Winter Fun, II.

Not 10 blocks from my apartment are two large lakes, right in the heart of MSP. One thing that was pretty strange for me to wrap my head around was that almost every lake (proabably all) freeze over in the winter here. Sure, it makes perfect sense (and has helped ice fishing become so popular), but coming from IL where the lake is one of the Great Lakes (and doesn't freeze over)... it's kind of hard to understand.

But it's true. I went out the other day on a quick walkabout and saw why Minnesotans spend so much time outside - it's easy.


YES, Margaret, I'm standing on a frozen lake... very thick ice with no fear of falling through (well, besides my irrational fears of falling through ice)


Want to get in some hockey practice for your pee-wees? No problem. The moms and dads were busy shoveling off the ice (on skates) and making sure everyone got along.




The half dozen or so rink/hockey areas on the lake don't even take up all the ice (and this is the smaller of the two). People were also X-C sking and taking the dog out for some fun on this lake. Me, I was just walking... some snow shoes would be nice though.

The nicest part (though boring to see in a picture) was that they have a warming house (i.e. double-wide) set up right near the lake. You can spend hours out on the ice and be able to properly blow little kids noses during a change in periods. I think I even saw people bringing food... like a winter picnic - that's dedication.