Split Rock Lighthouse After the Storm

Last week we had one of the worst ice storms that anyone can remember hit the North Shore. It seemed like Tettegouche State Park was in the center of the storm with over one inch of ice covering all the trees and branches. With that much ice most of the trees either lost limbs or the entire tree came down. It is anyone’s guess how many trees were lost between Two Harbors and Grand Marais. The ice covered trees were beautiful when seen from the overlooks along Hwy 61.

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Ice Covered Birch

Walking the trails was like an enchanted forest with the trees bent from the weight of the ice.

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Ice Covered Pine

These pines in the enchanted forest seem to be bowing under the weight of the ice.

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Ice Covered Spruce Needles

The ice coated the branches of the trees.

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Ice Covered Spruce Needles 2

The ice took on strange shapes.

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Upper Gooseberry Falls

The rain that formed the ice on the trees also opened up the rivers.

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Bald Eagle Nest at Cascade River State Park

It always amazes me how wildlife handle storms. There is a pair of eagles sitting on eggs just south of Grand Marais in Cascade Rive State Park. Their tree was covered with ice but they took turns sitting on the eggs to protect their young. I visited the eagles after the storm and the tree survived. Both eagles were on the nest, one sitting on the eggs and the other busy eating a fish. If you are interested in a live video of an eagle’s nest, there is a web cam at Sooner Lake near Stillwater, Oklahoma. It is fun to watch the adults feed the one eaglet that hatched a week ago.

Click on this link to visit the site. http://www.suttoncenter.org/eaglecam.html

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