Massive Storm Whips Up Lake Michigan

This week one of the largest storms to ever hit the Midwest struck. High, sustained winds whipped up Lake Michigan as the barometric pressure dropped to a point lower than during the storm that sunk the Edmond Fitzgerald lake freighter in 1975.

Gusts from the storm were measured at over 60 mph near the lake. Sustained, westerly winds across Lake Michigan caused waves exceeding 20 feet tall.


This map depicts wave data from Lake Michigan on Wednesday. Orange means waves over 15 feet, red is around 20! All this wind causes a massive 'standing wave' or seiche as the lake water is pushed to the east.

Below is a photo from the roughest day on my Lake Trek. My son and I had sustained winds of 35 mph with gusts over 45.








The lake is a living entity. It can rage or whisper...murmur or scream.

And if it ices over in the winter it is briefly, eerily silent.

Support your local INDIE bookstore!

On the way back from Milwaukee last month, I stopped in at a couple of bookstores on the drive home. Sometimes, a bookstore owner will recognize me and call out, "Hey, you're the Lake Walker Woman!" (or something to that effect). And they want to know when the book is coming out.

I'm thrilled to have a release date of March 1, 2011. Look for my book on their shelves then. There are links to all the bookstores I have visited in the sidebar of this blog. Check them out, or find the indie bookstore nearest to you by going to INDIEBOUND.ORG





















I also stopped in to see the lake at New Buffalo, Michigan. It was a pretty dramatic evening at the beach! New Buffalo has a new independent bookstore right on the Red Arrow Highway. It's called BUFFALO BOOKS and is inside the Harbor County Trading Company. I'll be doing a signing there next summer, so watch for updates on my Facebook Fan Page ('Like' it in the upper sidebar here to get info on your news feed on Facebook).

Lake Michigan Rocks!

I've always been a rock hound, and my Lake Trek gave me a golden opportunity to collect rocks from the entire shoreline of Lake Michigan.

The series of four 'waves' of glaciers that formed our Great Lakes dragged rocks from as far away as within the Arctic Circle and deposited them in our lake. You won't find this wide a variety of color and mineral composition anywhere else in the world.

In the video below, I've placed my collection of Lake Michigan rocks on a map of the lake.

Big Lake Bash

I had the pleasure of attending the Alliance for the Great Lakes GREAT LAKE BASH this week. I took my mom along to the site on the shores of Lake Michigan.



The second shot is of me and my mom, the sun is behind us, getting ready to lower itself into the lake.






The last photo is of the Alliance's President, Joel Brammeier, addressing the gathering.













I have been a member of the Alliance for the Great Lakes for years now, and they do important and effective work to protect our Great Lakes. They are an important ally in the fight to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

The Alliance does important work on many levels, from educational materials for teachers to use with their students, to shaping policy to protect the lakes, to working to pass the Great Lakes Compact which dictates how the lakes' water can be used.

Publishing Contract SIGNED!

It's official!

I just returned from Milwaukee where I met with my publisher, Crickhollow Books, and signed a contract for the book about my Lake Trek adventure. The image to the left will be the cover of the book.





I'm excited to be working with Mr. Phil Martin, my editor and publisher. Below is a photo taken of us after our celebratory dinner in Milwaukee.

Mr. Martin shares my love of Lake Michigan and he even took time away from his work to walk with me for a few miles south of Milwaukee on the last segment of my journey.





It has been a second adventure to write the book and to find a good 'home' for it in the hands of Mr. Martin. He's able to move quickly to get the book published, and it will be available everywhere in the spring.