The last leg of this journey brought me through the Group Recreational section of the park where the bathhouses stood cold and silent, waiting for the return of warm weather and hoards of screaming children. From there, I ended up on the beach area, in awe of the expanse of ice in front of me. Normally, this end of the lake doesn't freeze completely because of the size of the lake and the way the winds blow to keep it open. It's been so frigid this winter that I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
I will say that walking the beach was the most haunting part of the entire trip - the sound of the ice cracking, shifting, snapping across the length of the lake was crazy! I would have probably had a heart attack out there. I actually tried to get a video of it but you can't pick up the sound over the wind. NUTS.
From the beach, I made my way back through the woods to my truck. Total distance (thanks to my Endomondo app) was 3.75 miles in exactly 1 1/2 hours, which isn't bad for all my gawking and stopping to take pictures.
Totally doing that again, in the winter. Maybe even after a really good snow.
The bathhouses wait for warmer weather
Looking across where the Songo meets the Lake
For those who know the area well enough - those trees are on 'the sandbar'
With the Lake herself, dead ahead
Fishermen braving the icy wind to bring home dinner
In the summer, this area is packed with splashing, happy children
Hey! That's our favorite beach spot!
This is an ice ridge, formed when the ice itself was expanding at some point and pushed itself up onto the beach.
And then it was time to say goodbye. :)
That beach looks familiar, without snow of course!!
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