May 21st, 2026
Hi everyone! My name is Zoey Crossley and I will be working at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary this summer through the Michigan Sea Grant Environmental Internship. I am a rising senior at Michigan State University and originally from the Detroit area. I’ve lived in Michigan all my life and am still exploring new places, so I’m looking forward to calling Alpena home for the next few months. So far, everyone has been very kind and helpful and I’m liking my time here. I was particularly excited about this internship because I am studying conservation biology, but also have a minor in anthropology. This is a super cool way for me to combine the two of those, doing the water conservation I’m passionate about while mixing it with incredibly preserved artifacts and human stories. I can’t wait to get out there and see my first shipwreck in person.
Tomorrow should be my chance to do just that! I’m heading out on the research vessel R/V Storm with visiting professor Dr. Katie Skinner to collect freshwater acidification samples from the surface while she conducts her research. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity not only to see the shipwrecks but to learn from Dr. Skinner. It’s a great opportunity to have all of these visiting professors and divers in Thunder Bay.
The freshwater acidification samples are the main reason I am here, and I have already taken some water samples from land. I took the picture to the left at Rockport when I was sampling which highlights some of the gear we use. There’s a long tube which gets clipped into a pump so that we can pump up filtered samples to fill vials which we then ship off to Dr. Reagan Errera at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. There they are able to track changes in pH of the lake, conductivity and temperature, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO₂), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and total alkalinity (TA). If you’ve been reading these blogs for a while then you may know that this program actually started in 2022, so we have collected data at these sites before. The fact that it has been done before is exactly why my job is so important. We want to collect this data so that we have a baseline of what acidification levels are sitting at so that we can track any changes over time. I look forward to continuing these site visits throughout the summer and maybe even visiting Dr. Errera in the lab to learn that side of things too.
I’ve been able to get out and explore the city of Alpena a little bit this week after work. I’m especially a fan of the Sanctuary Cinema- I’ve already been twice. Just this week I saw Michael with my new roommate and we had a good time. I may be a bit biased because I’m a fan of his music, but it was a fun time and a good roommate bonding experience. I also saw Sheep Detectives there last week with my boyfriend while he was visiting and that was also a fun time! I’m a sucker for Hugh Jackman and animals (watch Happy Feet if 
you haven’t- it has Robin Williams too so you know it’s good) and to mix that with a good murder mystery- how could you not watch?! Oh also, I must say even though I’m not always the biggest popcorn fan, Sanctuary Cinema has some good popcorn. I’ll have to get their secret butter recipe.
Next up on my list is the ice cream shop for sure – 50 degrees can’t keep me from ice cream. All weather is ice cream weather.
Bonus pic! I had a blast teaching 3rd graders about marine debris at North Point Nature Preserve.
May 28th, 2026
I did it, I saw my first shipwreck!
I’ve now been able to visit three shipwrecks in the sanctuary. My first was Oscar T. Flint on Friday aboard R/V Storm while helping a group of researchers from the University of Michigan. Though this shipwreck was too deep for me to see off of the side of the boat, I was still able to see some of the footage that Dr. Skinner’s team captured with their underwater robot.
This week, I’ve been assisting on glass bottom boat tours for third grade classes, which has led me to be able to experience more shipwrecks. I’ve now seen both Haltiner Barge and W. P. Rend. It was amazing how much detail I could see, especially when it came to pieces like gears or the anchor. I loved being able to differentiate deck from crane on Haltiner Barge. It was also fun to learn more about the ships and help answer questions from the kids.
From third graders to retirees, I’ve had the chance to do all sorts of outreach work. Later in the week, Viking’s Expedition Ship Polaris came into port and I interacted with these lifelong learners much more. In the morning I manned the outreach table to tell visitors about the freshwater acidification project. I was grateful for the questions and enthusiasm guests had once I’d explained a little bit of the process. Many asked about what was causing the acidification and how bad it was as well as my general career path. I explained the role of fossil fuels in the atmosphere and how that translates to dissolved carbon in the ocean and Great Lakes since they act as large carbon ‘sinks’.
In the afternoon, I went on my first ROV (remotely operated vehicles) excursion along with a Viking group. I helped guests build their own robot for missions in the test pool. I was able to share their excitement when they finally picked up their first piece of debris from the bottom of the pool with the robot. I was so proud of them. I can imagine the excitement when ROV competitions are hosted here. After the event, I was able to try my hand at driving an ROV myself (pictured at right). Though I’m certainly no expert like the students competing, it did at least make me feel more confident than the simulation exhibit inside the museum. There I thought I had no skills at all, but here I could at least get some of the basics down.
