Tag Archives: Lake Superior

Dancing on Wild Rice

When the loons gather in migratory rafts on Lake Superior and salmon begin to run up its tributary streams, it’s time to harvest wild rice. Native people there call it manoomin. They hold a Wild Rice Camp on Tubbs Lake near Mecosta, Michigan, where tribal and non-tribal people alike can join in the harvest and preserve the ancient cultural tradition of ricing. Continue reading






Posted in Great Lakes | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Dancing on Wild Rice

For Brendan the Navigator at 25

A memoir from Big Water (1999) Fog at Isle Royale [Source: wildmengoneborneo.com] When we shoved off the pebble beach, the outer islands that rim Malone Bay looked like green humped turtles on the horizon. All day long we had watched … Continue reading






Posted in memoir | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on For Brendan the Navigator at 25

In Paradise, A Prayer For More Snowmobilers

Ordained minister Edson Forrester presides over the Paradise, Michigan ‘s annual snowmobile blessing . Edson burns cedar and tobacco, then spreads smoke over each vehicle, saying, “Creator, protect this snowmobile on its travels.” This year, people in Paradise say they’re … Continue reading






Posted in Imaging America, Lake Superior | Tagged , | Comments Off on In Paradise, A Prayer For More Snowmobilers

Global Warming and the Future of Isle Royale

A bull moose wades in the water at Isle Royale National Park. [Photo by Jim Scurlock,  a winner in Lake Superior Magazine’s 1998 photo contest] You don’t have to look for polar bears in Greenland to find the impact of … Continue reading






Posted in ecology, Isle Royale, Lake Superior | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Brendan The Navigator: Just A Little Fog

Fog at Isle Royale [Source: wildmengoneborneo.com] We set a westerly course midway between Wright Island and shore. I sensed something uneasy about the way Brendan hunched in his life vest. He wasn’t talking. “Want to go for Hay Bay?” I … Continue reading






Posted in blind, Brendan, Lake Superior, memoir | Tagged , | 2 Comments