Iced Over

With news agencies reporting that West Bay was iced over from one end of the peninsula to another, I grabbed my camera gear and headed out for an early morning meeting in Traverse City.  I hoped to capture some images along the way.

I passed the Bight just as the sun was trying to break through the heavy cloud cover.  Blue skies had been predicted, but there was little sign of them yet.

Approaching Omena Bay, the sun and clouds seemed to be competing for dominance:  Clouds 1, Sun 0.

I passed Lee Point Road and could barely see Power Island, the point at which the Bay is considered frozen.  Today it appeared desolate and barren, almost monochromatic.

I pulled over one last time to photograph the end of the Bay in Traverse City before going to my meeting.

Meeting over, I headed back towards Northport.  The sky was still cloudy, but it was considerably lighter than it was before my meeting.  I noticed cars pulling into the West Arm Public Access and I followed.  It was good to see these ice boaters setting up to take advantage of the frozen bay.

 

 As I passed through Suttons Bay, the sky was beginning to show some blue.  Yes!!

By Omena, the blue sky helped create this picture perfect image of the frozen Omena Bay.

For the last stop on my way home, I headed towards Braman Hill, hoping the road to the top was open so I could capture an expansive view of Northport Bay.  The road had been plowed one lane wide so I was able to cap off my journey along frozen West Bay, from one end of the Leelanau Peninsula to the other.