Tag Archives: Great Lakes,

The Hana Chronicles: Month 9, Day 29

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Posted by on in children, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Travel

October 20, 2026- Hana gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to our afternoon walk today. When I recounted where we had been, she shouted “Yeah!” She talked to some of the Halloween figures which we passed by, on our 2-mile roundtrip. (She is still in the stroller.) At other times, she sang little songs.

There was more bantering and laughing at the dinner table tonight. Hana made a half-hearted complaint when we were eating chocolates for dessert. She was very happy that we also ate pear slices, which were her dessert. This girl is all about inclusion.

HANA’S NOTE- I decided to stay downstairs today. I didn’t feel like climbing. It was fun to see so many funny decorations. Papa says they are skeletons and witches.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: Michigan- “YES!! Michigan welcomes you!” – So went the billboard on my second entry into the state. My visits to the Wolverine State, seven all told, have taken me just over the line to Niles; as far north as Muskegon, Fruitport and Grand Rapids; to Davison (the site of Louhelen Baha’i School)-three times; to Ann Arbor and through Detroit, en route to Ontario. The place is indeed welcoming.

The turf- Michigan is divided into two peninsulas-Lower and Upper, separated by the Straits of Mackinac (Mak-i-NAW). Lower Michigan is generally flat, with a few rolling hills in the north central region and on The Thumb, a subpeninsula east of the Saginaw-Bay City-Midland area. Upper Michigan is also mostly rolling hills, with dense forest. The Porcupine Mountains occupy the western sector of the “U.P.” Michigan is bordered by four of the Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie. Lake St. Clair, a smaller lake between the Detroit Metropolitan Area and the Windsor-Chatham area of Ontario, is divided between Michigan and Ontario. Several islands in the Great Lakes are also part of Michigan. Three of the most prominent are Isle Royale (a National Park, actually closer to Ontario and Minnesota than to the Upper Peninsula); Drummond and Mackinac Islands, in Lake Huron. Michigan is drained by several shallow rivers: Saginaw, Cheboygan, Au Sable, Ontonagon, Tahquamenon, Manistee, Kalamazoo, Grand, St. Joseph, Muskegon and Escanaba.

First Nations: Michigan is the ancestral home of the Ojibwe (Chippewa), Odawa (Ottawa) and Bodewatami (Pottawatomi) peoples. These nations formed the Three Fires Confederation, with each nation responsible for a sacred function and each supporting the other two, in times of hardship. The Ojibwe were Keepers of the Faith, responsible for traditions and sacred ceremonies. The Odawa were Keepers of the Trade, negotiating and maintaining trade routes, from Hochelaga (Present-day Montreal) to the Mississippi River. The Bodewatami were Keepers of the Sacred Fire, who organized Council Fires, where the three nations parlayed and made important decisions. The 1836 Treaty ofWashington and the 1855 Treaty of Detroit set the conditions for Michigan’s settlement by European-Americans, while preserving Indigenous people’s hunting and fishing rights. These conditions remain in force today. The common language, Anishinaabemowin, is taught in the First Nations communities of Michigan, and traditions are experiencing a renaissance. There are twelve Federally-recognized First Nations tribal communities, throughout the state.

Where I feel most at home; Davison, New Buffalo, Fruitport, Grand Haven

Where I feel most at peace: Louhelen Baha’i School

Future Five: Sleeping Bear Dunes, Keweenaw Peninsula, Isle Royale, The Thumb, Petoskey

NEXT: Ohio

The Hana Chronicles: Month 9, Day 20

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Posted by on in children, Community, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 11, 2026- Today was Hana’s first visit to someone else’s house. She went with her mother and visited one of Yunhee’s friends. They had a good time, with Hana sitting for a while in the lady’s left over high chair and practicing walking a bit. She didn’t want to leave, so the ride back was rather boisterous, according to her mother.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Aram was busily re-arranging the family room and living room. The playpen went into the old living room and the big chairs went into the old family room. I helped with the heavier furniture. When Yunhee got back, she switched her nursery table with the dining table, so we will eat in the kitchen and the old dining room table will serve as the nursing station. It will all be more intimate, which I know will make Hana feel happier.

We had Yunhee’s birthday dinner, two days early,. Her choice was Kura Rotating Sushi Bar, about 1.5 miles from the house. We sat in a booth, and took small plates of food, as we spotted items that appealed to us. Hana had already eaten, of course, but was happily interacting with the attendants and with people at a nearby table.

HANA’S NOTE- I like to go places, but I don’t like sitting by myself in the back seat. The restaurant was fun,because the machine brought water to Daddy and Papa. I also like seeing so many nice people.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: Minnesota- The Mississippi River divides the United States, somewhat evenly, into east and west. Having looked at two of Texas’s neighbours- Arkansas and Louisiana, that are at the lower end of the great waterway’s course, it is time to look at the other states through which this mighty river passes.

Minnesota, where the Mississippi begins its journey, largely out of Lake Itasca, is also the northwesternmost state bordering the Great Lakes, It is partly a prairie state and partly covered by tree-lined lakes. The turf- Prairie and the Buffalo Ridge occupy the southwest and west central part of the state. Glacially-carved uplands take up the southeast, including the Twin Cities region. Bluffs line the Mississippi Valley, along the border with Wisconsin. Glaciers also left behind 11,.842 lakes with areas of 10 or more acres. The geologic activity that formed the Canadian Shield left Minnesota with a rugged upland, collectively called the Iron Range. It is this area that also contains many of the state’s larger lakes, including Lake of the Woods, which it shares with Ontario. Then, there is Minnesota’s long western shore of Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes. Minnesota is drained by the Mississippi, Minnesota, Rainy, Pigeon, St. Louis, St. Croix Rivers and by the Red River of the North.

First Nations- Minnesota is the ancestral home of the Dakota, Ojibwe and Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) peoples. There are today 7 Federally-recognized Ojibwe tribes and 4 Federally-recognized Dakota (Sioux) tribes in the state. Historically, the Ojibwe and Sioux were at odds, over hunting and fishing rights. Clashes between the two nations were more frequent, as European settlers increased their presence, especially in the southern part of Minnesota. Treaties were signed between the Sioux and the United States, and broken by the latter. The Dakota War (1862) led to the execution of 38 Sioux warriors, who had been judged guilty of rape and other “war crimes”. The Dakota were largely moved out of Minnesota by 1866, with many settling in the Dakota Territory, especially in the Black Hills region. The Ojibwe were not expelled from Minnesota, but were forced to move onto reservations in the state, leading to the deaths of 400 people at Sandy Lake, in 1850. Most of the animosity between tribes was stoked by the British, and to a lesser degree by the French, as a lucrative fur trade arose in the Great Lakes region, from 1670 onward. American settlers aggravated the matter, with the pursuit of Manifest Destiny, as many neither understood the First Nations people nor saw much beyond their plans to establish new lives, under the Homestead Act,

Where I most feel at home- Certainly the St. Paul area, where I have extended family, Minneapolis, Pipestone, Luverne, Rochester.

Where I most feel at peace- Wakan Tipi, Wicahapi, Pipestone National Monument, Blue Mounds

Future Five- Duluth, Northwest Angle, Iron Range, North Shore of Lake Superior, Lake Itasca

NEXT: Wisconsin