Sandy Edges

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 have walked thousands of miles on sandy shoreline. One of the perks of walking on sand is that you can often see who was there before you.

Here are some of my favorite shots of tracks along the sandy edge.

Gull gathering

Deer

Black bear

Crayfish

Small bird

Racoon meeting

Horse!

And a beach walker

Hands Full of the Lakeshore

The lakeshore is made up of much more than grains of sand.

..

There are the remnants of the rocks 

that are being slowly ground away.

There are many kinds of shells and the sand varies in coarseness along the way.


Next time you walk the beach, look down to discover the geological and biological clues at your feet.

This is the largest fresh water clam shell I've ever seen on the lakeshore.

Tracks on the Shore

The sands of Lake Michigan temporarily records the passage of creatures there.

From bird parties...











To the crossroads of beetles....
















To a crazy bird dance...









In a neat circle.