Category: Water

  • Exploring the Mitten, Part 2 (Two Great Lakes)

    The upper tier of the mitten sits between two of the Great Lakes: Huron and Michigan. That means the farthest someone needs to travel to hit an immense body of water is maybe 75 miles (120 kilometres). Generally, unless situated directly atop the midpoint, a given location will sit even closer than that to at…

  • Sydney Skyline

    As Viewed from the Taronga Zoo (October 1997) After twenty hours of flight from the east coast of the United States, we reached Australia, and arrived in Sydney with fourteen hours of jet lag to make up. We took this photograph from the north side of Port Jackson at the Taronga Zoo Sydney. From that…

  • Brisbane at Sunset

    Queensland, Australia (October 1997) Next we flew up the coast to Brisbane, Queensland. We stayed with my wife’s friend who used to be her co-worker before she decided to move to Australia. However, I won’t post her name on the Internet because she might not appreciate it. We never would have gone to Australia if…

  • Noosa National Park

    Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia (1997) We drove 160 km north of Brisbane to Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast. This town served as a gateway to the spectacular Noosa National Park with its rugged shoreline and abundant native Australian wildlife (map). Hastings Street provided access to the popular Headlands section of the park. We found…

  • Tweed River & Mt. Warning

    Along the Water (October 1997) Our next adventure took us south of Brisbane, through the “Gold Coast” and Surfer’s Paradise, and back over the border into New South Wales (map). When we left Sydney earlier in our trip, New South Wales and Queensland were on the same time. However in the meantime, New South Wales…

  • Mississippi River Lock & Dam Number 4

    Between Alma, Wisconsin and Kellogg, Minnesota, USA (June 2009) The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates a series of twenty seven locks and dams along the Upper Mississippi River between St. Paul, Minnesota and Granite City, Illinois (near St. Louis). Lock and Dam Number 4 is one of the furthest upstream, as signified…

  • Apostle Islands / Bayfield Peninsula Index

    Index of Pages from the Visit to Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands (2007) Few areas can rival the natural beauty of the Apostle Island and the Bayfield Peninsula. The state of Wisconsin borders Lake Superior only briefly but this mighty wedge takes full advantage of its limited coastline. The islands are a national treasure full of rocky…

  • Visiting the City of Bayfield

    Bayfield, Wisconsin, USA (August 2007) Bayfield (map), the Apostle Islands gateway, owes its identity to Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield. He charted much of the western Great Lakes in the 1820’s as a Royal Navy Surveyor. That included Chequamegon Bay and areas surrounding present-day Bayfield and Madeline Island. When the Bayfield Land Company platted their town…

  • Mawikwe Sea Caves

    Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; Bayfield County, Wisconsin, USA (August 2007) Sea caves adorn several points along the Apostle Islands and the nearby mainland shore of Lake Superior. Sailors, sea kayakers and other adventurers flock to northern Devils Island, Swallow Point on Sand Island, and Mawikwe Bay along the Bayfield Peninsula, to explore these natural wonders…

  • Big Bay on Madeline Island

    Ashland County, Wisconsin, USA (August 2007) With the exception of the immediate boundaries of La Pointe, the most popular spots on Madeline Island were the adjacent state and town park along Big Bay’s sandy hook. “Popular” was a relative term however. We never felt crowded anywhere on the island. We found Big Bay State Park…