Ice Ice Baby!

I'm a beach bum and truly despise winter, but I do love how snow can beautify everything it touches. We live close to Lake Michigan, so we get that nasty lake effect snow. The crap that is heavy and wet and makes driving conditions almost unbearable. I normally keep my butt parked in my nice warm house until the season has passed, but this year I decided to take a little drive to St. Joe, Michigan once the temps took a drastic dip to scope out the lighthouses when they freeze over from the cold. I've shared a few glimpses on here and my Instagram, but today I'll give you a bigger picture of how amazing Mother Nature can be in the winter. Not that we are going to become besties any time soon, at least not until she returns my beloved beach weather to me, but I'll give her credit for turning an ordinary lighthouse into a work of art.

You can see here that once it gets super cold out, the water from the waves hits the lighthouse causing it to freeze over. Eventually, the entire catwalk freezes over as well, but I arrived too early in the season and only got snaps of the first frozen half.

With the crazy weather we get, you have to plan your visit just right or you'll miss seeing this beauty in person. I follow a local photographer on Facebook who snaps the area daily to get an idea of when the ice starts forming. You can see some of his amazing shots by searching Joshua Nowicki Photography on Facebook or take a glimpse of some of his work HERE. His photos are much better than mine ;)

Then there's this little gem across the way with its massive icicles.

The stairs leading up...

These little frozen stumps make for fun winter seating if you don't mind the cold.

 
The lighthouses aren't the only things that get covered in ice. The guardrails are a beautiful sight frozen over as well! In some areas they are just iced over and in other parts they are REALLY iced over.

I also decided to take a drive over to New Buffalo, Michigan to check out their lighthouse. The massive rocks are so fun to walk on in the summer months, but do look pretty covered in snow and ice.

Even the branches don't stand a chance when it's this cold out!

If you find yourself around the lower part of Michigan in the winter, be sure to check out the frozen lighthouses. They look even more incredible in person! Be sure to follow me over on Instagram where I'll be sharing a few more of my favorite wintertime lighthouse snaps over the new few weeks.