Boldt Castle

Passing under the Thousand Island Bridge

While exploring the St. Lawrence River, I hiked Heart Island, the location of Boldt Castle. 

This castle is connected to great sorrow, because when George C. Boldt (owner of the Waldorf Hotel in New York City) was having it built as a gift for his wife, Louise, she died. The exterior of the summer mansion was finished and the interior was swarming with over 300 craftsmen working to complete the job.

A smaller building on the island that housed the power generators

Heartbroken, Boldt sent a telegram telling the workers to lay down their tools and leave the island. The building remained unfinished for decades.

The main entry

The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority obtained the island in 1977 and have been restoring the property ever since.

Glass dome

Finished bedroom

View from the room

Exterior still undergoing restoration

Dining room

It is quite a castle, and a fascinating story that I'll share more of in my upcoming book.

Exterior

The nearby boathouse

The 1000 Islands of the St. Lawrence River

I coordinated with a kayaking outfitter,

1000 Island Kayaking

to explore some of the islands in the St. Lawrence River.

This company is based in Gananoque, Ontario. This special trip, though, was out of Brockville, Ontario, 

to explore the Frontenac Arch. 

Kayaking on the St. Lawrence River, a freighter passes behind me

 The Frontenac Arch is the ancient granite bridge connecting the Canadian Shield to the Adirondack Mountains. It is an incredibly biodiverse region and was recognized in 2002 by being designated a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

National Geographic also recognized the area as a geotourism region. This recognizes the connection of tourism of the region the geographical character of a place. This connection "...should sustain or enhance the environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and well-being of its residents."

Kayaking with the group through a narrows

Lunch!

 They served a wonderful lunch, much of the food was 

sourced locally. 

We had lunch on Stovin Island

The city of Brockville owns around 16 islands in the river here and maintains them for boaters to explore and even to camp on some of them. 

Heading back toward Brockville

 Murray Golledge, a local kayaking expert and kayak builder, paddled with us and told stories of this stretch of river that he loves so much. He talked about "listening to the river" and he told me that the river often gave tests instead of lessons. 

Murray said, "If you survived the test, then you 

learned the lesson." 

I certainly have some experience with that concept!

A gorgeous day on the river

The waters of the Great Lakes are on a slow journey to the northern Atlantic Ocean. All of these waters flow down the Saint Lawrence River -- hundreds of miles -- before merging with the ocean.

Check out the Facebook Page for the Frontenac Arch Biosphere HERE.

And connect with 1000 Island Kayaking 

HERE.

Monarch butterflies

Monarch butterflies are finally 

having a good year. 

Conditions this spring were favorable as the cloud of monarchs migrated north from their wintering grounds in Mexico into southern U.S. 

The summer was also easy on the butterflies as the next generations migrated into the northern states. Many thousands of them make their way into the Great Lakes basin.

MonarchWatch.org collects data and also sells milkweed plugs so concerned monarch fans can cultivate this important plant on their land.

Milkweed is the ONLY plant that monarchs will lay eggs on. It is the ONLY plant that the caterpillars of the monarchs will eat.

While hiking on Manitoulin Island, I saw the most beautiful milkweed plants: 

The amount of milkweed growing along the migratory path of the monarchs has been declining for years and has caused a huge drop in the number of monarchs.

Learn more HERE.

What is a "seiche"?

I wrote about the phenomenon of a "seiche" in my first book, 

A 1,000-MILE WALK ON THE BEACH.

Earlier this month, weather conditions were perfect to set up large seiche formation on both Lakes Superior and Michigan.
(For a report on the Lake Superior seiche, go HERE.)

So, what is a "seiche" (pronounced SAY-sh)?

From the NOAA website:

Seiches are typically caused when strong winds and rapid changes in atmospheric pressure push water from one end of a body of water to the other. When the wind stops, the water rebounds to the other side of the enclosed area. The water then continues to oscillate back and forth for hours or even days. 

In 1954, a large seiche formed in Lake Michigan that bounced off the eastern shoreline of SW Michigan, then rebounded back across the lake as a 10-foot wave that swept fishermen off the docks of Chicago. Eight people drown that day.

