Book Tour in Ohio

Blue Jacket Books in Xenia

I had a wonderful time on my book tour last week in Ohio.

I spoke at four locations: 

Blue Jacket Books in Xenia

(with one of the largest and best selections of used and rare books I've ever seen)

Blanchester Public Library

Books N More in Wilmington

and

at the Friends of the Library Annual Dinner in Amherst

Books N More in Wilmington, Ohio

The Conversations Club in Wilmington

The Conversations Club in Wilmington is a woman's group that has existed for over a century!

Books N More

 Books N More in downtown Wilmington has a great selection of toys and gifts in addition to all of the books!

The Friends of the Library Annual Dinner in Amherst, Ohio, was a great event! I was the featured author for this gathering.

Program for the Annual Author Dinner in Amherst, OH

President Sharon Vollmer introduces me after lunch

The lunch drew around 140 people in support of the Amherst Library!

Inscription Rock on Kelleys Island

The islands of Lake Erie hold some unique history. On Kelly's Island, there is a large slab of limestone where Native Americans used to carve messages.

It is thought that these pictographs gave information about hunting and fishing sites on and around the islands and told of events in the area.

Inscription Rock under protective roof

While the rock has been weathered over time, there was a sketch made of the pictographs by an army Captain that preserves some of what has been eroded away.

This is a representation of a drawing made by Captain Seth Eastman (of the US Army) in 1850 

The rock is over 32 feet x 21 feet

The weathered carvings are still evident on the rock

Enbridge Pipeline: Replacing the section that leaked

Illinois Book Tour

 I had a wonderful time touring in Illinois 
with my books, 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk
and 
A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach

I gave a lecture at the beautiful Lake Forest Open Lands Association property called

Mellody Farm.

Gates to the once grand estate

This land was once part of the 1,000 acre estate of the Armour family (of the Armour meatpacking fortune). 

 Fifty acres of this estate are now preserved and efforts are underway to restore the land to pre-farming days. There are diverse habitats found here.

John Sentell, President of Lake Forest Open Lands, introduces me to the audience

Resident turtle at Lake Forest Open Lands

 In between my book tour events, I spent some time at the gathering of regional independent booksellers at the Heartland Fall Forum held in Rosemont, IL.

 It was wonderful to mingle with bookseller friends and to celebrate the indie spirit.

Evergreen Park Public Library

My last appearance in Illinois was in Evergreen Park at the lovely library there. I had time to stop in at Anderson's Bookshop (they graciously supplied books for my library appearance).

Anderson's Bookshop, a wonderful indie bookstore

Anderson's!

These boots are made for HIKING!

While on my book tour, these boots travel with me. It's only fitting since they were with me for 700 miles of my last 1,000-mile adventure.

My 700-mile boots!

People come up to the boots at events, pick one up and turn them around to check the wear on the soles. 

"These look like they have a few miles left in them," they say.

"I still wear them. They're incredibly comfortable," I tell them.

It's only when you see them side-by-side with a new pair of the same model that you see how far they've travelled, how rocks and rain and mud and miles have transformed them.

New and old

Sole check

I only hike in Keen boots. 

And in these photos, I'm sure you can tell why.

They conform to my stride

Promotional consideration given

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.

The Lake Erie Water Snake

Once threatened, now on the rebound!

While exploring the islands in Lake Erie, I stopped in at Ohio State University's research center on South Bass Island.

I met with Kristin Stanford (The Snake Lady) in her newly renovated lab.

Renovated lab for snake research

The Lake Erie Water Snake (LEWS) was classified as threatened -- and almost made the endangered list -- back in the late 1990s. At one time it was estimated that fewer than 2,000 of these snakes were living on the Lake Erie Islands. 

The "Snake Lady" Kristen Stanford

The subspecies of this snake that lives out on the islands, Nerodia sipedon insularum, has possibly the most restricted range of any snake in the world as it just lives on a handful of islands in the lake. A related subspecies lives along part of the Lake Erie shoreline, but these are generally darker in color and only make it out to the island if they stowaway on a boat (which they occasionally do).

The population of the LEWS has rebounded to over 10,000 on the islands. Conservation and education efforts have helped restore their numbers. The round gobi, an invasive species of fish, has also helped the snakes...by coming over for dinner.

Do we owe the round goby our gratitude?

These jars (below) are filled with the stomach contents from captures and released LEWS. Virtually every meal eaten by these snakes consisted of round goby. This invasive fish has flourished in Lake Erie. It is estimated that there are 35 of these fish for every square meter of lake bottom near the islands. 

The LEWS no longer has to search far for a meal!

Round Goby -- it's what's for dinner!

Snake tag (implanted under the skin)

Work with the LEWS is ongoing. The process of gathering and tagging the snakes was featured on an episode of Dirty Jobs.
Learn more HERE.

The World's Largest Celestite Geode

I've taken a hammer to quite a few geodes in my life, but I had never seen anything like this underground geode on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. 

Discovered in 1897 when islanders were trying to dig a well, this geode is filled with massive celestite crystals comprised of Strontium Sulfate (SrSO4).

This geode has room for over a dozen people 

Surrounded by crystals!

The geode/cave is privately owned 

and is called the

Crystal Cave.

Crystals up close -- each crystal has 14 faces

This is the largest single crystal in the cave -- it weighs nearly 200 pounds

These are the largest known celestite crystals in the world.

The Battle of Lake Erie!!

The Niagara

My current adventure has transported me off the shoreline and out onto the ISLANDS within our Great Lakes.


This Labor Day, I traveled to South Bass Island's Put-in-Bay to take part in the bicentennial reenactment of the Battle of Lake Erie. This naval engagement between the Americans and British was a turning point in the War of 1812.

Sixteen tall ships gathered in Lake Erie for this event which was the largest reenactment of a naval battle in American history.

Cannon fire!

My ship had a tiny cannon

It was fascinating to take part in this Great Lakes event.

The Lynx

The Niagara fires from both sides

"We have met the enemy, and they are OURS!"

Check out the video below for glimpses of the action!

{This experience will be part of my next book

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes

ISLAND ADVENTURE!

Due to be released in 2015.