About this item
The Great Lakes Basin is the largest surface freshwater system on Earth. The more than 30,000 islands dotted throughout the basin provide some of the best ways to enjoy the Great Lakes. While the vast majority of these islands can only be reached by private boat or plane, a surprising number of islands-each with its own character and often harboring more than a bit of intrigue in its history-can be reached by merely taking a ferry ride, or crossing a bridge, offering everyone the chance to experience a variety of island adventures. Great Lakes Island Escapes: Ferries and Bridges to Adventure explores in depth over 30 of the Great Lakes Basin islands accessible by bridge or ferry and introduces more than 50 additional islands. Thirty-eight chapters include helpful information about getting to each featured island, what to expect when you get there, the island's history, and what natural and historical sites and cultural attractions are available to visitors. Each chapter lists special island events, where to get more island information, and how readers can help support the island. Author Maureen Dunphy made numerous trips to a total of 135 islands that are accessible by ferry or bridge in the Great Lakes Basin. On each trip, Dunphy was accompanied by a different friend or relative who provided her another adventurer's perspective through which to view the island experience. Great Lakes Island Escapes covers islands on both sides of the international border between the United States and Canada and features islands in both the lakes and the waterways that connect them. Anyone interested in island travel or learning more about the Great Lakes will delight in this comprehensive collection.
About the Author
Maureen Dunphy's book GREAT LAKES ISLAND ESCAPES: FERRIES AND BRIDGES TO ADVENTURE was published by Wayne State University Press in May of 2016.
Dunphy currently teaches two goal-based writing workshops - "Getting There from Here" and "Going Farther" - for Springfed Arts and, through Dunphy Consulting Services, individually coaches writers and provides editing services for both individuals and institutions.
Dunphy has taught fiction workshop courses at Oakland University and the University of Windsor and creative writing courses at Oakland Community College - Orchard Ridge. She has taught writing workshops at Far Field Writer's Retreat, Clockhouse Writer's Conference and in the Irish Hills and on Pelee Island. Her first career, spanning 20 years, was as an instructional designer and video-writer, primarily as consultant to automotive companies.
She has published poetry in Beyond the Lines: Writing What You Couldn't Say; fiction in Bear River Review; and non-fiction in Peninsula: Essays and Memoirs from Michigan.
Dunphy earned her MFA from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, did post-graduate work in English at Wayne State University in Detroit, and earned a B.A. in English from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.
On the mainland, Maureen lives in the "Mitten State," but she makes frequent escapes to Great Lakes islands, including to her cottage on Ontario's Pelee Island in the western basin of Lake Erie.
