After a cold stretch in late February we drove down to the Nelson Ice Sculptures along the Rush River. It was a beautiful sunny day and the ice sculptures were at their peak. There are two dozen ice sculptures in all. They are probably long gone now with the warm weather but next winter a visit to the Nelson’s ice Sculptures on the Rush River is worth adding to your bucket list. The best time to visit is in February after a stretch of cold weather.
More photos can be found on my website.
My wife and I have made a couple of road trips up the Minnesota side of the Mississippi and down the Wisconsin side looking for Bald Eagles. On the first trip the weather was warm and there was quite a bit of open water but only a couple of eagle at Reads Landing and a couple at Covill Park in Redwing, Minnesota. On our return from Redwing we drove past the Nelson Ice Sculptures along the Rush River. We didn’t expect to see much because the weather had been so warm. We mainly saw the pipes sticking out of the ground with a little ice on them. Click here for more information on the Nelson Ice Sculptures.
About a week later, after a cold stretch of weather, we made a second trip along the Mississippi River looking for Bald Eagles. Our first stop was Reads Landing where we hoped to see some eagles and have lunch at the Reads Landing Brewing Company. As it turned out there was only a sing Bald Eagle in a tree, not worth getting the camera out for. The Brewery was closed for remodeling until February 5th so we headed back to Wabasha for a hardy bowl of Irish stew at Olde Triangle Pub .
After lunch we drove on to Covill Park in Redwing. This time we were skunked. There was not a single eagle to be found although it looked like there was much more ice on the river than on our earlier visit. We did see one immature eagle flying as we pulled out of the park.
Our last stop of the day was at the Nelson Ice Sculptures. It was a big change from the previous visit where the water pipes were sticking out of the ground with only a little ice around them. I wanted to see what they looked like early in the formation when they had a little more definition to them and there would be quite a bit of water squirting out of them. It was below zero so I only spent about a half an hour walking around taking photos. It was well worth the visit.
More ice sculptures can be found on my website.
Earlier this winter I wrote a blog describing at trip to the Nelson’s Ice Formations on the Rush river. Last week we made a second trip to visit the ice formations and see what they looked like after a stretch of warm weather. The nice jagged edges were gone and the ice formations were mere shadows of themselves.
More photos of the Nelson Ice Formations can be found on my website.
 In order to enjoy the formations it was necessary to get up close to them and walk on what is, increasingly, slippery ice. Fortunately we brought our ice cleats along this time. Always a good idea when photographing ice.
I was hoping for a nice sunny day with blue sky so the ice formations would stand out from the sky. Unfortunately by the time we reached the Nelson’s the sky was filled with clouds that were moving in and out of the background.
 The water was still running and could be see shooting out of the pipes were are now visible on some of the formations. Now the spraying water isn’t freezing it is cutting into the formations and leaving pools of green colored water within the formation.
 
This portion of one formation reminded me of Edvard Munch’s the Scream.
I’ve Just finished processing my photos of the Nelson’s Rush River Ice Formations. This is a really unique place to visit. Don’t visit just after a heavy snow storm because the formations will look like a snowdrift. 
At a recent retired librarians luncheon someone mentioned the ice sculptures along the Rush River. I had never heard of them but did an internet search when I returned home. I found it described on the Ripple in Stillwater Blog. According to the blog it is the creation of Roger Nelson of Ellsworth. He is a plumber by trade. He started creating the ice sculptures about a dozen years ago and had continued to do it every year.
More ice sculptures can be found on my website.
He has artesian wells flowing from porous rock formations. He taps into the wells with underground pipes which run to a couple of dozen locations throughout the property. He then attaches the pipes to PVC pipes that rise up out of the ground. Holes drilled into the pipes create the ice formations. On some of the photos you can see the water squirting out of the formation.
He starts creating the sculptures in December. Since the water flows all winter the sculptures continue to change throughout the season depending upon the weather conditions.
We found the sculptures by driving a mile north of Maiden Rock Wisconsin.  we turned right on County Road A and drove about 4.7 miles. The sculptures are on your right near Nelson’s “hunting shack”. There is a small parking area and a place for donations. I would suggest you bring ice grippers if you plan on walking around.
The sculptures can be photographed anytime and are lighted in the evening. You probably should not visit just after a snow storm because they will look like a large snow drift.
Philip Schwarz Photography Blog 