It's been a very mild winter so far.  The most snow in a single day day has been a few inches, and daytime temperatures above freezing had been melting a lot of that away.  But winter arrived this past week.

A very windy and cold snowstorm dumped about a foot of very fine, dry powder.  This was immediately followed by plummeting temperatures.  It was -6 when I got up yesterday and delivered the neighbor's newspapers -- my other day job -- and later in the day under clear blue skies it warmed up to 3 degrees on the positive side.  Weather like this makes the air incredibly clear, so Sandy and I went off into the park to take some photos.


Our "not-so-woke" Eskimo/Indian Temperature thermometer shows it has warmed up to 2 dogs.




The driveway is shoveled except for snow blown in by the winds.




A quick check of the new chimney-less roof.  Even though the roof is all metal, the snow can stick to it on the bolts heads of the screws.




First stop is to the old bridge.  The river is partly frozen, and though there is open water in the middle we can actually see it freezing up.



Looking at the river from the exact same spot 7 days earlier




Looking upstream the river is all frozen.  In the center you can see the rougher area of ice where there had been a channel of open water.

  

Again same spot 7 days earlier.




The Belton Bridge in winter attire.  Sandy is on the bridge.  DON'T JUMP!




The West Entrance to Glacier National Park, unmanned on weekdays in the winter.




On Camas Road just after the stop sign, with a peak of the Apgar Mountains.




The frozen shoreline of Lake McDonald, watching the ice form.  Typical winds blow towards this shoreline.

    


The beautiful view from the boat dock.  The lake is about 8 miles long, so the mountains are roughly ten miles away.  Photos, at least with my phone, don't do justice to how clear the peaks are.  It really needs to be seen in person -- so come for that winter visit!!

The lake also had a thin layer of fog over it.  The lake water is roughly 33 degrees on the surface and the air is only 3 degrees.




Sandy, in clear violation of the January 20 Executive Order requiring masks at all times while on federal property with no exceptions.  She is such a scofflaw.




The lake effect.  The low fog over the lake gets blown on to the shore, where it freezes on the lower 4 feet of trees and bushes.




A closer view of the lake effect.  The ice formed on the branches is directional due to the wind, so it is only on one side of the branch.




Where do we live in relation to all this?  We are about 1 mile downstream from Lake McDonald.  From this viewpoint the Belton Hills are on the left, and the Apgar Mountain Range is on the right, and we are back in the gap.




Another view of the Apgar Mountains.  So pretty!




Mt. Vaught and Mt. Stanton, with some glazed rocks on the shoreline.




Someone has been out cross country skiing on the bike path.  Such an awesome place to ski.

    


-10 this morning at the house, and the next few days will be even colder.  Probably just stay inside  and work on jigsaw puzzles.