For more information on this phenomenon and photos, go here.

Efroymson Conservation Center

In September, I did a speaking tour for 

The Nature Conservancy.

One of my presentations was at their headquarters in Indianapolis, the Efroymson Conservation Center.

Exterior of the center

Though I've toured several gold LEED rated buildings, this is the first platinum LEED rated building I've ever come across.

Lobby

All the brick in this building and much of the wood was reclaimed and reused from the building previously on the site.

Rainwater is captured and used by the green roof or the gardens around the center which are planted with native species. Storm water that falls on the property is also gathered via permeable pavement to be reused on site to water plants or to flush the toilets in the center.

"Green" roof

LiveWall planted with species native to Indiana

 Geothermal heating and cooling and a lighting system that automatically senses when it is needed are also components making this an incredibly GREEN building.

Perimeter Project becomes a book

 Haggerty Museum of Art in Milwaukee originally commissioned photographer

Kevin J. Miyazaki

    to create a modern portrait of Lake Michigan.

He decided to drive around the lake, taking portraits of the water and of the people along the shoreline.
What emerged, as Mary Louise Schumacher, art and architecture critic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says, was a 
"A wonderfully perceptive interrogation of landscape, portraiture, cartography, and place."

Kevin J. Miyazaki at the Perimeter installation at the Haggerty Museum

A wall of human portraits faced a wall of lake portraits 

Celebrating the opening of Perimeter with Miyazaki 

I was honored to be a subject of this project and to attend opening night.

The project has now evolved into a lovely selection of these portraits in book form published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

The book

Many shots of Lake Michigan are included

Amy Lukas and Mary Catterlin -- who traversed the perimeter of the lake in a dugout canoe that they made -- are featured

Kids at Lake Michigan 

Workers on the Mackinac Bridge

Police chief and park ranger

My portrait and quote about Lake Michigan

The vast waters of Lake Michigan

Heartfelt congratulations to Kevin on this lovely book. For more information and to order a signed copy of your own, click HERE.

Sturgeon Release Party

A unique partnership between the DNR, Fish and Wildlife Department, and the Gun Lake Potowatami has led to the rearing and release of 35 sturgeon into the Kalamazoo River. 

The mobile hatchery is parked by the Kalamazoo River. Stefan Tucker (R) worked closely with the fish

I attended the "Release Party" this month at the  New Richmond Bridge County Park  on the Kalamazoo River. It was quite an event with over 300 people in attendance.

4-month old sturgeon

Members of the Gun Lake Potowatami Tribe sang the fish song for the release

Kregg Smith (right, green shirt) from the DNR addresses the crowd

People lined up along the river to watch 

Sturgeon are an ancient fish. Their numbers have been depleted all over the Great Lakes basin. This effort is one of many to help restore the populations of this fish. 

Kregg Smith (left) allows the kids to touch the sturgeon and help release them into the river

 Members of the Gun Lake Tribe released the first few sturgeon into the river, then kids in attendance released the remaining sturgeon. 

A baby soft shell turtle swam by during the release party

Treasure Island on Lake Mindemoya

While on Manitoulin Island, I kayaked to the largest island in a lake on Manitoulin.

Kayaking to Treasure Island on Lake Mindemoya

Yep. An island on an island.

A perfect day to kayak

Exposed roots from a tree blown down in a storm

Limestone underneath water

Manitoulin Island is the largest island in the Great Lakes basin. It is also the largest island on fresh water in the world. I spent almost two weeks exploring the island and can't wait to share it with you in my upcoming book, 

   A 1000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure.

Southbay Gallery & Guesthouse

I love finding unique places to stay on my treks, and Manitoulin Island's 

Southbay Gallery & Guesthouse

is one of these gems.

The Guesthouse

Fantastic accommodations

The town of Southbay is where the 

Chi-Cheemaun docks on Manitoulin Island.

[The ferry runs between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island.]

The gallery across the street from the guest house has many unique Canadian gifts.

Nearby gallery

Interior of the gallery