City Lit Books, Logan Square, Chicago!

City Lit Books in Logan Square

Lovely space with fireplace!

 I love to discover new indie bookstores when I travel. This week I made it up to the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago to visit 

City Lit Books.

[2523 N. Kedzie Blvd.]

While the exterior storefront is understated, the interior is warm and welcoming. 

City Lit Books gives great insight into their books

Short stories by Chicago author, Abby Geni

And City Lit not only curates a fantastic selection of books, but their staff posts comments for many books on their shelves.

I found this new collection of short stories there.

(*Oh, and if you have time, pop in to Lula Cafe a couple doors down for a great meal!)

5th Anniversary

Today is the fifth anniversary of where all of this  began! On March 16, 2009, I stood on Navy Pier in Chicago and then began my walk 

all the way around Lake Michigan.

My visit to Navy Pier earlier this month

This adventure became my bestselling book, 

A 1000-Mile Walk on the Beach.

This year I will complete my third Great Lakes Adventure, this time exploring many of the 
wonderful islands
 of the Great Lakes.

In May, my journey continues on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. There, I will assist researchers with the Wolf-Moose Study.

There are thousands of islands in our 
Great Lakes and I've had fascinating experiences so far on this journey. I can't wait to share them all with you in the book
A 1000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure.

The book will be released in 2015.

Ice on the Great Lakes

 This has been a frigid winter with polar vortices, snowfall breaking decades-old records, and widespread ice formation on the Great Lakes.

Lake Michigan was just over 93% covered with ice on March 8, setting a new record.

Ice near Chicago

Overall, the Great Lakes were just over 

92% iced over on March 6, 

not quite breaking the record.

Windrow ice near Chicago

The lakes are dynamic, so the ice breaks up, gets pushed around, and then stacked near the shore making elaborate formations.

 Close shot of windrow ice

Peak ice coverage for each Great Lake this year:

1. Lake Erie – 96.40% on March 6, 2014
2. Lake Huron – 96.30% on March 6, 2014
3. Lake Superior – 95.74% on March 5, 2014
4. Lake Michigan – 93.29% on March 8, 2014
5. Lake Ontario – 61.52% on March 6, 2014

Some reports stated that Lake Ontario has less ice coverage due to its volume-to-surface-area ratio, but this ratio is similar to Lake Michigan's which had higher ice coverage. I think it's more likely that the inflow from the Niagara River disrupts ice formation at the western end of the lake. The river also carries dissolved minerals from upstream into Lake Ontario which depresses the freezing point of the water. Another consideration is the effect of industrial and municipal usage and return of water at the western edge of the lake which may increase the temperature of the water. One additional factor may be the retention time for Lake Ontario which is only 6 years compared to Lake Michigan's 99 years. This means that the water in Lake Ontario is moving much faster than in Lake Michigan.

More information on ice on the

Great Lakes HERE.

Grand Finale for My ISLAND Adventure

I have completed over half of my 

adventure exploring the islands of the Great Lakes...

and I've started to plan the FINALE of this adventure.

I invite you to walk the final miles with me on 

Mackinac Island on Sunday, October 26, 2014. 

[Or just be there to celebrate the completion of My 

1000-Mile Great Lakes ISLAND Adventure!]

If you'd like details, please e-mail me at: 

LakeTrek@gmail.com

with the subject: 

Great Lakes ISLAND Finale

and I'll put you on the list to receive details 

in the coming months.

Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan

I will hike the 8 miles around Mackinac Island 

to complete my 1000 miles. 

We will stay at the historic

Grand Hotel

at a special rate.

*Note: Dinner will be a casual buffet. 

You will NOT be required to 

dress up for dinner on this date.*