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A dip in the polar vortex brought temperatures along the North Shore to 30 below zero.

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The Grand Marais harbor froze first. After taking this photo a grey wolf ran across the harbor from one break wall to the other and disappeared behind the lighthouse. I walked out on Artist Point but the wolf must have moved behind some of the ice piles as I never saw it again.

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The resident geese trying to keep their feet warm.

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With the cold temps there weren’t very many people hiking to the end of Artist Point.

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Unique snow and ice sculptures created by the strong winds covered the rocks.

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Then the big lake started to freeze.

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A light wind started piling some of the ice shards just hours after it formed. One of my favorite sounds along the shore is ice shards breaking and stacking.

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Satellite images showed that by afternoon ice had formed out from shore for over 30 miles. At the Grand Marais overlook it was ice for as far as could be seen.

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At sunset the clear ice reflected not only the clouds but the Sawtooth Mountains.

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The ice-covered concrete break wall to the lighthouse will not be easy to walk on after this cold spell.

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Just before sunset I photographed a pair of sundogs over the harbor. Rainbow colored sundogs appear when cold temperatures create ice crystals in the air.

It was cold enough I could have stayed indoors but it is amazing what you can see when you bundle up and head outside on a cold day.

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