Winter, Snow and what the heck are Ice Pellets 1 of 2

      Winter has come and Spring is right around the corner. How did we survive? Pretty well actually! In Montana's defense she was pretty easy on us first timers. Yea we had snow and ice and it did get down to 5 degrees, but it didn't get to minus nor did we have feet of snow. I am not a fan of the winds here but I will put up with it as it allows me to witness some beautiful things. 

So as winter began to get started we had prepared a couple cords of firewood (in case of power outages), stocked up on icemelt and sand, prepped the snowblower and switched to snow tires. we were ready. But except for a small snowstorm in late October winter really waited for January to start. 

The first confusion for us began with a morning forecast of Ice Pellets? What the heck are Ice Pellets? 

Ice Pellet Storm Kalispell Mt.

Apparently Ice pellets are a form of precipitation consisting of small translucent balls of ice. Ice pellets often bounce when they hit the ground or other solid objects, and make a higher-pitched “tap” when striking objects like windshields and dried leaves, compared to the dull splat of liquid raindrops.We had a few of these storms and it was crazy to see the world transformed into what we called  "a Styrofoam factory". It looked as if a bean bag chair exploded all over the landscape.

Now I was a bit nervous driving on Ice tires and in the snow at first but when I realized the most dangerous temps were 29-34 as that is when the ice was forming or melting and it was slipperiest. After learning that  I began to gain confidence.

 Glacier National Park was back on the table and I went for the beauty and the solitude. I rarely saw anybody and as they started to close the roads I saw even less.

White-tailed Deer first snowfall Glacier National Park

Frozen waterfall near Hungry Horse Mt

Frozen waterfalls, icy lakes and snowy scenes were all around, although they were sometimes treacherous and the parking areas were slippery the pristine beauty made it all worthwhile. 

Glacier National Park in winter

 There are endless compositions and it seems like sunset can be at anytime after 3 although its officially @5 this time of year the lighting is just magical.

Snowy Reflection on Lake McDonald

The Log Cabin Glacier National Park

Middle fork Flathead River