Eastern Upper Peninsula Tour

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

After my time hiking Isle Royale with a MooseWatch Team (which I'll blog about soon), I spoke at three libraries in the eastern U.P.

Bayliss Public Library is in Sault Ste. Marie, so I spent some time watching the freighters move through the Soo Locks.

Best snack spread ever!

Audience at Bayliss

With Head Librarian of Les Cheneaux Library, Jane French

Audience at Les Cheneaux Library

And I had a third engagement at Engadine Public Library. Thanks to everyone who came out to hear about the islands of our Great Lakes.

Epic Road Trip!

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures: 

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach  [A Heartland Indie Bestseller]

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk   [Winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award] 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure  [Long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize]

 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

This month I will hike Isle Royale once again as part of a Moosewatch Expedition. And I was able to book speaking engagements before and after my time on Isle Royale.

The first leg of my tour took me to three states in four days:

Sun Ray Library in 

St. Paul, MN

L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library

Eau Claire, WI

And 

Dickinson County Library

Iron Mountain, MI

Thanks to everyone who came out to hear my presentation about the wonderful and diverse islands of our Great Lakes.

Post Viewed Most in 2009

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

Thank you all for reading my blog! It has now surpassed 158,000 page views.

Our fascination with the black sand found along the shores of our Great Lakes made this the 

post with the most views in 2009:

Black Sand

The wide stretches of beach on Lake Michigan usually appear tan or even whitish in color, but if you pick up a handful of sand and look closely, there is a mixture of colors. Silica and quartz give the sand its light color, but there are specks of black from the mineral magnetite. This mineral is heavier than the other grains, so it often gathers in bands or patches on the shoreline, sorted by wind and waves.








































Right at the waterline, magnetite often looks like a smeary, oily stain. On the face of dunes the patterns can approach art. And when blown around an obstruction, the black lines lend definition and depth to the shore.

The glaciers ground rock to these tiny grains. The wind has lifted these grains into lofting dunes. And the water continues to sort and smooth the shoreline.

The next segment of the journey will be some of the rockiest I will encounter in my adventure. The geology of the lake is interesting to study, but even more fascinating to walk step-by-step.