Isle Royale National Park has nice hand drawn maps. It rates the difficulty of hikes and it gives trail distances, elevations and hiking times.

There's a message in these beautiful photos and essays. We must preserve natural balance. As Linda Benedict-Jones says in the Introduction: "...One of the specific wishes of Blacklock... is that the remaining undeveloped lake shoreline be kept for open access. When he silently glides for months on end around the periphery of the lake, he does it with the hope that his pictures will convince others to appreciate the lake as he does. Lake Superior is simply too profound as a spiritual resource to be guarded by a privileged few. Should these last open stretches be developed, they will forever be out of reach by the general public. We have learned precious little from the examples set for us by the Navajo (Dineh), the Dakota and the Anishinabe. We all know that Native Americans lived in harmony with the earth and believed that land could be neither bought nor sold since it belonged to all. Perhaps it is not too late to apply their wisdom to relatively small, yet hugely important, areas of land bordering the Great Lakes. Perhaps these Blacklock photographs will help preserve public access to Lake Superior's shores, as certain photographic efforts of his 19th Century predecessors helped to convince (the U.S.) Congress to establish national parklands of the Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and others." Pass it on!

In a roughly 8 year period, the author made several kayak trips along various parts of the Superior shoreline, hauling photographic equipment along and immersing himself in those wild, unspoiled scenes so spectacularly portrayed in the 154 plates that appear in this book. The results are well worth every penny of the 40-odd bucks this book costs, and then some. As a fellow photographer of nature, I can attest to the way one can use ground glass and film to convey his deep appreciation -- yes, even a spiritual bond -- with the outdoors as God made it. Blacklock's collection of 4x5 format images (with one 35 mm slide thrown in) of the Big Lake is not only visually vivid, but spiritually moving in a way few other published photo collections can perform.

Nowhere have I seen water, rock, ice, forest, fog and sun so splendidly blended and starkly contrasted at the same time, across an entire plate set. [Plate 33 is the most stunning portrayal of ice and sky together which I have ever seen -- National Geographic's Arctic photos included -- and easily in my top 5 favorite photographs of all time.] Most admirably, nowhere in any of the photos appears a man-made object that I could see. The author takes his efforts a step further by fully revealing his techniques -- right down to the camera, film and tripod brands, and his CMYK post-processing in Photoshop (not to alter, but instead to clean up, the imagery).

Having been all around Lake Superior, its rugged vastness revealed to my eyes but only feebly captured on film by comparison, I am in awe of the job Blacklock has done. The sky, rocks and waves there have such a rich story to tell; and this book masterfully allows that story to begin. It makes me determined to return someday, camera again in hand and Blacklock's methods in mind, to get far removed from the tracks of people, and to experience Superior at its raw, unrestrained best.

"Vintage Views" is a must for Leelanau County lovers and postcard collectors alike. You'll spend many enjoyable hours with this book, traveling from the comfort of your favorite chair.

The maps are laid out on a straight line making it easy to read even if you aren't good at reading maps. I loved the little stories Dave Hunter tells. For example, did you know that Dwight D. Eisenhower was responsible for the Interstate Highway System and concieved the idea in 1919?

The book is updated yearly, so I bought one as soon as the new edition came out. When we were traveling through Georgia last year the AAA book did not have the new exit numbers and we found it nearly impossible to cross-reference the old numbers to the new ones. Dave's book was invaluable--he had the new numbers. Well worth the purchase.

Also of interest in the book: local speed traps, elevation, county names, geologic features visible from the road, emergency information (you can find the nearest hospital quickly), much, much more.