08-31-06 @ 7:11 am EDT

I notice that when I include the word "Mackinac" in an entry title, that entry gets a lot fewer hits. Kind of sad though understandable. (This observation only applies to the Writing.com version of this journal, since it's the only one with hit counts, though I assume it's roughly the same across the board. *shrug*) This also leads me to believe that more people than would care to admit actually read this thing. Well, I hope whoever's reading these entries is enjoying them. Anyway...

All right...when I last left off, I was stuck at Surrey Hill Square with some dead batteries, and the information that the Surrey Hill gift shop sold batteries, and the lack of information as to which of the two buildings I was looking at housed the Surrey Hill gift shop.

There was a smallish building down to my left, and a bigger one up to my right. The smallish one practically screamed GIFT SHOP. But the bigger one I knew was part of the Surrey Hill...complex...or whatever...because there was a big line of people who I assumed were waiting for carriage rides or to see the working blacksmith. From here, it looked like the only way to reach that place was to wait in line because the rest of the walkway around the building was blocked off by a fence. :( So I decided to try out the littler building first.

I had to meander my way toward it due to the stupid pathways cutting across the grass in twists and turns. There was a large weirdly colored turtle sitting on the lawn with a sign behind it but I neglected reading this--if I had, I could have saved some time. I entered the little building which had a sign on it mentioning a "Conservatory" being nearby; apparently this was the gift shop of said "Conservatory." I was already getting a bad feeling that I'd made the wrong choice.

That feeling was only strengthened as soon as I entered this bright, garish, cluttered, REALLY crowded little shop stuffed to the gills with butterfly souvenirs. I mistakenly assumed this must be the Butterfly House, a popular attraction on the island; when in fact it was Wings Of Mackinac, ANOTHER butterfly house (hence the "Conservatory" I'd seen mention of). Crap. Not what I'd wanted. I stood there for a moment as a group consisting of apparently a mother and a group of girls at least partly her own (one of whom was named, of course, Rachel) stood blocking the doorway and part of an aisle, yammering about whether they should buy this cute pen or this or that or whatever or if they should wait until they'd visited the Surrey Hill gift shop. I glanced around the store but saw no sign of batteries anywhere. Just so much butterfly stuff that one could puke. I turned to leave, but the group of chattery yammery stupid girls was RIGHT in the way; another tourist or two were waiting to exit as well. HELLO, MORONS! Finally they noticed we were waiting ever so patiently to LEAVE this place (the aisles must've been like six inches wide, cripes) and began filtering out. I left as well and watched which way they went before making my way up the slope toward the Surrey Hill building. I saw now that if I followed one of the circuitous pathways, it would take me to an opening in the fence around the building. There was another entry here with people sitting at tables outside, but there was no line, and a sign reading "ENTRANCE." Still leery lest I be forced to pay some sort of fee to enter, I went that way.

Nobody stopped me on the way in. I immediately found myself in some sort of carriage museum or something, but I didn't pay much attention to it because I really wanted some batteries! And there wasn't just one gift shop in here but a whole BUNCH of them--a clothing store, some regular knickknack places, etc. etc. UGH! It was like a mini-mall! I halted to look at the different store signs, noticing that they also had bathrooms; well, that was nice, seeing as I'd been so woefully detoured; I could just go there before leaving, if I could ever find some BATTERIES. I entered one little gift shop and browsed around but saw none. -_- I exited and started looking at the signs on the stores. The clothing store would certainly not have any. Then I saw the Loon Feather, I think it was called, and on its sign it said that they sold film. Using my brilliant powers of deduction, I figured that if they sold film, surely they must sell batteries...so I went that way.

Just like every other gift shop it had those six-inch aisles...ugh...I meandered all over the little shop, seeing gorgeous rocks (I was sorely tempted) and all sorts of other stuff...but no batteries. *cries* Two cashiers were talking and one left so one remained behind the counter. I stood for a while just looking stupid and confused, hoping to draw attention even while hoping that I wouldn't. I wasn't going to find any batteries this way. -_- So I finally approached the counter and said in a small voice, "Excuse me, do you carry batteries here?"