In my free time over the holiday weekend, it was really fun to be able to explore the Alpena area. My roommate and I were able to borrow a metal detector from the library and have used that as an excuse to explore. We made it out to Negwegon State Park to comb the beach, but unfortunately, the flies did not want to give up their treasure. We were bitten away before we could find any metal there. It was not for nothing though, because on our drive down to the state park we stopped at the Dinosaur Gardens. I had a blast there. Personally, my favorite dinosaur is a pteranodon, so my face lit up when I saw it hanging “flying” in the air.
June 5th, 2026
Starting off this one the right way by saying, “I’m so proud of you Piper!” My younger sister just graduated from high school, and I’m so glad I had the chance to travel downstate for the weekend to be there. I can’t wait to have both of us at Michigan State University in the fall.
After taking Monday off for the ceremony, I had lots to jump back into at the sanctuary. I started off strong by working nearly 12 hours on R/V Storm on Tuesday. I tagged along with one of the hydrographers mapping the lake bed and took my water samples while we were stopped. Even though it was a long day it was a really productive work day. I even finished my current book on the boat ride back! I’ll have to check out Parallel 45 Books & Gifts downtown this weekend to get the sequel.
The sampling didn’t stop there though folks, On Thursday I was able to sample at three more locations for a total of 12 vials that day alone! Combine that with the samples from Storm, as well as a set from the week before, and GLERL had quiet the delivery coming their way. In the picture to the right you can get a sneak peak of what goes into packing and delivering samples so that they safely arrive at GLERL. Normally I just send one package a week like you can see (very safely using the seatbelt) in the bottom picture, but this week I sent out four packages so the back seat needed to put in its time too.
The last story I have to share with you is from my first time sampling at the Joseph S Fay. This was a day full of technical difficulties and side quests, but there’s really no better descriptor for fieldwork than that. We’d packed up all of our gear and made the drive north to 40 Mile Point Lighthouse. Once we arrived, we went to pump up the kayak and paddle board so that we could get out on the water. Only problem was, the pump wasn’t working. We couldn’t for the life of us figure out how to turn it on. We’d plugged it into every port in the car, but the pump still wouldn’t turn on. We made phone calls and tried those suggestions but still nothing. Finally we talked to one of the volunteers and he very plainly pointed out that, well, the whole inner part of the adaptor was missing. Oh. Thankfully, I’d spotted what I thought were random metal pieces on the ground earlier, so we went back to those and found all three missing pieces. The volunteer put it back together for us, and voila! The pump worked. Though a little later than anticipated, we made it out on the water.
The next hurdle, was actually finding the Fay. The buoy isn’t out yet so Sarah Morrison, Media & Outreach Specialist at TBNMS, came with us as a guide, and wow she was spot on. After roaming back and forth in our kayak that disagreed with going straight, we gasped as we were right on top of it. I’ve seen a few of the wrecks by boat now but I hadn’t paddled over one before, and it was just incredible. If anyone has the chance I would absolutely recommend it. It was so cool to be able to see through such clear and calm water right to a piece of history hiding just below the surface.
Somehow, our technical difficulties had followed us onto the water though and the pump I use to take the samples decided it didn’t want to pump anymore either. I think the two pumps were talking to each other to push back my lunch break. Eventually, I was able to mess with it enough for water to flow evenly, and we were able to take the samples. With that, we were back off to shore. Since it was my first time there I checked out the lighthouse too before we left. It’s a very nice view from the top and to have a house attached was not what I typically imagine. I wouldn’t mind living in a lighthouse I think. As a reward for all of our hard work, we stopped at The Painted Lady in Rogers City on the way back. I got a mango watermelon smoothie which was sweet and delicious and just what I needed. The hot chocolates were very tempting too, I didn’t know there were so many flavors. Next time I’m in town on a rainy day I’ll have to give one a try.
June 11th, 2026
With the weather threatening rain for much of the week, I got the chance to try out some new things. On Tuesday I helped out Sarah with media posting. There are many community calendars that we post on to best market our events to the public, so while Sarah set up all the events and got the details in order, I took all of the information from the spreadsheet and posted it on a dozen different community calendars. While I do think I am better suited for the field than for the office, it was nice to be able to contribute to a different branch of the organization than I normally do. I didn’t realize how wide our publishing went. Without much experience in this, I would have thought one calendar was enough.
