Category Archives: Lake Michigan

Vol. XX – #230 – Low Water Time

(Report by Jim) Today’s Report is a throwback to 2011 when the water was low enough you had to jump down onto the deck of the Joy. There was also a shoreline!. Biscuit enjoyed those days, but he does not get down to the beach as much anymore. You probably have noticed a decline in the daily reports. After 20… Read more »

Vol. XX – #225 – Making a Splash

(Report by Jim) Here are some of the shots I was able to get on my return to Illinois on Saturday. In no particular order (each one has the location underneath), the swamp near the Little Red Schoolhouse, Point Betsie, Frankfort Pier, and Portage Lake. A windy day to say the least!   The Leland Report 2021 Calendar is shipping… Read more »

Vol. XX – #223 – Otter Creek Trail

(Report by Jim) I got the opportunity to meet up with Meggen’s Monday Meggen Watt Petersen for an afternoon hike down the Otter Creek Loop South of Empire. This is the trail hiking near Esch Rd Beach (if that is the place you normally go). This was a scouting trip for future visits, it has everything. Lakes, pine plantations, birch… Read more »

Vol. XX – #222 – Thanksgiving in the Land of Delight

(Report by Jim) Time to give thanks for everything we have. Thankful for family, yes, but also the adventurous spirits this week, kayakers in the rough, fat tire bikes on the beach, deer tracks in the dunes, and pine trees taking root in dead birch tree trunks. Today I got lost in the dune forest off Good Harbor Beach. Trying… Read more »

Vol. XX – #221 – A Cold Beach Sunset

(Report by Jim) It’s been cloudy all day and I didn’t have high hopes for sunset, but South Beach delivered again. The beach has receded a good 10 more feet from what it was this Summer. I ran into Paul Bolmer and his golden lab Mackinaw, they found some nice sized Leland Blues. Adventurer of the day goes to the… Read more »

Vol. XX – #219 – Meggen’s Monday

Thank you. Thanks for loving Leelanau County as much (or more) than we do, and for returning to catch a glimpse of this beautiful place. Before I relocated here in 2010, I would check the Leland Report as often as I could. Staring into those pictures, I could imagine the sand between my toes, the splash of the waves, the… Read more »

Vol. XX – #218 – A Going Forward Kind of Day

by Sheen Watkins The woodland trail walk. Fall’s last hurrah. I’m on this wood trail multiple times per week. As it’s deeper in the woods, color change is a bit later. I didn’t run there today as we had 36mph winds last night. I’m thinking it’s going look a bit different tomorrow. Change is constant. Change is beautiful. Exploring. Driving…. Read more »

Vol. XX – #217 – Meggen’s Monday

The northern end of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has some marvelous hiking trails, some well-marked, others not so much. What I have noticed this year more than others, is the presence of swales and marshes that never quite dried up across the summer. Today’s photos are from a late Saturday afternoon hike north of Little Traverse Lake, along Lake… Read more »

Vol. XX – #216 – Windy Blast From the Past

(Report by Jim) I hear it’s been pretty stormy up in the county this week, especially today with lots of power outages! I hope everyone is safe and with some sort of backup power, or a warm fireplace. Here are some unpublished favorites from other Novembers on the Leland Report. When it gets windy, I hit the breakwall. But these… Read more »

Vol. XX – #215 – Hello Sheen Watkins

(Report by Sheen Watkins – First Post!) There are colors and moments in nature you just can’t make up. Sunset the other night was afire in color. The aqua water of Lake Michigan on Van’s beach looked like the color of vintage blue milk glass. This sunset was one for the memory bank. Mother Nature is brilliant. Fall’s last hurrah…. Read more »