Post Viewed Most in 2014

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

Thank you all for reading my blog! It has now surpassed 150,000 page views!

Here is the most-viewed post from 2014 featuring a unique B&B in the beautiful 
Les Cheneaux Islands:

Dancing Waters B&B

Jim and Betty Struble have life figured out.

Jim and Betty Struble

They own the Dancing Waters Bed & Breakfast 

located on Hill Island which is part of the 

beautiful Les Cheneaux archipelago.  

This collection of Islands snugs up against Michigan's Upper Peninsula about ten miles 

east of Mackinac Island.

This is a watery place that invites boats of all sorts to come and play in these sheltered passages. The Struble's B&B is located on the southern point of Hill Island, so watery views abound.

View from the table that Jim made

The Lakeview Room

I had the "Lakeview Room," but I renamed it the "Peeping Deer Room" because I awoke one morning to a deer looking in my window!

Perfect view

 I brought my Advanced Elements kayak with me and launched it from the B&B's dock. 

Talk about convenient!

I launched my kayak from their boathouse dock

Dancing Waters B&B is comfortable, the owners incredibly knowledgeable about the area, and Betty makes her own breads!

Betty's bread is rising...

Two of the finished loaves (Cherry Walnut and Pecan Apricot!)

The view is breathtaking

Deer visit all day long

Jim is building an addition to the B&B and he has a grand vision for the future. He is a builder and a master woodworker. 

A spiral staircase with a single, central cedar tree trunk will one day grace the outside of the structure.

Jim's woodworking shop

Jim is crafting every aspect of the addition, and the work is impressive. When I found out that he is doing most of it by himself, I was astonished. 

Top of the World!

Life is WILD in the Les Cheneaux Islands

Many of the Les Cheneaux islands have land set aside for nature. Some entire islands are national forest or designated nature preserves.

Wildlife abounds here:

Bald Eagle on top of tree

Pink forget-me-nots

White forget-me-nots

Sandhill crane in flight

Shed exoskeleton...a dragonfly emerged 

Sandhill Crane

Plenty of deer on these islands

Les Cheneaux Islands: Dancing Waters B&B

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

Jim and Betty Struble have life figured out.

Jim and Betty Struble

They own the Dancing Waters Bed & Breakfast 

located on Hill Island which is part of the 

beautiful Les Cheneaux archipelago.  

This collection of Islands snugs up against Michigan's Upper Peninsula about ten miles 

east of Mackinac Island.

This is a watery place that invites boats of all sorts to come and play in these sheltered passages. The Struble's B&B is located on the southern point of Hill Island, so watery views abound.

View from the table that Jim made

The Lakeview Room

I had the "Lakeview Room," but I renamed it the "Peeping Deer Room" because I awoke one morning to a deer looking in my window!

Perfect view

 I brought my Advanced Elements kayak with me and launched it from the B&B's dock. 

Talk about convenient!

I launched my kayak from their boathouse dock

Dancing Waters B&B is comfortable, the owners incredibly knowledgeable about the area, and Betty makes her own breads!

Betty's bread is rising...

Two of the finished loaves (Cherry Walnut and Pecan Apricot!)

The view is breathtaking

Deer visit all day long

Jim is building an addition to the B&B and he has a grand vision for the future. He is a builder and a master woodworker. 

A spiral staircase with a single, central cedar tree trunk will one day grace the outside of the structure.

Jim's woodworking shop

Jim is crafting every aspect of the addition, and the work is impressive. When I found out that he is doing most of it by himself, I was astonished. 

Top of the World!

Time on the Lakeshore

Here are some highlights from my time at the lakeshore this fall.

Even after encircling Lake Michigan with my footsteps and recording it in my muscles and bones, the lake continues to captivate me.

Next year I will undertake another 1000-mile hike in the Great Lakes region.

Tracks in the Sand

There were all sorts of tracks in the sand where I left the prints of my boots. Often, I stopped to take photos as evidence of who had been walking the shoreline ahead of me.

There were scads of deer tracks (below) and at least one bear prowling the shoreline (above).















This track puzzled me for awhile until I saw a crayfish walking the sand leaving these marks behind.





An occasional hoof print where people had ridden in the surf and sand.















There were raccoon tracks, especially near streams.

























And, of course, many types of birds left their marks as they wandered the shore.