THE PERIMETER PROJECT

I had the great pleasure of meeting the photographer 

Kevin J. Miyazaki yesterday in Saugatuck, Michigan.  

He is making his way around Lake Michigan over two weeks.  The Haggerty Museum in Milwaukee has commissioned Miyazaki journey.  He is searching for people connected to Lake Michigan.

Kevin J. Miyazaki, Photographer

From Miyazaki's statement about the project:

When completed, I hope to have a collection of portraits which represent Lake Michigan in human terms - in the faces of people spanning its 1600 miles of shoreline - whose lives are connected and enriched by the presence of this beautiful body of water.

Some of the Portraits for the PERIMETER PROJECT

I am honored to be included in this project.

The exhibit will open at the Haggerty Museum in Milwaukee in January 2013.  

Here's the photo of me that will be included in the exhibit!

Learn more about Miyazaki's work and the Perimeter Project HERE and HERE.  

Oil Spill in West Michigan Heading Toward Lake Michigan

The overpowering smell of oil on the river is a much stronger warning than the signs which are posted for miles along the Kalamazoo River. I stopped at three points along the river for maybe 15 minutes total, and came away with a fierce headache.















This river flows through the center of Battle Creek (where I live), then through the towns of Galesburg, Kalamazoo, Plainwell, and Allegan. Then, finally, between the cities of Douglas and Saugatuck before joining LAKE MICHIGAN. There are many wetlands along the way and the river harbors much wildlife. I've kayaked stretches of this river and have seen deer, turtles, blue heron, trout, and muskrat.

Estimates of the amount of oil have been raised to one million gallons. Why was the oil allowed to gush for hours before the flow in the pipeline was shut off? We're still waiting for an answer from Enbridge Energy.

The last photo here is of the Ceresco Dam in Marshall. The EPA is using a Coast Guard helicopter to survey the extent of the spill. This is just a mile or two from origin of the spill. The second photo shows how the crude oil is gathering in the vegetation.

Watch the video below for a closer look at the spill.

Saugatuck Nature Preserve

Back in January, I wrote about a tract of lakeshore -- 171 acres of it -- which had been purchased and protected as a nature preserve.

Today, I finally got out to hike this land. It was almost 60 degrees, clear and mild, a wonderful day to explore these rolling dunes just north of Oval Beach in Saugatuck, Michigan. The tract of land stretches up to the mouth of the Kalamazoo River where it empties into Lake Michigan. There were patches of snow still nestled in the dune grass, but the lake was completely clear of the shelf ice that stretched out into the fog the last time I was out to this side of the lake.

The Land Conservancy, the City of Saugatuck, and The Nature Conservancy joined with private donors to protect this land just before 2009 ended.

A Timely Gift

A tract of lakeshore -- 171 acres of it -- has just been purchased and protected. This untouched land is located just north of Oval Beach in Saugatuck, Michigan, and stretches up to the mouth of the Kalamazoo River where it empties into Lake Michigan. The Land Conservancy, the City of Saugatuck, and The Nature Conservancy joined with private donors to close the $20 million dollar deal just before 2009 ended.

The preservation of this wild area is a gift to us all.

The Wild Side of the Lake

We've had a couple of big snowstorms
already this winter, and when that first 'lake effect' snow flies, I'm reminded of how the lake influences our weather and precipitation. I also think back to the first day I hiked with my son, Lucas, and how a storm had the lake all wild and riled with huge waves and howling wind. This was back in early April.

The photos at the top were taken on the same stretch of shoreline as the photo at the top of this blog. If you look closely, you'll see a vertical marker and a smaller, triangular one on the beach. These markers show just how far the lake was pushed up on the shoreline this day.

This was -- no contest -- the toughest day I hiked on the Lake Trek. Headwinds were sustained at 35mph and gusted to much stronger. We only did 5 miles that day, but it felt like 25.

Segment 3, Day 2 Douglas->Holland 12 miles

High of 41 degrees. Winds 20mph.

We hiked inland from the lake the morning of the second day. The Kalamazoo River snakes between the cities of Douglas and Saugatuck. We had to walk through the lovely city of Saugatuck in order to get past the river.

We stopped in at the Singapore Bank Bookstore and met the owner, Judy. (Singapore was a small town that was abandoned near Saugatuck in 1875. The building that houses the bookstore was moved to Saugatuck.)

We saw a couple of flurries while walking through the town, but we walked on to the state park just north of town and back to the lake.

We made good time on the lakeshore and covered 12 miles this day. We met up with Mark Copier (who took photos for the Grand Rapids Press article) at the Saugatuck Dunes State Park. Then we connected with Rick Wilson (reporter from the Grand Rapids Press) for an interview over a hot cup of coffee in Holland.

My brother, Phil (LakeTrek Transporter) met up with us in Holland. He drove us from the hotel to the north side of Lake Macatawa (the large, inland lake in Holland) for the start of day 3.