Then, on Wednesday, I was able to visit Mackinac Island (and Mackinaw City) for a behind the scenes archaeology tour. I am very grateful for DNR Historian Don La Barre for bringing me along on this trip as we gathered information on how the facility runs, especially in regards to their lighthouse, so that the information can be applied to the Tawas Point Lighthouse. I was particularly interested in how the archaeological collection was stored and utilized. I’ve been an archaeology student for a couple of years now, but I haven’t had a field school experience. Therefore, it was super interesting to be able to observe both the collections and an active dig at Fort Michilimackinac. Besides the collections, it was wonderful to just be able to walk around Mackinac Island. The
lilacs were in full bloom, and and with visiting on a Wednesday, it wasn’t overly busy. While sitting on the porch of the Tea Room to wrap up our visit we saw fog roll in over the Island, It was just a finger of fog so it was gone as soon as it came, but it was fascinating watching how quickly it moved in and out. I can see why sailors needed fog horns to navigate, and why others sit at the bottom of Lake Huron and the Straits.
Though this week may have been threatened by weather, the weather was beautiful the past weekend for Flower Fest in downtown Alpena. I had a blast exploring the festival with my roommate. I tapped in to my inner flower child and made the most of it. I had flowers in my hair, a bouquet in my hands, and flowers all around. It made me very happy. I even found a wine glass with a Spartan logo that will make a great addition to my MSU apartment back at school. Now, the flowers are brightening up my kitchen here in Alpena, allowing me to extend Flower Fest as long as possible. This weekend I’m looking forward to kayaking the area- as long as weather holds out. Weather seems to be a common theme of today’s blog entry, I hope you enjoyed!
June 18th, 2026
I gave my first public presentation at the Sanctuary on Monday to start the week off strong. I’ve given many presentations before, but not in the “Science on a Sphere” format so I was looking forward to testing it out. I felt confident in my abilities and mostly I just wanted people to show up and give me an opportunity to teach. There was one lady in particular I hoped would come. She’d stopped me as I was walking back from Flower Fest and we got to chatting. She was a lovely person who somehow had a connection to my roommate through a pastor they both knew. Her connection to me, came through science. Her granddaughter was interested in science and wants to be a 
zoologist. I encouraged both of them to come to my program. We exchanged phones numbers so that I could text her the details and low and behold she attended with her three grandchildren. It really meant the world to me that she’d shown up. My own grandma wanted to watch virtually, but unfortunately we didn’t have that streaming option, so it was nice to see a (grand)maternal face in the crowd.
Since Monday was set to be the nicest day this week, and to celebrate the success of my talk, my roommate and I rented kayaks for an hour around Island Park. It was so beautiful and we absolutely plan on doing it again. It was almost like a sunset cruise. Next time we plan on renting for two hours instead so that we can explore more rather than just doing the loop around the island. There is a bridge right nearby the loop though, so that afforded us plenty of opportunities to hang out underneath and echooooooo to our hearts content.
For the rest of the week I dove into helping out on summer programs, particularly our ROV Underwater Robot Academy. Overall the kids were enthusiastic and fun to work with. I must say though, they made a strong first impression by telling me I looked like an eighth-grader. Maybe it means I’m youthful, or maybe you can blame my pigtails, but it did inspire me to 
touch eyeliner for the first time in years the next day. Admittedly, though the eyeliner was fun, I think I will continue to look like an eighth-grader to these kids for a while.
The last big event I had going on this week was the Sanctuary’s advisory council meeting. I had a quick five-minute presentation in the middle of it where I presented on the work I’ve been doing this summer and how it builds off of data that previous years’ interns collected. It was really wonderful to come into work the next day and receive all sorts of feedback. While I was focused on giving my presentation to the best of my ability, my friends and coworkers had watched the crowd and reported back that they seemed very interested. It can be a lot to distill into a five simulate presentation, so I’m very happy it was well received.
BONUS PIC – Michigan Sea Grant Intern Trivia get together!