"Only triple A's and double A's," the young black woman behind the counter replied.

O_o Um...what other kind would I want? Car batteries? (That's a double joke because they don't have cars on the...oh, never mind.) "Double A's, please," I said, and she reached up to pull a pack down from the wall. They were there in plain sight on the wall behind the counter the whole time! _-_ Ugh. She turned back to me and told me it would be $3-something, can't recall.

"Could I have two?" I asked.

"They only come in packs of four," she said.

>_< !! "Could I have two packs, please?" I clarified. For a brief moment I thought they would have some sort of weird one-pack-per-customer policy! But I wanted to really make sure I didn't run low when I was way out in the middle of nowhere! So she retrieved another pack, telling me the total was $6-something, and I handed over the money, got my change, and made off with my batteries. THANK GOD!

I went out into the museum and halted beside a display to change the batteries--I had weird thoughts that they'd think I was a terrorist doing something suspicious. Where do I get these thoughts?? I used the bathroom, then went outside past the animal enclosure where children were petting goats. Then snapped a picture of the oddly colored turtle with the sign which I now discovered read "Wings Of Mackinac." Duhr. It came out nicely, so I then went back on my way (I got kind of turned around trying to figure out which way I'd come from), returning to Carriage Road, then Custer Road, passing the cemeteries again. This time I photographed the odd grave set among the tall bushes/trees. Then onward to Garrison Road and the middle of the island.

Somewhere in here there were a couple of incidents which I can't place chronologically because I'm not quite sure where they happened, but they were around this time. They were most likely as I headed up the remainder of Garrison Road, as there are several smaller trails branching off especially on the right side. At one point I stepped onto a side trail and walked a little bit, looking up into the treetops and breathing deeply and listening to the birds and squirrels and lack of any other noise...it was so nice to be away from PEOPLE. I headed back to the main route and kept walking. There were occasional popping and cracking noises from up in the trees and this puzzled me a bit but I assumed it must be squirrels or something, since I kept hearing red ones chirring, and crows cawing, and things such as that. Every so often a tiny chipmunk would go bounding across my path but that was the most life that I saw.

Eventually I noticed odd noises coming from some distance behind me. I frowned a bit. Maybe they were the same noises that had been coming from the trees. But they seemed to be getting closer and louder. Well, I figured, if it's somebody else, they'll just pass me if I'm in their way, so I didn't look back because I hate it when people see that I notice. I just kept walking and these noises kept getting CLOSER and CLOSER until they were right on my heels! I kept walking and not looking back, though I was quite nervous by now, and wondered what it was and why it wasn't moving around me!

Suddenly out of the blue an amused-sounding woman's voice said, "I'm behind you."

O_O !!! I let out a half-startled, half-amused laugh/yelp and dodged to the side...but the woman upon horseback merely turned onto a side trail and went wandering off that way. I guess I must have been blocking her way onto the path! >_<;;; How embarrassing! No wonder she hadn't merely gone around me, I probably would have been trampled. Ugh! I kept on my way, though I did feel pretty stupid for having impeded her like that. At least she seemed more amused than anything. Probably thinking, "Stupid fudgie." -_-;

Garrison Road takes one to an area known as "Four Corners," where it intersects with British Landing Road (which is more like a continuation of it), Annex Road, and Crooked Tree Road. This is pretty much the center of the island. Somewhat beyond this, one passes the end of the airport (yes, the island has an airport) and comes to State Road, which heads way out in a sort of semicircle before connecting again with British Landing Road not far from British Landing itself. State Road, which in my Manitou Island stories is identified as merely "the great forest road," leads indirectly to Cave of the Woods and Crack-in-the-Island, which was where I planned to go next. So I went this way, though I did pause briefly to stare in wonder at a series of large boulders littering the field opposite the airport. This field is where a titanic fight between my character Charmian and the giant Wendigo Augwak takes place in Return To Manitou Island. And I'd never noticed those boulders before. Huh. There was a sign saying that bikes could not park on the road, yet ahead of me there was a small group of fudgies doing just that, chattering with their bikes parked. I kept on going, for State Road would take me to Crack-in-the-Island Trail, which would take me to Cave of the Woods and the Crack.

