March 7, 2014 It's March!

I had a town/errand day yesterday.  So, that means Toby gets to do something different and fun before we get home again.  He always looks forward to that.....as do I.  :)
Yesterday, we stopped at a spot on the shore because the ice was so pretty.  However, most of it was out quite a ways from shore and with all the recent wind, the ice is in one day and out the next.....so on the open big lake, it isn't safe to be on.  This was taken with a telephoto lens so there isn't much detail.  However, the color of it was really nice.  There was also a stiff wind blowing off the lake so it wasn't very nice being on the shore anyway.....especially when you aren't dressed for it.  Yesterday, I wasn't.  Some of the in town stuff took a while "inside" today, so I didn't have my usual heavier clothes on. 
Speaking of....just to side track for a moment..... "it is March!"  So, it should be getting warmer.....right!  Well, March 1 I woke up to -25 below 0.  March 2 I woke up to -30 below and it actually dropped to -31 for a bit just about sunrise.  Brrr.......it's been a long cold winter already.   I was expecting March to start treating us a bit better.  So.....it occurred to me I should Google some record March temperatures to see if we were setting any records.  Well, here is what I found:
record high for March was on the 23, 1910 at 88 degrees F. in Montevideo.  Wow!
record low for March was on the 2nd in 1897 and was -50 degrees F. at Pokegama Dam.  Did I say brrrr!
Then, just for the heck of it....the Minnesota record low: -60 degrees F. on 2-2-1996 at both Tower and Embarrass on the same day.   So, just goes to show you, we have always had temperature extremes.  It isn't anything new.  There's a good reason I didn't remember the cold March one......

Anyway, since the river was right there, we walked up the river from the beach and under the highway bridge...and off we went.  Here is Toby when we are just starting up the river.  People have been walking up the river all winter on snowshoes.  So, by now, there is a very nice trail going up.  I actually saw open water running in a couple of places.  So, cold is relative, 

Here we are walking on the nice snowshoe trail along side a rock wall.  Such a happy Toby!  No deep snow to wade through today.  See that snow critter crossing the downed tree......

Now, we are getting further up and into the canyons of this river.  Do you notice those cool faces on the rock wall?  I think they look pretty neat.  At the end of the snowshoe tracks....you see something that looks like a water fall.  It is just weeps that have come off the rocks all winter and it has quite an ice build up there now. 
Every now and then, when I am out hiking, whatever the season....I find something that looks so interesting....like these faces in the rocks.  One other creek I was on almost two years ago now.....I saw the darnedest face on the wall of the canyon and it showed very clearly in the photos.  I have been back several times.....evidently not at the right time or the right light......because I couldn't see it for anything.  I had a different lens along to take a better photo of it looking down at the waterfalls.  Oh well.....one of these days I imagine I will see it again.  Time will tell.  But, I generally have my eyes open for some interesting detail or another as we go.

This neat rock formation I don't believe I noticed for what it is when I have been there in the summer walking right up the river.  I was standing in a cave on the lower right of this photo to take it.  Maybe I couldn't get in there when I was there because of water depth.  I will be sure to check that out when summer comes around.
The water fall is where you see the snow going up hill near the lower right hand of this photo.  People had been snowshoeing up the falls.  I chose to go around the back side of that pinnacle of rock and come out on top of the falls as I continued up the river.  I wouldn't mind getting a shot of that with a better light some time too.  It was still overcast at the time but the sun was trying to come out.  In fact, by the time we got back to the pickup, it was a balmy 24 degrees out there and it was feeling pretty darned nice.  A little warmth for this time of the year was ok.  I am ready since I am not one of the many going south for vacation right now.  I have "pets" to keep happy out there in my yard......

Here is Toby heading back down the river.  We have been to the end of the trail and the falls.  You can see the sun is coming out better now and showing a few more details.  It has definitely been a nice side trip for the day and Toby will take a nice nap when we get home while I put away groceries. 

As I was heading home, I saw a few deer trying to make their way across the highway.  That is getting to be a challenge for them these days.  If they get distracted from their direct route across the road, they can find themselves in some serious predicaments in a hurry these days.  I am seeing far too much road kill because people can't slow down and give them a break/brake.......they need both kinds these days! 
The snow is really deep around here and the critters are all having a bad time this winter.  So, people......quit being in such a hurry and help them out a bit.  Our winter is far from over and they need your consideration just to survive this particular one.

Here we are, back under the bridge and the lake is in view.  We still have cloud cover but the sun is shining and it is appreciated.

Back to the parking lot with another view of the lake.  Nice end to our hike.  :)