6th Anniversary of My Great Lakes Walk

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/

October 20 is the 6th anniversary of my second Great Lakes Adventure. 

This 1,000-mile hike took me along portions of all five of our magnificent Great Lakes.

Yellow line is my route for this 1,000-mile hike

This journey allowed me to get to know the unique personalities of each Great Lake.

If I had to describe each lake in one word, I'd choose:

Lake Erie:  Fishy

Lake Erie has the most fish of any Great Lake. It is shallow and warm and teeming with life.

My sisters dropped me off at the beginning of this adventure

Along the shore of Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Huron: Limestone!

The edge of northern Lake Huron is rimmed with limestone and is the site of several large limestone mines.

Blue Water Bridge

Massive truck at the Calcite Limestone Mine north of Rogers City

40-Mile Point Lighthouse

Hiking the rocky edge of Lake Huron

Puddingstone

 Lake Superior:  Wild!

 Lake Superior is the largest, deepest, coldest, cleanest, and WILDEST Great Lake.

Hiking the middle of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

My son, Ben, joined me along Lake Superior

Ben at the tip of the Keewenaw Peninsula

Lake Ontario: Friendly!

I hiked Lake Ontario on the Canadian side. The weather was mild and the people were welcoming.

Lake Ontario

Hiking the Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario

Lake Michigan: Home

I live at the edge of this Great Lake, so hiking its shores always feels like home to me.

Sunset at tip of Leelanau Peninsula

Along Lake Michigan

Sanderlings along Lake Michigan

The finale of this hike took place along the Niagara River. My finish line for this 1,000-mile hike was Niagara Falls.

The enthusiastic group that hiked the final miles with me!

The magnificent finish line

Niagara Falls in motion:

The book about this adventure!

[Available wherever books are sold.

Find the audiobook HERE.]

Perry Monument on Presque Isle

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/

I recently had a speaking engagement in Erie, Pennsylvania. The natural harbor there is formed by a long peninsula reaching out into Lake Erie.  

That peninsula is called Presque Isle which is French for "almost island." 
It is attached to the mainland by a thin strip of land.

Presque Isle is the green peninsula in map above

Looking back at the city of Erie from Presque Isle State Park

It was in this harbor that the Americans built 6 ships to battle with the British at the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813.

This was the first time that the British navy was defeated and all of their vessels were captured.

The American commander that day was Oliver Hazard Perry, and a monument to him stands out on the peninsula.

Perry Monument

Inscription reads:  "Erected by the State of Pennsylvania to commemorate the victory of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie"

Oliver Hazard Perry gave us the famous line:

"We have met the enemy, and they are ours."

Great Lakes Walk Anniversary

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

Five years ago today I completed my 1,000-mile hike exploring all five Great Lakes.

The yellow line in the map below traces the route of this adventure. I spent time on each Great Lake and also hiked some of the watery connections between the lakes.

The yellow route is my Great Lakes Walk

 Here are some highlights from this journey:

Pictured Rocks along Lake Superior

Hiking along limestone-strewn Lake Huron

Niagara Falls

St. Clair River and the Blue Water Bridge

Hiking along Lake Erie

Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Lake St. Clair

Hiking the Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario

Group that hiked final miles with me to finish line of Niagara Falls

  I learned so much about our Great Lakes on this adventure. Each lake has a unique "personality." The geology differs in each basin. And each lake has unique conditions for aquatic life.

The full story of this walk is in my second book (also available as an audiobook):

A Moment on a Tall Ship on Lake Erie

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

Here is a moment during the reenactment of the Battle of Lake Erie. Fifteen tall ships gathered near the Lake Erie Islands to go through the motions of that fateful battle in 1813.

The American Navy was victorious. This was the first battle that the British Navy lost. All their ships were captured.

Oliver Hazard Perry reported the results of the battle to his commander with the famous line:

"We have met the enemy...

and they are ours."

I was honored to be part of this reenactment and my account of that day -- along with the historic account from 1813 -- can be found in my third book, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure.

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.

Second Anniversary of Great Lakes Walk

Two years ago, I completed my

1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk 

at Niagara Falls.

The dramatic finish line

The final miles were along the Niagara River 

Many friends and family members hiked these final miles with me

Gorgeous fall hiking!

The enthusiastic hikers!

Now, two years later, I am on the cusp of completing my 

1,000-Mile Great Lakes ISLAND Adventure

on Mackinac Island.

I'll blog about that finale soon!

The Artist (and skull collector), Sally Thompson

Sally works in diverse media and many different subjects

I met Sally Thompson while on my 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk.

She helped me to navigate my way around the many inlets along the western edge of Lake Erie. She knows the area because she is an avid kayaker. 

Sally is also a talented artist. I was able to meet up with her this October and look through her artwork. I had purchased a barn drawing from her earlier, but had wanted to see more of her work in person.

These four "negative space" tree drawings by Sally look great in my house!

You can check out her artwork at her website:

http://SallyThompson.stepanic.net

Or in person at these galleries:
 Gallery 108

108 Park Place, Dundee, Michigan

or
The Hudson Gallery
5645 Main Street, Sylvania, OH

The Glaciers as Artist...

While on Kelleys Island in Lake Erie, I hiked to the Glacial Grooves State Memorial.

When I give lectures about the Great Lakes, I always mention how these lakes were formed during the last ice age by a series of glaciers that came down from the north to scour out the lake basins. On Kelleys Island, you can see the handiwork of the glaciers stretching over this preserved 3 acres that still clearly show the hand of the glaciers.

These grooves scoured in a limestone bed thousands of years ago are the most famous glacial grooves in the world.

Much of this area was covered in glacial till (dirt and rocks deposited by the melting glaciers) until the 1970s. Excavation was a meticulous process. Today, an almost 400 feet long stretch of grooves is exposed and protected for us all to marvel at.