Third Coast Adventure Hub
Off-the-beaten-path destinations, small adventure ideas, and gear for those yearning to breathe the big air around the incomparable coastline of Lake Michigan. Delivered FREE once a week.
Overnight Bikepacking Adventure
Spending the night in a hammock with temperatures hovering around freezing? Definitely use the bathroom before you crawl in, and hope that nature will not issue a call in the middle of the night 😬. Fellow Travelers, If you ever wanted to try "bikepacking", there's probably never a better season to do it than the one right in front of us. What is bikepacking? It's like backpacking, only the gear is strapped to the bike, and not to your back. It differs from traditional bike touring in that it...
In Defense of Sitting
Some say that sitting is the new smoking. I say they're doing it wrong. On the shore of a Great Lake, surrounded by rustling pines, with a cozy fire flickering at your feet, there's no more health-promoting (in)activity. Photo from one of my many inspirations: minivelo_t.a Fellow Travelers, Have you tried to get a campsite reservation this summer? Booked solid. And honestly, do you really want to jockey for the last available site, probably the one wedged behind the dump station, wait in line...
Sit among the trees
Can we sit still long enough to tune into a story told not in words, but in layers? An old-growth forest and a sleepy, mature river current have been around much, much longer than the human generation that wanted to brand nature with its initials. For better or worse, our folly is now part of the forest history. Fellow Travelers, Welcome to the week that marks the exit of Summer (even though, technically, it's still around for a bit), and the settling into the sobering post-Labor Day...
Run away to an island...
If it's good enough for a king, it's plenty good enough for you! Surrounded by azure-blue water, secluded beaches, nightly sunset pageantry, misty twilights and lakeside feasts, you can't help but feel like royalty. It takes a while to get your "island legs", Fellow Travelers. But once you do, who wants to go back to the mainland? Islands are magical: self-contained little snippets of land, where the locals have a special kind of grit, and must learn to interact and tolerate each other's...
Into the Wilderness
This former logging and sand-mining site is home to the protected piping plover, and the only US Wilderness Area in lower MI And now, you can camp here among the 4000 year old dunes, with heart-stopping views, picture-perfect sunsets, and the night sky that doesn't quit. Image credit: Ryan Maurer People "out west" are spoiled, Fellow Travelers. The land there is thick with pockets of wilderness, and you can hardly help snagging the edge of one on your way to the Safeway for a carton of eggs....
The Medicinal Day Trip
Enjoy better sleep, reduced mental fatigue, less inflammation, improved focus, and sharper memory with this one simple tactic! It is scientifically proven that a well-executed daytrip is pure medicine for maintaining peak physical and mental health. Make it a regular part of your wellness routine. Here's how to do it right. Steep blow outs at Grand Mere SP, Stevensville, MI Ah!... a daytrip, Fellow Travelers, is as simple as adventure gets. When you find yourself with a short stretch of time...
Lake Michigan Bike Camping Tour
A self-supported, car-free bike-camping mini-tour. Wow! That's a lot of hyphens! Whether you're a beginner looking to dip your toe in the bike touring waters, or a touring veteran in search of a short getaway, we've got a plan for Lake Michigan camping for you! Image credit: Cycling UK Hello, Fellow Travelers! Don't be fooled by the back-to-school (more hyphens!) extravanganza going on in all the megamalls and online. We are actually currently smack dab in the middle of the middle week of...
Duneland Playground
Towering dunes, fire-spitting smokestacks and technicolor sunsets! Welcome to Indiana Dunes, where heavy industry is never fully out of sight, creating a stark and dystopian background to the exuberance of nature that flourishes in this region. Hello, Fellow Travelers! It's fitting that one of the entry points from Chicago into Indiana's Duneland region is the stretch of highway that bisects Wolf Lake. This lake sits like a shiny patch of hope on land ravaged by relentless human activity. In...
Wonders right under your nose.
Improv and hack your way out of the shackles of routine. A sure way to turn your basic outing into an adventure is to throw in a dose of something that makes you wonder how the heck you're gonna pull it off. Image credit: Alastair Humphries (whose initials are AH!, lucky bastard) Fellow Travelers, I was stuck. So, I came to hammer out this missive at one of my favorite places: an open air public pavilion overlooking the big lake that inspired me to start this project. I had to get out of the...
Off-the-beaten-path destinations, small adventure ideas, and gear for those yearning to breathe the big air around the incomparable coastline of Lake Michigan. Delivered FREE once a week.