I am not one who is usually enthusiastic about cold weather, and most free days during the winter months, you won’t catch me outside. However, today was a beautiful day, and not even the single-digit temperatures could keep me from venturing out to shoot in the DC winter wonderland.

I convinced Jon to join me and it became a true adventure. We went down to the Chain Bridge and found the Potomac river to be covered in slushy snow. The ice was warped and full of ridges, where the current was flowing fast beneath the icy crust. We wandered the woods around the bank and shot frozen waterfalls and blue pools of ice, gleaming in the filtered forest light.

We then made our way to the C&O canal, where I had hoped to find the illusive skaters I had heard can be found on the frozen canal after a few days of freezing weather. As we crossed over the end of Chain Bridge, we saw them! We drove down, about a mile, to park at Fletcher’s Boat House and enjoy the scenic walk back up to meet the skaters. The white, frozen water, sugar-coated with snow, looked especially beautiful against a cloudless-blue-sky and stark white birch trees.

Jon soon tested the canal and found it was frozen-through! We ventured out to play on the ice for just a bit before continuing down the path to find the skaters. Just after the Chain Bridge overpass, we saw them. There were hopeful figure skaters, a few friends playing hockey, and even a family with a dog picnicking on the ice. We shot some photos and played on the ice ourselves for a while before heading back down to return to the car.

All in all, it was a perfect winter day in DC- one of those days, where you feel the magic of life. It was a day where we didn’t feel cold, despite being 11 degrees out. It was a day where we could fully appreciate the land and the life before us. I think the photos reflect that, too.