Harbor ice breaking operations to begin this week.

While the ice cover and temperatures don't really indicate the arrival of Springtime yet, the calendar still shows Spring less then three weeks away.  

In a news release Saturday, the Coast Guard reported that the cutter Alder will start icebreaking operations on Tuesday in the harbor and out to Lake Superior. Officials warned anglers and others who may be out on the ice to remove ice shacks and other equipment, and to use caution if out in the ice.

Areas where the Alder will be working include - but are not limited to - the Superior Front Channel, the Superior and Duluth harbor basins, the East Gate Basin, the Duluth and Superior entry channels and the Lake Superior ice adjacent to Minnesota Point.

Icebreaking operations later may extend to other areas of the harbor, as well as to Two Harbors, Silver Bay and Taconite Harbor.

2013 Tall Ships - Denis Sullivan

Glensheen Tour

If you are like me, staring at the ice, waiting for the melt to start, you might want the visit a virtual tour that I made of the Glensheen Mansion during warmer weather. 

Click on image to visit Glensheen Mansion

Uncle Harvey's Mausoleum

Uncle Harvey's Mausoleum - This structure located along the Duluth Lakewalk is a peculiar “Point of Interest” indeed. As one walks the boardwalk looking for photographic vantage points along the Lake Superior Shoreline, this landmark sticks out of the water, and is more of curiosity than anything. The concrete structure is the foundation of a sand and gravel unloading dock built in the winter of 1919 by Whitney Brothers of Superior Wisconsin. Sand from the Apostle Islands area and gravel from the north shore was loaded onto barges that were then towed to Duluth by the tug William A Whitney. A conveyor belt built on a trestle carried the materials to shore that was then dumped into a tunnel where another conveyor was used to load trucks that carried the material to its destination. Legend has it that the unloading tunnel became a hangout for gamblers and bootleggers as they attempted to avoid local law enforcement in the out of the way subterranean hideout.

While the substantial concrete structure has withstood more than 100 years of Lake Superior weather, the ability of the barges to tie up to the piers and remain stationary during unloading proved to be a very daunting task were waves often pushed the craft into the nearby rock causing damage and finally proved too hazardous for reliable and safe operation. In 1922 after only three years of operation the facility was abandoned. Obviously, it crushed to dreams and finances of Harvey Whitney, the entrepreneur and designer of the structure. Over the years, the nick name that originated from the Whitney family, "Uncle Harvey's Mausoleum”, stuck with the locals and has become a perfect place for nesting birds and flock of more daring folks who find the building a perfect launch platform for a cool summer dip into the big lake. Although most folks never venture into the cold water to swim out and see what the inside of the facility actually looks like, during the cold winter months it is an easy walk across the frozen water to satisfy the curiosity seekers.

note: this information is posted on a plaque along the Duluth Lakewalk which was placed by Visit Duluth.

Why the open water in the Canal

The water current in the the canal is fairly strong, much like a small river, thus keeping the water open. It will freeze up, or get plugged up with ice, but usually doesn't last long.
In the Springtime, you will be able to see chunks of ice drifting back and forth through the canal as the current reverses several times a day due to a phenomenon called a "seiche" (SAYSH, a French word that means "to sway back and forth"). This happens when water piles up on one side of the lake because of wind or high barometric pressure and then shifts back to the other side. Small seiches occur all the time.

Spring is here!  Almost!