Wandering Knight

New post by Kenknight

New post by Kenknight

New post by Kenknight

New post by Kenknight

The Rolling Sculpture car show here in Ann Arbor July 2013.

New post by Kenknight

New post by Kenknight

New post by Kenknight

Over Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-27, 2013) the Western Michigan Chapter of the North Country Trail Association runs a trip to backpack the Lakeshore Trail in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. this year 5 of us did the trip. This year we hiked the trail from west to east, Munising to Grand Marais, the opposite of what we normally do. The trip would treat us to exceptional weather never getting overly warm and though nighttime low temperatures dipped to around freezing we were all prepared for that degree of chill. Of even greater importance to us was the near utter lack of bugs to pester us. That was a real special treat since sometimes when we have done this trip the bugs have been exceptionally voracious. We also got a couple surprises along the way not the least of which would be our chance, after years of merely seeing the light station from the ground, to tour Au Sable Lighthouse on our third day. Trip photos can be found here. A quick video glimpse of our hike can be watched here on Vimeo.

New post by Kenknight

New post by Kenknight

New post by Kenknight

The North Country Trail runs from New York to North Dakota. When completed it will span some 4,600 miles. Over 1,100 miles of the trail run through Michigan and well over half of that is on traditional backpacking type wilderness trail. Over the past several years I have hiked many portions of the trail in Michigan. In 2008 I joined Andy, Doug, and John to hike the segment of trail between Tahquamenon Falls Rivermouth Campground (near by anyway) and Grand Marais. We thought the trip would be just over 80 miles in length but it turned out to be somewhat longer than that. That was just one of the surprises this 5-day expedition would have in store for our group.Photos of the trip can be found on the associated blog page at A Wanderingknight blog (straight to the photos album).

I have only just realized that I never shared my experiences of Hollerfest 2012 with you. This was a fine festival and it seemed to me well attended. Hollerfest takes place at the Frog Holler farm and you can learn more about the festival at  the hollerfest.com website.  I managed to catch quite a few acts and was happy to see the wide assortment of musical style represented at the festival. I hope you enjoy listening to this audio postcard. Performers heard (in order) are: 1. The Illogical Spoon 2. The Moxie Strings 3. Annie and Rod Capps (with special guests) 4.  Creole du Nord 5. The Dorkestra 6.  Jay Steelstra

On May 5 the third annual Water Hill Music Festival took place. I spent a very enjoyable afternoon strolling around the hilly neighborhood soaking up plenty of fine music. When you get 100 musical acts together throughout several blocks of area to perform throughout a warm lazy afternoon you can only catch a smattering of music. But even that little bit is enough when you hear the joy and lessure people bring to wht they are doing. Performers ran the spectrum from amateur to professional and all were having fun. Events like this bring out the best in most people as musicians play, families gatehr, people catch up with old friends, and a sense of community is enhanced. I hope you enjoy this audio postcard from the event and I apologize for the little hiccoughs that appear now and then. This was a bit of an experiement as the podcast was pretty much completely assembled and edited on an iPhone.

Happy New Years from Wilderness State Park, Michigan.

Our first day of the New Year's weekend spent at wilderness State Park

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore sits on the southern shore of Lake Superior in Alger County, Michigan. For the last several years a trip loosely organized by the Western Michigan chapter of the North Country Trail Association has gone to hike the full length of the Lakeshore Trail over the Memorial Day Weekend. The Lakeshore Trail runs for 42 miles. It is an easy hiking trail as these things go with just a smattering of small ups and downs sprinkled about. The trail spends a great deal of time within easy sight of Lake Superior. This means walkers often have wonderful views of the lake in all its moods. When you don't have fine views of the lake you may have the pleasure of looking at huge stretches of wildflowers and richly endowed forests.

New post by Kenknight

New post by Kenknight