Fountains of the Great Lakes

In my upcoming book about the ISLANDS of the Great Lakes, I will take you to the

James Scott Memorial Fountain on Belle Isle.

During my winter in Chicago, I watched the city wake from its snowy slumber. The ice on the lake broke up and melted, and workers climbed up on Chicago's Buckingham Fountain to prepare it to have water flowing through its pipes once again.

The fountain is quiet all winter

Workers inspect the fountain...

...and ready it for the water to flow once again.

spring is in the air...

Most people see the fountain in the summer with water streaming, so you may not be aware of the effort it takes at the end of every winter to get it running once again.

Six Year Anniversary

Six years ago, I began my first hike on Chicago's Navy Pier. The completion of that first 1,000-mile hike led me to undertake two more 

Great Lake Adventures.

Chicago's Navy Pier reaches out into Lake Michigan

Now, I've hiked, kayaked, biked or boated over 3,000 miles exploring the Great Lakes basin, the shoreline, cities and towns on the edges of the lakes, wild areas, and dozens of the islands afloat in their waters.

In this video, I take a moment to look back to where this all began.

A Great Lakes Trail

You may not often think about the intersection of the Great Lakes and environmental law, 

but Professor Melissa K. Scanlan does.

Scanlan is the Director of the Environmental Law Center at Vermont Law School and she recently published a paper exploring the need for and the feasibility of a hiking trail tracing the shoreline of all five Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.

While writing this paper, Scanlan contacted me about the feasibility of establishing this trail. I was able to give her data and feedback on the accessibility of the over 2,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline I had hiked. 

Giving people MORE access to the shoreline can only benefit our connection to these vast lakes and encourage conservation of these vital waters.

From the intro of the paper:

BLUEPRINT FOR THE GREAT LAKES TRAIL 

by: Melissa K. Scanlan 

The Great Lakes are vast yet vulnerable. There is a need to focus the public’s attention on the significance of the lakes for the region as a cohesive, binational whole. To address this need, build on existing water law, and engage the public, this Article provides a blueprint to establish a Great Lakes Trail on the shores of the Great Lakes. The Trail will link together 10,000 miles of coastline and provide the longest marked walking trail in the world. It will demarcate an already existing, yet largely unrecognized, public trust easement and engage the public with their common heritage in the lakeshore.


Read the full paper HERE.

Book Cover Reveal

Anticipation for the release of my new book about the islands of the Great Lakes is growing...

Here's the cover of my upcoming book:

The cover photo was taken on Flowerpot Island 

in Lake Huron near the 

tip of the Bruce Peninsula. 

I kayaked or boated through many islands for this adventure, setting foot on over 30 of them.

This journey spanned from the wilds of Isle Royale in Lake Superior to the metropolis of Montreal on an island in the St. Lawrence River.

It was truly an island odyssey, and possibly the most fascinating of my three adventures. 

To see the list of indie bookstores participating in the early release of this book, go HERE. These bookstores will have the book on May 1.

In June, the book will be available everywhere books are sold. 

PLEASE support your local indie bookstore.

February ice on Lake Michigan

Here's a look at the ice on Lake Michigan this February:

To see satellite images of the frozen 
Great Lakes, 
go HERE.