While observing the ice jams on the lower Flathead River yesterday, I encountered foggy conditions for several miles along the river. That can be pretty too.
Today I went out to check on the Flathead River again to see what the ice was doing and this time drove up river another 5 – 6 miles. There were several sections of open water followed by other areas where it has ice bank-to-bank and it took the photo above of one of the open areas. On the way back I noticed some visitors on the ice shelf on the other side, some Tundra Swans which are fairly common here but always a delight to see.
About a week ago I posted a few pictures of a section the lower Flathead River as it began to freeze over. Yesterday I visited again after 10 days of sub-zero nights. There is an open channel through part of it, but in other places it is covered bank-to-bank with ice. The last few photos are closer looks at the ice cakes as they start to pile up. As the usual cycle of freezing and thawing proceeds, more ice will break loose from frozen areas upstream and add to the stacks of ice cakes in this location.
There have been many sub-zero nights in the last couple weeks and the water is very cold. There are a few ice cakes floating on this part of the river, but there is a large ice dam further up stream that is keeping them to a minimum for the moment.
On very cold mornings there is a dividing line between the deep blue cold of the sky and the steam that rises from the river. It makes a very pleasant place for a morning walk.
Montana Outdoors 