Anderson Design Group and Collaborating Artist Kenneth Crane Visit Isle Royale National Park!
A haven for moose and wolves, a place where diverse ecosystems have developed over centuries while mostly protected from the outside world, Isle Royale is a wilderness paradise unlike any other. Located in the far northern section of Lake Superior in Michigan, Isle Royale National Park is the only park in America to completely shut down all operations during the winter, making the summer season a brief opportunity to travel to a land that tends to call visitors back again and again.
Collaborating artist and illustrator Kenneth Crane and ADG's staff writer Ren Brabenec took that opportunity this year, traveling to the island over the Fourth of July holiday.
A Project, A Travel Mission, and a National Park Like No Other
Kenneth Crane and Anderson Design Group are currently working on a major new book project. It has been in the works for 16 months and has involved countless hours of research, photography, illustration, writing, and collaboration between Ken, creative director/designer Joel Anderson, and staff writer Ren Brabenec.
It will be a new 192-page illustrated coffee table book called Wilderness & Wonder—An Artist's Guide To The National Parks—a stunning collaborative work of all of Ken's national parks poster art, plus literally hundreds of brand new spot illustrations and on-location photographs accompanied by helpful and inspiring text about the national parks. Below is a sample 2-page spread about Isle Royale. Note the intimate, detailed, multi-faceted focus on geography, wildlife, history, and adventure. This book is full of field notes, photos, sketches, maps, and beauty that only an artist would think to present on the page.
This gorgeous new book will be finished, produced, and made available for sale to the public in the fall of 2024 (just in time for the holidays!) So be sure to sign up for our email list for updates! (Just hit the sign-up button at the bottom of any website page).
Ahoy, Isle Royale!
As part of the project previewed above, Ken Crane is on a mission to see ALL 63 American National Parks! Though staff writer Ren Brabenec lives in Nashville, he's originally from Michigan and has been to Isle Royale National Park twice, so he offered to take Ken to what many say is the most remote and most difficult-to-access national park in the Lower 48.
Ken accepted the offer, and the men began planning their adventure. First, how does one reach an island that has no roads, bridges, or really any major infrastructure? By ferry or seaplane, weather permitting, of course.
Ken and Ren booked seats on a popular ferry that would take them to the island in about four hours. The two artists met in Houghton, Michigan, drove an hour north to Copper Harbor, and boarded the ferry to the island.
Rain, wind, and gray skies met them as they crossed mighty Lake Superior, a freshwater giant some have described as an Inland Sea. "July in northern Michigan out on Lake Superior is not like July anywhere else in the Lower 48," said Ren, donning rain gear and a scarf.
Into the Depths of an Untamed Wilderness
Isle Royale National Park is unique in many ways. No roads, minimal buildings, and no cell service or connection to the outside world. Visitors must check in with National Park Service rangers upon their arrival and let the rangers know where they plan to hike and camp, lest visitors become lost and are never rescued.
After Ken and Ren checked in and obtained their park passes, the two shouldered their packs and headed into the wilderness. For Ken, a Colorado native, the stunning greenery and rich foliage were a welcome sight, as were the blankets of wildflowers just beginning to show their colors. "It's just so GREEN," Ken remarked as the pair trudged along a path almost completely overgrown by thimbleberry blossoms and rich green ferns.
In classic Michigan fashion, the cloudy, gray weather held as the pair hiked 8.5 miles on their first day, carrying 120 lbs of gear between them. Once at a predestined campsite, the pair made camp and managed to capture stunning photographs of a sheltered Lake Superior bay before sundown and the rainstorm that followed.
Sun, Mosquitos, and Cold, Cold Water
The second and third days on the island couldn't have been more different from the first. Sunshine, the sweet smell of pine, a warm breeze off the lake, and mosquitos that came out to play! The pair hiked 7.5 miles to another campsite on day #2, camped, swam in Lake Superior's icy depths, took more photos, and gathered additional reference material for future poster art.
The highlight of day #2 was a stop at the Ojibway Fire Tower, a relic of the past when park rangers used to rely on fire towers to combat wildfires (today, modern tech enables rangers to spot and respond to fires quickly without the need for fire towers, though such towers do still house important telecommunications equipment).
On day #3, the pair hiked back to the main dock where the ferry had deposited them three days prior. They covered seven miles with packs that day, plus an additional five without packs just for fun.
On the return ferry to the mainland, Lake Superior was like a sheet of glass, totally calm and almost a completely different lake from just a few days prior, additional evidence that Isle Royale and the Lake Superior that surrounds it can be quite unpredictable.
Plans for Future Travels
"Explore a rugged, isolated island far from our connected communities. Isle Royale offers adventures for backpackers, hikers, boaters, paddlers, and divers. Cross Lake Superior and make a commitment: Become a part of this island, and let it become a part of you. Find peace and refuge in island wilderness – because Isle Royale, in turn, finds refuge in us. Help Isle Royale stay wild."
That's the opening line of the National Park Service's description of Isle Royale, and to say the island left Ken and Ren inspired would be an understatement. The two are planning their next trip together, an adventure to Alaska's national parks for the summer of 2025. And in the meantime, their artist's minds are buzzing with inspiration for new poster art and prose.
What can we say? It's a royal island in a superior lake. Of course it's going to be legendary.
← Older Post Newer Post →