Northern Wisconsin is a land of its own. There is nothing like the great waters of Lake Superior to invoke respect for the depth and force of water. The largest of the great lakes, it is also the coldest and deepest. However, the power it holds is of a totally different nature in the winter months. This hardly slows down the northern at heart, for winter brings ice fishing, dog sledding, snow mobiling, skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, running, you name it!
http://www.wisconsinstories.org/2001season/cold/cotherman_essay.html
A bit of Bayfield, population 611, above.
In fact, this area is anything but dead and quiet, though the sail boats are hibernating and the town appears smothered with snow!
Below is the first ice fisherman we saw on the lake.
Necessary traits of an ice fisherman: patience, patience, patience. This fellow is on his third day and...
...his first fish. What person would be better to explain fishing than a retired Bayfield school teacher? His hands looked numb, but he gladly explained the technique to us. Using an auger, he drills a small hole through the 18" of ice. With his wire line, he lowers the bait to the bottom of the lake, which was 130 feet in that place. That's where he is most likely to find the lake trout. Other Lake Superior catches include salmon and whitefish. The flashlight looking instrument actually tells the lake depth and the presence and depth of a fish.
We figured it was worth the risk to drive the 2.5 miles from Bayfield to Madeline Island on the well established ice road that was opened about a month ago.
On Saturday the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce hosted the Apostle Islands Run on Water
http://www.bayfield.org/pdf/2008ROW_RegistrationForm.pdf, a five mile run to and from Madeline Island.
Below is Ice Angel IV, a windsled used for transportation to and from Madeline Island and Bayfield when the ferry can no longer run but the ice is not thick enough to drive.
http://www.windsled.com/lpw.htm
For Madeline Island 8th-12th graders, this is the form of transporation for a while to school in Bayfield. The Husky is the handy rescue sled.
I think the above ice formation looks like a mushroom.
Me with an ice shard. The lake ice sometimes shifts apart creating cracks. Other times, it crunches together creating upheavals and ice shards such as this one.
New meaning to black ice. It's interesting to stand on it and look down a foot into it. On the left is Erin on an ice slab.
Sleeping on a rickshaw.
Angie and I in a rickshaw.
Practically anything can be carried on a bicycle or rickshaw!
Muslim school teaching the faith in an all Muslim village.
The making of a dupatta, the scarf sort of thing that women wear over their shoulders with the salwar kameez suits.
Keep warm, kid!
The best place to dry laundry.
Notice the eye liner on the boy on the right. This is to prevent evil eye.
Water buffalo, the "beef" of India since most people there don't eat cows. Most of the milk is from water buffalo as well. It has a different flavor, but it's delicious.
The other use of the water buffalo and cows! The manure burns well. That is the brown stuff stacked on the roof.
More rooftop laundry.
Outdoor clinic.
Fires such as this are the source of the smoky haze that is enough to delay flights.
Pumping water.
