Port Townsend's Stranger Lake, carved with Dave Chuljian's short-lived ice artwork.
Port Townsend’s Stranger Lake, carved with Dave Chuljian’s short-lived ice artwork. Courtesy Susan Disman

Sometimes you head out to get some exercise, and you end up making a massive geographic art piece instead. On January 15th, David Chuljian, a dentist in Port Townsend, Washington, decided to take advantage of the cold weather. He brought his skates down to Stranger Lake, a private lake on a friend’s property.

Excited to be able to cross the full lake for the first time in years, he decided to try skating a pattern. He criss-crossed north to south, and then east to west. The result was part sine wave, part chain-link fence.

Another angle on the artwork.
Another angle on the artwork. Courtesy Susan Disman

Then—because he had to go on an errand to Seattle anyway—Chuljian hopped in his Cessna with his girlfriend, Susan Disman, and asked her to snap some photos from above. “From the ground, [the lines are] noticeably crooked, but from the air, it has a sort of crop circle look,” he told the PT Leader.

It was good that they checked it out so soon: Within 24 hours, the ice melted again, and Stranger Lake got a little less strange.

Every day, we track down a fleeting wonder—something amazing that’s only happening right now. Have a tip for us? Tell us about it! Send your temporary miracles to [email protected].