Building The Ice Castle On The Banks Of Lake Flower

As we entered the town of Saranac Lake, I saw them busily constructing the ice castle on the banks of Lake Flower for their upcoming Winter Carnival:

Of course I pulled into the parking area for a closer look:

They'd built up a store of giant blocks of ice for the many other structures which would be built:

I walked over to the edge of Lake Flower to see them cutting ice:

And passed the ice castle construction on my way. They used snow as mortar:

The workers atop Lake Flower were cutting giant blocks of ice. Though the ice may look thin there, notice the depths of the blocks of ice. They're more than a foot thick:

And then a backhoe picked up each block of ice:

Then swung around and deposited it in a bucket loader which in turn delivered it to the workmen on the ice castle:

I've never seen the ice castle all lit up with colored lights at night but I have seen photos and it is quite spectacular:

I walked back around the building site so that I could see it from the front:

But just then everyone broke for lunch and people were walking away to patronize the restaurants and delis across the road:

But as always I had six anxious dogs waiting for me in the car and many miles to travel before I reached the farm. So I got back on the road to continue my journey: