Liebster Award Nomination

This blog has been nominated for the "Liebster Award" by the the dynamic duo, Mary Catterlin & Amy Lukas. They made a dugout canoe from a cottonwood tree, named it Makeba, then paddled/sailed it all the way around Lake Michigan!

Mary and Amy in front of the museum in Indiana where their boat was on display after they made their historic paddle around Lake Michigan

This award is passed on from blogger to blogger as a way to share stories and connect others. Once nominated, you have to answer the questions given. Then you continue the chain by nominating your blogger friends with your own questions.

Here are the questions Mary & Amy asked:

* If you could have brought one celebrity on part of one of your adventures, who would that have been?

Well, I'd rather have time with a naturalist or conservationist. If I can choose people from the past, I'd choose John Muir, Rachel Carson, or Aldo Leopold. If I can only from the living, I'd choose E.O. Wilson. It would be wonderful to discuss the natural world with any one of these people while walking the edges of our Great Lakes.

* What surprised you most about choosing this lifestyle?

Wild hiking weather during my first adventure

I knew it would be difficult to walk a 1,000 miles, but I didn't know HOW difficult. That was surprising. Then the fact that it became easier to hike 15+ miles a day the longer I did it was also surprising.

* What's the stickiest situation you've found yourself in on one of your adventures?

Sunset in the Apostle Islands

While kayaking in the Apostle Islands, a microcell storm descended on me while I was trying to paddle across an open channel. The wind and waves were so strong that I  had to paddle like a mad woman to just keep from being pushed backward. 


* If your journey had a soundtrack, what would it's signature track be?

Kelly Clarkson's "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger"


* What's your dream trip?

My three adventures exploring the Great Lakes have been the fulfillment of my dreams.


* What's the most valuable lesson you've taken away from your travels?

Learning to read the land, the geology, has been a wonderful new skill.

* What pet would you bring on your next trip?

I would probably leave pets at home. Time in the wild is wonderful, and I would worry that bringing a pet along may scare off wildlife.


I nominate Kate & Mike (who walked all the way around Lake Superior) to answer the same questions!

The largest Great Lake city

Chicago is the largest city on the shores of our Great Lakes. This city has a long history of preserving access to the lakeshore 

for Chicagoans and visitors.

Daniel Burnham created a plan for the city preserving an open lakefront.

Today, there are park areas and a new playground being constructed on the lakeshore. 

And much of the architecture here relates to Lake Michigan. My favorite is the Aqua skyscraper (in photo below) designed by Studio Gang Architects 

led by Jeanne Gang. 

Aqua (center building) echoes the waves of Lake Michigan in the undulating balconies

 I am enjoying my time in this great city.

Cloud Gate (also known as "The Bean") reflects both the city and the lakeshore

Revising...

As I revise the manuscript for my upcoming book,

I revisit the experiences I had on the

 islands of the Great Lakes.

My travels spanned from the wilds of Isle Royale in Lake Superior... 

Isle Royale

to the metropolis of Montreal on an island 

in the St. Lawrence River. 

Montreal

These experiences reshaped my concept

 of our Great Lakes. By launching out onto the waters to find these floating outposts, I discovered an entire new aspect of the Great Lakes.

I can't wait to share this new book with you.

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure

will be available at select indie bookstores in May, then everywhere books are sold in June. 

For a list of indie bookstores participating in the May release of the book, check HERE.

Great Lakes in Motion

The Great Lakes are constantly in motion.

Not only are they slowly moving water to the North Atlantic Ocean, there are also swirling currents within each lake.

Water moves around reefs, swirls around peninsulas, plunges over waterfalls and 

down rapids.

NOAA has developed a model to represent these unseen currents in the Great Lakes.

Go HERE to explore.