Black River Books, South Haven

I always love visiting Black River Books 
in South Haven, Michigan. 

Booker and Dewey, the store dogs, are always glad to see me!

As are Pam & Dick Haferman, owners of this lovely indie bookstore.

They invited me to come and read from my new book about the islands of the Great Lakes.

Thanks to everyone who came out to chat with me and to support their local indie bookstore.

Here I am with the Hafermans, owner of Black River Books.

Washington Island, Wisconsin

Ironwork on the door

While on Washington Island, I toured the Stavkirke chapel.

Unique Stavkirke chapel

It was constructed in the 1990s following plans from Norwegian chapels built in Medieval times. 

There be Dragons adorning the chapel

I LOVED my time on Washington Island at the tip of the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin.

This is a special place, and the Stavkirke is a unique chapel on Washington Island.

Interior

It is a monument to the Scandinavian heritage of a large number of the inhabitants of Washington Island.

Model of Mackinaw schooner floats overhead

Jackson Harbor Inn

 As always, I will share with you some of my favorite places to stay along my journey. Washington Island at the tip of the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin is a special place.

This island community has around 600 permanent residents and is a friendly place. Many of the inhabitants are descended from Nordic and Icelandic peoples. Sturdy folk used to the ice and cold and not shy about the hard work it took to tame this island...

In June, the most wild thing about this island were the out-of-control lilacs blooming everywhere!

As I rode my bike around the island, the smell of lilacs surrounded me all the way to Jackson Harbor Inn at the NE corner of the island.

 This fantastic inn has a water view and comfortable, spacious rooms.

And when was the last time you fell asleep on sheets dried on the line...smelling of fresh lake air, lilacs, and summer?

AMAZING!!

Sheets drying in the Lake Michigan air!

Spacious, comfortable rooms with fridge and microwave!

View from my room: Jackson Harbor and Rock Island!

 Comfortable outdoor areas to enjoy.

From the inn, it's a short walk to catch the Karfi ferry to Rock Island State Park (which I'll blog about soon!).

Promotional consideration given.

The NEXT Adventure

Yes, there will be a NEXT adventure.

Just as my first hike around Lake Michigan gave rise to my second journey touching all five Great Lakes, 

the later journey gave rise to my newest adventure:

Exploring the ISLANDS of the

GREAT LAKES

Did you know that there are over 30,000 islands in the Great Lakes and connecting waterways? 

It would take several lifetimes to explore them all! 

So, I will explore a thousand miles of these islands by hiking, kayaking, and even bicycling.

I also plan to explore and even help with some of the research projects on the islands:

• The moose/wolf study on Isle Royal in Lake Superior
• The study of the piping plover on South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan
• The Lake Erie water snake research on South Bass Island

I have been weaving this island adventure in with my current book tour. I'm having a blast exploring and researching some our fascinating Great Lakes islands and will blog about them soon!

This adventure will span two years, 2013-14.

It is:

A 1000-MILE GREAT LAKES ISLAND ADVENTURE

Walk, paddle, and peddle along with me...

Tales From Book Tour in Wisconsin

The book tour took me to Wisconsin 

this month where I had several events.

The first was at the 

Schlitz-Audubon Nature Center (SANC)

in Milwaukee 

where I gave a lecture on the Great Lakes.

Immature bald eagle at SANC

 This is a wonderful center located right on Lake Michigan!

Jean introduces me to the crowd

 I then headed up the Door Peninsula, taking time to visit the

Cana Island Lighthouse.

Cana Island Lighthouse

 Then I headed to Washington Island where I had the unusual task of delivering copies of my new book to the bookstore there,

Islandtime Books, because my new book was backordered!

A very special delivery!!

I didn't have my car on the island, so I loaded them into the basket of a rented bike and paddeled them to the store. This store hosted me for a signing while I was on the island.

Columbine in bloom

Owner Kathleen Dixon at Islandtime Books, Washington Island

Baileys Harbor bookstore!

My final event in Wisconsin (for now) was at Novel Ideas Books on the Door Peninsula. What beautiful country up that way, and warm, friendly, "book" people!

Anyone curious about why my backpack was along for the tour...?