I was worried that the cave would be fenced off, as I had found out, to my dismay, had happened to Skull Cave the previous year. I entered the woods and the trees started to close in around me. I looked up at the sky and remembered that this was the exact spot where, back in 2001, my brother, mother, sister-in-law, and I had emerged from the woods to find a bunch of butterflies fluttering overhead. There were no butterflies here today, but I enjoyed the memory anyway. There's an Ojibwa story about the trickster hero, Manabozho (known as the Great Rabbit), creating butterflies to amuse children, by tossing colored pebbles into the air. I hadn't known of this story at that time. But every time I see butterflies now, especially on the island, I think of that. Sometimes I wonder if those weren't Manabozho's butterflies or some such. *shrug*

I lowered my head and kept walking, only to spot something small and dark sitting in the road some distance away. "What the heck is that...?" I murmured to myself as I drew closer. It moved a little, so I could tell that it was alive, but it was too far away for me to make it out clearly. It held its place as I approached, and I at last saw that it was a large brown rabbit. !

I slowed to a stop, surprised to see something like this when I'd just been thinking about the Great Rabbit! ^_^ I lifted the camera and turned it on--it makes this annoying musical tinkling noise whenever you do so--and snapped a few shots, zooming in as much as I could. I moved closer and got some closer shots (which ended up coming out the best). "You're a handsome devil!" I called softly as the rabbit just sat there. I was able to move to within perhaps twenty feet of it and take some more zoom shots which came out rather blurry, before putting the camera away and continuing onward. The rabbit, for its part, turned and hopped away into the woods. Well that was nice. ^_^

When I looked at the shots I took of it later--the clearest look I had at it--I noticed that it had a white blaze on its forehead, really wide flaring ears, and an odd sloping nose, unlike rabbits I usually see in the area. Interesting.

Well, I made my way onward to Crack-in-the-Island Trail. This meanders around deep in the woods for a time before coming out beside Cave of the Woods. I eventually noticed something large looming off ahead to my left, and slowed my step, anxiously approaching it. As it came into view I saw that there was no fence to be seen...Cave of the Woods was still open to the public. And...it was a lot bigger than I remembered. O_o

I halted to take pictures of the park sign describing it--since I neglected doing that the last time I was present--and then moved closer to look it over. Jeez...I don't remember it being that deep. I could easily duck my head and walk back inside it, and I bet I could have even crawled to the very back if not afraid of getting a little dirty. I considered this, but I'd hurt my right knee and by now it was nearly impossible for me to merely stand up from a crouching position. I went into the cave and touched the roof and murmured, "I'm here," before examining the rock surface and looking at all the fragments and leaves littering the floor. I exited to look at the outside, as I have an antique photo of the Cave in a book of mine and all the trees and such around it are covered with Victorian graffiti. Those trees are long gone by now, replaced by new ones, and there isn't a sign of graffiti to be found. I set my pack against the boulder standing outside the cave and took a drink of water at last, pouring a little on the ground before the cave like I had the last time I'd visited. I was so glad the place hadn't been blocked off!

I crawled back into the cave and decided, against my better judgement, to leave my first box here. All right. For those who don't remember, I had plans to write a letter and deposit it in a plastic box somewhere on the island so someone could later on find it and respond. I had hopes that only a true island lover would do so, so I intended to place the boxes where only a true island lover would find them--meaning out-of-the-way places. Cave of the Woods is out of the way, but not REALLY out of the way. Still...there was a small aperture on the left side, leading into the ground a bit, and it looked so inviting to leave a box in (I'd brought two). I figured that if I left one here it'd probably be found in like a week, by some emptyheaded fudgie who doesn't give a rip about anything I'm interested in, but decided to leave it anyway. I accordingly tossed the box down into the crevice and began tossing bits of rock in after it in an attempt to hide it a bit, though that didn't work very well since the rocks all kept bouncing off the box or landing too far away. >_<

I leaned on the rocks on the floor of the cave while doing this when suddenly an odd high-pitched eeeeeeee like steam escaping a teapot came to my ears! O_o !! What the hell was THAT? I drew my hand back abruptly and gawked at the rubble. The noise stopped, but when I poked the rocks again it started again. Eegh!! Bats tend to nest in the island caves, and I had noticed flecks all over the rocks--guano?--so maybe there was a bat burrowed under there?? I know, bats don't burrow, but it had sounded suspiciously like a protesting rodent of some sort, and I might have been squishing it, so I quickly apologized and crawled back out of the cave. Creepy!!

