, Michigan lighthouse and catwalk during a winter storm that churned up Lake Michigan and created 20 foot waves.

The ice apparently broke the "hand rail" cables on the catwalk, and they are now drooping down with tons of ice.

I set up the camera for a quick self portrait while I was out on the pier.

The ice was several inches thick along the length of the pier; the most difficult part was walking around the inner lighthouse to get to the out lighthouse. The path is only about 20 inches wide with the lighthouse on the left and the freezing cold lake on the right.



It was certainly worth the trek out, but foremost in my mind was safety- it's only one quick slip into Lake Michigan, and in this weather, a person would only last about 10 minutes in the water.

Aftermath of the Winter Storm

The 30 foot tall outer light of the St. Joseph, Michigan after a severe winter storm. Waves on Lake Michigan were said to be over 20 feet high, which pounded the lighthouse and covered it in ice feet thick in places. Workers were just finishing up a paint job when the storm hit. The scaffold was demolished and is also covered in a thick layer of ice.

The walk to the lighthouse was treacherous- the pier is also covered in a layer of ice. Most of the way was slow going, but the walk next to the inner light was the most difficult. There is only a path about 20 inches wide with the lighthouse to your left, and the frigid lake to your right. I managed to carefully negotiate the path and make it out to the outer light. In hindsight, I'm lucky I didn't go for an unexpected winter swim.

Coca Cola Christmas Truck

This iconic Coca Cola Christmas truck was parked in the local grocery store parking lot. It certainly was eye catching as I drove past. I believe there are several of these trucks and they tour the country during the Christmas season.

Conifer

A twisted and wind-shaped tree growing out of the cracks in a rock butte high above the banks of the Kankakee River near Bourbonaise, Illinois.

This is a composite of four individual images stitched together vertically to capture the entire height of the tree.

A View Downstream

A view downstream from a lookout point atop a rock butte on the bank of the Kankakee River near Bourbonaise, Illinois.

A winter storm was bearing down on Northern Illinois, and at this time, it was very windy and raining. Rain continued for hours then turned to snow in the evening.

Washington Park Festival of Lights

Each year, the Washington Park Festival of Lights illuminates Michigan City, Indiana's lakefront park and surrounding area, with Christmas characters, dinosaurs, and other fun figures.

Over 5 million individual lights and hundreds of wire frame figures light up the park all night long, in the Midwest's largest FREE, drive through light display.

Here, flowers dance and greet visitors passing by the historic Old Michigan City Lighthouse.

There's even a wire frame version of the East Pierhead light, which is just a few thousand feet away in Lake Michigan.

Take Aim

The boys at the Dewey Cannon in Three Oaks, Michigan. This cannon was captured by Admiral Dewey during the Spanish American war. Three Oaks raised $1,400 for the memorial to the men of the battleship Maine, and the cannon was presented to the town by President William McKinley in 1899.

Winter Berries

Some brave leftovers hanging on to the branches in the Mt. Baldy woods.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

First Snowman of the Year

Chris, Mike and Dan pose by their first snowman of the season. About 5 inches of snow fell during the first measurable snowfall of the season.

Running Through the Blowout

The boys love running along the dunes whenever we visit the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. They get quite a workout doing it, and they often come across interesting insects, land features and even treasures.

The views of Lake Michigan and of the woods behind are excellent from such a high vantage point.

Sand Yoda

Along Kintzele Ditch, wind, water and waves created some interesting sculptures in the sand. This one really looked like Yoda from Star Wars, or perhaps an Egyptian god.

We often come across beautiful and interesting patterns in the sand, but it's not often we see something recognizable.

South Haven at Night

The South Haven Lighthouse on a cool, November evening. As we made our way home from the Christmas Open House in Holland, Michigan, we decided to take a mile detour to see this lighthouse at night. The illuminated catwalk is quite striking in person.

The wind made it difficult to keep the camera steady, even on the tripod.

Chosen for Publication

Just received word today that this photograph "Early Morning Storm" was chosen by the viewers and publishers of Capture My Chicago, a book of photographs of the Chicago area.

Last year's book also included a photograph of mine: Limestone Waterfall.

It's great to have a photo included in a publication with so many other great photographers.

Holland Holiday Open House

The annual Holiday Open House in downtown Holland, Michigan kicks off the holiday shopping season. Carolers, musicians, lights, holiday snacks, and refreshments are found all around the downtown area. Stores stayed open until 9:00 pm, offering sales and free snacks for the shoppers.


 Thousands of people visited the shops and restaurants, and Santa and Mrs. Claus made an early appearance as well.

Fall Morning

A warm fall morning at Matthiessen State Park's Lake Falls. It's been a relatively warm fall, so the leaves have been sticking around for quite a long time.

Three Oaks

The old Three Oaks, Michigan train station.

In 1899, President McKinley arrived at this newly built station to dedicate the Dewey Cannon war memorial just a few hundred feet away. The cannon was captured during the Spanish American war by Admiral George Dewey. The citizens of Three Oaks raised $1400 for a memorial to the battleship Maine - at the time it was the largest per capita contribution in the United States.

November Snowfall

The first snowfall of the winter at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Lake Michigan and cold north winds, often create lake-effect snow in this region during the winter, and this early storm dumped around 4 inches of snow at the dunes near Chesterton, IN, but only a dusting a mere 3 miles away.

South Haven Pier

Gale force winds pound the South Haven, Michigan lighthouse and pier during a two day storm. Gusts of over 50 miles per hour created 16 to 20 foot waves in open water.

It was difficult to keep the camera still - even with a great tripod.

The Reason for The Catwalks

Some Great Lakes lighthouses have catwalks leading from the shore to the tower. None are regularly used right now, but people often wonder why they were built. Last week's storm shows exactly why - to prevent the lighthouse keeper from being washed into the lake by waves and wind.

The 60 mile per hours gusts here created quite a spray over the entire length of the pier, and the occasional wave washed over as well. Anyone walking on the pier would most certainly have been pushed into the cold water. In winter, there is very little chance of surviving a plunge into the lake.

Gale Force Winds

It's been pretty windy around here over the past couple of days. The storm that passed through reportedly had the lowest barometric pressure of any storm in the Midwest in decades. The winds blew around 30 miles per hour for at least two days, and gusted into the 60s at times.

After checking up on and fixing the wind damage to the house, I drove a short distance in the afternoon over to the Lake to catch the waves. South Haven, Michigan had a great display of splashes on the pier and lighthouse. It's easy to see why this lighthouse tower gets encrusted in ice each winter.

Here's a disappointingly low resolution video of the waves.  They were much more frequent than I have seen in the past.  Generally you get a splash every minute or so, yesterday it was every few seconds.