Duluth, MN: Great Lakes Aquarium

After hiking Isle Royale, I spent some time in Duluth, MN, before heading back home to Michigan. Even in late May, there were still chunks of ice in the Duluth harbor!

Ice in the Duluth harbor

Locals said that they expected to see ice here until July this year!

Iconic bridge in Duluth

Along the riverfront, you'll find Duluth's aquarium. It's a lovely place to spend some time exploring.

Great Lakes Aquarium

Moose statue!

 They even have a moose statue that you can pet, and since I wasn't able to pet any moose on Isle Royale (though one wandered through our camp one evening), I took advantage of this opportunity.

Live lamprey

 And they even had sea lamprey on display. 

Yikes!

Lamprey lips and suction-toothed mouth

Lake Effect Interview

Thanks to Susan Bence 

of 

WUWM, Milwaukee Public Radio,

for this interview she recorded as we walked along the shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee.

Click HERE to listen.

TEAM hiking

Hiking Isle Royale National Park 

in search of moose bones was an amazing experience! I was on a team of five hikers led by Wayne and Jason (see photo below).

Go TEAM! [L>R: Bob, Ifi, Me, and leaders Wayne & Jason]

It was a new experience for me to hike with a group. With the rough terrain, cold conditions, and an occasional missing bridge, it was essential that we watch out for each other in this wilderness.

The bridge was washed out, so we crossed on this log

Our team found many moose bones (I'll blog about that part of the adventure later).

Jason, Wayne, and Bob look over the map

 And we worked well as a team. I'd like to thank Wayne and Jason for their able leadership.

Minneapolis, Minnesota!

Since I am catching the ferry to Isle Royale out of Grand Portage, Minnesota, I decided to explore Minneapolis along the way.

Minneapolis skyline from the Art Institute

This grand river city is the home base for 

Gold Medal Flour.

Gold Medal Park along the river

I took time to visit the largest indie bookstore in the city,

Magers & Quinn Booksellers.

It's a large store and I wish I had several hours to poke around the stocked shelves there.

Magers & Quinn Booksellers

Interior of this great indie

I will pass through Minneapolis on my book tour next year with my GREAT LAKES ISLAND ADVENTURE book.

WHERE you buy your books is important. 

Consider this.

Tales from the Book Tour: Lansing District Libraries

Explaining the finer points of Great Lakes geology

This April I traveled to the Aurelius and Foster branches of the Lansing District Libraries.



I love giving my presentation to groups all over the Great Lakes region and beyond, and especially to Michiganders. Residents of Michigan are peninsular people. Our state has watery edges and is defined by these vast inland seas.

Great group at Aurelius Branch Library

Foster Branch Library 

Tales from the Book Tour: American Business Women's Association

My book tour in April took me to libraries, retirement communities, schools, and a meeting of a women's professional group.

 Actually, two professional groups -- ABWA and IAAP -- came together for this meeting in Grand Ledge outside of Lansing. 

Gotta love a group that puts out chocolate on the table!

This group meets monthly to network, develop professional skills, and also raise money for scholarships for women!  

The President of ABWA introduces me

What a lovely group of women!