Winter had turned Lake Superior into a windswept sheet of frozen water.
The ice was thick enough to drive on.
But today people were walking.
Soon hundreds were making the pilgrimage.
For the first time in five years, the Apostle Islands ice caves had formed.
Some of the ice was pure white, shooting from the rocks like models of ballistic trajectories.
Often it had been stained reddish-brown by plant tannins.
The ice formed beds of nails beneath the overhanging rocks.
Sometimes it seemed to drip from the cliffs like fresh glaze from doughnuts.
Chandeliers of daggers coated the ceilings of the caves.
Some caves were so deep, natural light barely reached their frozen inner walls.
Ice covered the cliffs like cross-sections of tree-root ecosystems.
It was a cold winter, allowing the caves to form. It was a warm day, allowing families to come out and enjoy.
The ice is constantly changing. Make your journey to Lake Superior before it melts!
