7 February 2015: In the Ice Palace

The ice formations at the lakefront are spectacular. If you are in Chicago, do yourself a favor and take a little trip to the beaches in Rogers Park for an unforgettable view of winter in all it's brutal beauty.

The ice-hills along the edge of the lake look like foothills on the edge of a vast plain:

Looking towards downtown Chicago. The skyline is dimly visible in the background, but tall ice-cliffs line the edge of the lake.

The ice balls on the frozen surface of the lake aren't as huge as the ones seen during the polar vortex of 2014, but they're still an impressive sight. *

* Just a reminder: in less frigid times, this area that looks like a rock-covered field  
is actually part of Lake Michigan. 

July 2013

Ice cave at Farwell Pier:

The Farwell Pier lighthouse:
The fence along the edges of the pier is visible here, but the pier itself is buried under a hill of ice.

25 August 2012, Day 81

The View from Farwell Pier

Looking south beyond the crowd cooling off in the lake on a hot August Saturday, beyond the midrises of Edgewater and the trees of Montrose Harbor, the Chicago skyline shimmers far in the distance like a mirage metropolis. 

Pivoting to look to the northeast, the unassuming lighthouse at the end of the pier is the only evidence of a human presence; the prairie grasses and azure strip of lake along the horizon seem timeless and untouched. I come here often and stand on this spot to ground myself, balancing on the cusp of yin and yang, rooted in both the the vast natural world and the towering city i love.