A Shining City on the Lakeshore

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

This January, I spent some time in the largest city on the Great Lakes: Chicago.

I love this city in the winter. 

I began my first 1,000-mile Great Lakes Adventure here in the final days of winter in 2009. 

My hike around Lake Michigan began on Navy Pier.

Enjoy these photos from this shining city on the lakeshore.

Ice on the Chicago River

Lake Michigan and the Chicago River

Ice on Navy Pier

Ice on the lake and one of the water intakes for the city

 Chicago's water comes from Lake Michigan.

*Over 30 million people get their drinking water from our Great Lakes.

Navy Pier and the lake

Navy Pier

Explorers of the Great Lakes

If you've been to Chicago, you've probably walked Michigan Avenue over the Chicago River.

You may have walked over this historic site without realizing that you were on the location of Fort Dearborn. This garrison was destroyed during the War of 1812 and later rebuilt on the same site.

Michigan Ave. bridge

These magnificent sculptures flanking the bridge commemorate this battle.

Commemorating the defense of Fort Dearborn during the War of 1812

And a smaller plaque behind them remembers early European explorers of the region.

Cavilier, La Salle, and de Tonti passed this way in 1681

In my upcoming book, I tell the story of European exploration of the Great Lakes. Did you know Lake Erie was the last lake to be seen by Europeans? Do you know why?