Ren Brabenec | Author

Michigan’s Sixth Great Lake

July 29, 2023

The U.S. Geological Survey defines groundwater as “Water that exists underground in saturated zones beneath the land surface. It fills the pores and fractures in underground materials such as sand, gravel, and other rock, much the same way that water fills a sponge.” Nationally,… Read More >>

The Rivers of Our River Towns

July 1, 2023

According to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Michigan has over 76,000 miles of rivers and streams. To put that figure into perspective, if each river and stream in the Great Lakes State were connected, they’d be long enough to circle the Earth three time… Read More >>

A Brief History of Isle Royale: The Evolution of the Least-Visited National Park

May 20, 2023

Isle Royale is the least-visited but most re-visited national park in the lower 48. How is it that a spot that receives as many visitors in a year as Yellowstone gets in a day is the most popular park to return to out of the hundreds in the country?

As wit… Read More >>

Press Freedom Here and Abroad

April 29, 2023

The World Press Freedom Index assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories. In 2022, a record number of countries—28 of them—were ranked “very bad” for press freedom, including Russia, China, and Iran, as well as North Korea, which placed dead la… Read More >>

Not Your Average Trails

April 8, 2023

The sunlight in your eyes may seem sharp after months of gray, but it’s a welcome reminder that we did it; we survived another Michigan winter. Now you want to get outside, but you want to kick the season off with something unique and special. Rather than the typical hike, you want so… Read More >>

The Devil’s Element

March 4, 2023

Dan Egan, a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the author of New York Times bestseller The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, will take the stage at the City Opera House in Traverse City March 10 for an event in partnership with the National Writers Series and th… Read More >>

Off the Beaten Path

Jan. 21, 2023

A Finnish friend in the U.P. recently defined the term sisu for us. She says sisu refers to the extraordinary determination the Finnish Yoopers use to not just survive the winter but to thrive in it.

During the cold months of January and February, it’s easy to forget the natur… Read More >>

Fire Means Flee: Hiker’s Firsthand Account of Isle Royale’s Mt. Franklin Wildfire

Nov. 12, 2022

No one expects a wildfire when backpacking an island, not until smoke is heading your way and park rangers evacuate your campground.

The morning of Aug. 13 found me hiking Isle Royale National Park’s iconic Greenstone Ridge, a much-anticipated adventure my father and I had bee… Read More >>