CGC Alder slowly making headway

After taking a well deserved evening rest off the shores of Barkers Island in Superior, the CGC Alder once again began the task of breaking the first path through the thick Duluth-Superior Harbor ice-pack.
Before the Alder resumed it operation, it made for some interesting images in the early morning hours with temperatures hanging around 5F.

Point of Interest - Interstate Bridge

Interstate Bridge next to Blatnik Bridge

Today, while I watched the Alter break harbor ice, I strolled out to the end of the old Interstate Bridge scouting for a photographic vantage point.
While the Alder didn't make it this far, I though you might like to visit one of Duluth's hidden secrets.
Built in 1897 the Interstate Bridge once spanned the St. Louis Bay. Open to pedestrians, horse-drawn vehicles and had access for two trains and a streetcar. The toll was set at five cents for pedestrians and bicycles, fifteen for wagons, and a dime for each head of cattle.
Over time the bridge was refitted for automobiles, the streetcar line would be removed and there would only be one railway in use. In 1961 the Duluth-Superior High Bridge was built to replace the Interstate Bridge so longer ore carriers could move through the harbor easier. The Interstate Bridge was dismantled in 1971. In 1981 the Burlington Northern sold the bridge to the Port Authority of Duluth for $1. In 1983, bridge remains were converted into a fishing pier that stand today.
This 360 degree view might give you a good perspective of what you can see. The Alder is out there in the middle.
Alternate Link

Tough going for the Alder

I walked out to the end of the Interstate Fishing Bridge this afternoon to watch the Alder backing and ramming into the thick harbor ice.  Winter does not want to give up the harbor easily. The Alder will earn its keep this year.

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