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With the cold temperatures a lot of ice has formed on Lake Superior. When the ice forms on the lake I am always anxiously waiting for east winds to pile the ice along the shore creating beautiful ridges of blue ice. It happened last week and ice shards are piled up along the shore from Duluth to Grand Marais.

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Some of the more accessible piles are right in front of Grand Marais.

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I am always amazed at the different shapes that can appear when the ice breaks up.

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From one of the rock ridges the iconic Grand Marais lighthouse can be photographed framed in ice.

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At sunrise the colors are even more beautiful. Scenes like this are one of the many reasons Grand Marais is currently in the lead for “America’s Coolest Small Town”.

Don’t forget to keep voting. The link is http://ow.ly/JdAJZ

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This photo is taken at sunrise standing on the rocks on Artist Point. The sun is reflected in the glass of the lighthouse.

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At sunset the Sawtooth Mountains look amazing with the ice ridges in the foreground.

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This is one of my favorite shots with the larger ice shard in front of the setting sun.

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After the sun set the ridges took on a blue cast.

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Pink clouds.

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There was a beautiful sunrise the next morning.

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On Saturday Karla and I drove to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park to photograph the ice shards under a beautiful blue sky.

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Huge piles of shards below the historic Split Rock Light made for exceptional photos.

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A light snow the previous night covered the shards with a soft layer of white adding to the winter landscape.

All of these photos have been taken from standing on rock. Remember it is never safe to go out on Lake Superior ice along the North Shore. It can break and drift out at any time.

Again don't forget to vote if you like Grand Marais. http://ow.ly/JdAJZ

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