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We have had some beautiful snow come in 

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It was time to get the ice rink going.  Major problem was the build up of slush on the lake.  You have to understand lake ice to realize how this forms and the problems it causes for rinks.   The snow acts as an insulator and creates a warm area between it and the ice that causes the slush.  So stepping out no the lake right now you step into 6 inches of slush water.  

The other thing you have to understand about ice is the lake is not completely flat.  With the shifting and heaving of the ice the edges of the lake are lower than the middle and the water then runs to the low point at the edges.  We tried a rink close to shore and that did not work.  We headed our farther and found better ice with less slush.  Cold temps next week should freeze up the slush.  We are planning on flooding the outer rink with lake water from a hole in the lake to make it smoother.  Today it was all about just getting it cleared off and started

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Someone was totally unimpressed with trudging out through the slush.  His feet are happiest on the ground.  It takes awhile to coax him out on to the ice.  Missing picture was Penny having fun on the ice and that was the coaxing he needed to get over his slush issue

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Home from college and time to help dad with the rink

Nice break from finals

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Eventually we got it cleared off.  Now to wait for more snow and then the cold to flood it to make it great for Christmas hockey game

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Meanwhile the raft is not buried yet

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Boats hibernating under snow

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Our openings for the Holidays are now up to the 28th, one open for New Years and many opening up starting January 2nd

Remember if coming up and you want bacon, maple links, eggs, sausage delivered to your cabin get your order in to Jenny at reservations@blackscliff.com