Once upon a time, born in the deepest part of winter’s heart and clasped to her frosty bosom there was a tiny Ice Princess. The princess loved Mother Winter with her whole being, but as the princess aged, a strange and terrible thing happened. Mother Winter’s gifts—the frozen land, ice, snow, and cold, which had once held endless possibilities for fun, became tedious and full of drudgery.
Deeply stinging from the princess’s resentment, Mother Winter made it her mission in 2015 to remind her daughter of all the precious moments they had once spent together, but no matter how stunning the storms or how many she sent, the Ice Princess remained angry and sullen.
It would take a miracle to thaw her daughter’s frozen heart and restore their relationship, but miracles do happen, especially on the birthdays of Ice Princesses, and most especially, for Ice Princesses lucky enough to be living in the state of Vermont.
How do I know? Because I’m the Ice Princess in the above story.
What was the miracle? A visit to the ICE CASTLE snuggled between two ski slopes in the Sun Bowl at Stratton Mountain in Vermont.
The Ice Castle at Stratton is a magical melding of ice caves, frozen waterfalls, glacial formations, towering archways, winding passageways, ice towers, thrones, benches, wishing wells, slides, igloos, hidden alcoves, caverns and tunnels. Sculpted hearts, crystal balls, and colored spheres are everywhere just waiting to be discovered.
The castle is crafted by “growing” icicles, harvesting them, piecing them together one icicle at a time. The framework is then sprayed with water. The results are unique and beyond spectacular.
My family and I explored the Ice Castle by day and then again by night when the lights embedded deep within the ice bounce and dance to the music piped into the castle.
If you want to see the Ice Castle Light Show, you can see it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFy1OLvDH3I
Thanks to a birthday miracle and a wonderful family, the Ice Princess is back in the loving embrace of Mother Winter, and it’s wonderful so long as I remember to wear snow pants and a down coat.
Beautifully written and the pictures are breathtaking, indeed. Sounds like the Ice Princess had a great venture,too.
It was a wonderful adventure and I had such a good time!
Beautiful photos! I definitely want to see the Ice Castles in person!
Thank you so much. Now if I could just get some of your cupcakes up in my Ice Castle, I’d be happy forever.
Simply splendid! Too bad Narnia was under a mean queen’s spell. “Always winter and never Christmas” could have been a land as glorious as the one the Ice Princess enjoyed! A birthday miracle to cure the winter blahs–love it. And love your beautiful photos too! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
That’s so true, Ramona! It was very Narnia-esque without the mean snow queen! It’s snowing again tonight, but my miracle is holding and so is my new attitude!
Oh my goodness! That really is gorgeous, seriously!
It’s been so cold here, and every time we get a snow storm I think of you and wonder if you’re still shaking your fist that is the winter madness going on over there!
It’s really hard to be upset about winter when you realize this kind of beauty can’t exist in any other season. It was good to finally remember that!
Such beautiful photos. I need to check it out in person!
You should go! It’s open for another 2 weeks!