June 25, 2026
I was very excited to start off this week because my grandparents were up to visit. My grandpa wasn’t downstate with me and my parents this Father’s Day because he and my grandma were visiting friends in Traverse City, so I’m so glad they decided to cut across the state to Alpena before heading back down. We got dinner together at Court Yard, and it was delicious. At first I was thinking pasta, but ultimately I opted for the walleye. It was very tasty- I would recommend it. We went to dinner right after I got off of work on Monday, so unfortunately the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center was closed by then. To make it up, I gave my grandparents a quick tour of the place before they left on Tuesday morning, and they walked around to read some more signage once I’d left to go collect water samples. They had a really good time, and I enjoyed being able to play tour guide for them for a little while.
In terms of sampling this week I’ve done lots! We hit our regulars, plus both of the kayak sites, plus I’m planning to go out on R/V Storm again tomorrow with the mapping crew to take lots more. It’s been a very productive week. Huge news for the kayak, it’s patched! Thank you to Jason Luther, our Facilities Maintenance Manager for patching that hole. Believe it or not, having a kayak that isn’t actively taking on water makes a big difference. Now when I get wet kayaking I’m the only one to blame by dripping on myself- much better than sitting in a puddle. It seems that every time I go out in this kayak I learn something new. So, I now am very careful checking that we have all the pieces. It’s important to know the basics too, though. Embarrassingly, I did paddle the kayak backwards one time when I thought the bow was the stern. If you ever have to do that, it’s not as bad as you may think, but I do much prefer when the bow is the bow.
Also this week, my roommate and I explored the North Eastern State Trail along the railroad tracks after work. It was an adventure. First, we had to carbo-load with chicken pesto pasta that had been in the crockpot all day. I can’t begin to explain how excited I was about this meal and it was just as good as I remembered. After a brief break to let the food settle and get changed we set off to find this trail. Spoiler Alert: we went to the wrong trail and kept ending up in parking lots. Eventually after consulting AllTrails, we found our way to the real trailhead and path. It looked much more like a path than the previous one. We probably biked 4 miles round trip on the trail, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that doubled thanks to our top tier navigation skills and earlier attempts. To round out the night in a more relaxed tone, we watched “Runaway Bride” with Julia Roberts. Now, I can’t say it beats “Pretty Woman,” but I can say it did make me yell at one point, so rate the movie as you will based on that.
July 2nd, 2026
The weather certainly was not pulling any of its punches this week. It started off strong by giving me a very red sunburn over the weekend. I went into the work week slathered in blue aloe gel to help lead our Sanctuary Explorers program, which often consisted of me in a swimsuit desperately trying not to get even more sunburnt. With a little help from a sun/swim shirt and lots of sunscreen I think it went well. Plus, getting the chance to dip in the water was very refreshing- especially when hiking and kayaking multiple miles for multiple days in a row. Swimming wasn’t the only way we cooled off- plenty of rain came through this week as well. Now, as refreshing as that may seem, I can assure you, it’s not ideal. Despite this, I was really proud of the kids in the Sanctuary Explorers program because they kept a positive attitude. We checked in with “high, low, buffalo” at the end of each day to ask what the day’s high was, the day’s low, and then a weird or random thing that happened. Multiple kids named the rain as their lows, and yet when we were on the trails or on the water, they weren’t complaining. They lived up to the name ‘Sanctuary Explorers.’
After one of these long field days I managed to get back in the water after work to snorkel my first shipwreck. After borrowing some gear from work so that my roommate could come with me, we drove up to Besser Bell to get a look at the Portland. This was quite the endeavor. I was coaching my roommate through using a snorkel for the first time and she was coaching me through
the cold water and slippery rocks. All the while we’re trying to make sure we avoid a thunderstorm. When we first got in the water and started to make our way out, we got nervous because we could hear thunder in the distance. We made the decision to go back to shore and check the radar before continuing. Once we’d done our safety checks making sure we were both feeling ok and that the radar was clear, we headed back out, determined to finish what we’d started. I swam Portland tip to tip. It was such a unique experience, and I’m proud I coached myself through it. Getting back home I ate a well deserved dinner and popsicle and fell asleep the fastest I have all summer.
Ending the week on a high, I went out on Lady Michigan this morning and got to see a new shipwreck. We ventured out to Thunder Bay Island where I got to see the lighthouse and Monohansett (pictured here) for the first time. Mother Nature finally gave in and gave us beautiful views of the wreck both from the viewing wells and from the top deck. I was gasping at the sights along with the guests. It still amazes me how close the wrecks look even when they are 18 feet underwater.