I had a great deal of trouble just getting to my feet due to my injured knee, and thought I would have to end up rolling out on my side. >_< Fortunately I at last managed to push myself up though it really hurt. Ugh.

Speaking of bats, I found myself wondering where the hell they all were, considering that the island was this year infested with MOSQUITOES and GNATS or something. Usually these are virtually nonexistent on the island, due to the huge bat population which keeps them in check. But everywhere I went this year, if I stopped for too long--like here at the Cave--I began to be pestered by the annoying little things. I've NEVER been bothered by biting insects on the island before. So I found this quite odd. Maybe the spring drought had something to do with it? Hm.

Well, I waved goodbye to the Cave and exited...just in time for a small group of fudgies to arrive. >_< The young girl leading them yelled, "I FOUND THE CAVE OF THE WOODS!!" GOOD FOR YOU, MAGELLAN! Nice of you to proclaim it to the ENTIRE ISLAND. I told myself I didn't have to see Crack-in-the-Island, but then thought, eh, I really wanted to at least snap its state park sign for future reference. So I took one trail a good distance, but then got confused and came back. I realized this was the same trail I must have taken to reach the Cave, and I hadn't crossed the Crack on the way here, so where was it? This ALWAYS happens when I'm in this area--I can NEVER remember how to reach Crack-in-the-Island. >_< At least the fudgies had already lost interest and gone on their way. I remembered that the Crack seemed to be right at the edge of the field near the airport, so I went up the path beside the Cave, which leads up to the top of the Cave and then to the edge of the woods--I had walked out on this very path the last time I'd visited the Cave, which had confused me no end since I'd come out on top of the Cave itself! Taking this a little way, I finally found the Crack, which another tourist or two were examining, and got my pictures. It, too, seemed deeper than I'd remembered. Hm.

I now planned to take the remainder of State Road to British Landing. I hadn't wanted to take such a drastic detour...but British Landing had the last bathrooms before Arch Rock, WAY on the other side of the island. *sigh* So, I found my way back to the road and went walking toward the west side of the island. Oddly, State Road was NOT as big as I'd remembered it. O_o ?

I noticed, too, that the greenery wasn't as beautiful as it had been when I'd last been this way several years ago. The signs of the drought were painfully obvious here, and I took a picture of the woeful trees to show it. Many are already barren, others brownish or discolored with small leaves. Poor things. Autumn is coming early this year, and it's not going to be a pretty one. I do hope next spring is kinder so they can be as fully green as they're supposed to be, even if I don't end up taking this particular route again.

State Road sloooowly meandered its way back to British Landing Road, and I browsed the hunks of limestone along the right side of the road as I went, never having noticed them before. The island is practically a big hunk of limestone itself and this stuff can be found just about everywhere. It's brecciated, which I believe means it's composed of little bits that were all broken apart and then mashed together again, creating the island's famous rock formations. Shouldn't I really be a tour guide? Well, if I weren't so damn avoidant. I noticed some colorful flowers and decided to attempt a few macro shots, only to notice a big fuzzy bee drinking at one. I took a couple of pictures of this...my parents were later so impressed that Ma insists I should send one to 7&4 News, which features local snapshots every now and then, though it's just a picture of a bee, anyone with a decent camera can do that. o_o

My legs were at last starting to bother me. I began to hear voices from ahead, including that of a man saying something like, "...And he's very well behaved, good with people, not much trouble at all," followed by a hideously loud WHINNY. The road began to open up and on the left I saw a young man leading a horse around by the reins while people sat in a small carriage behind it. The horse kept whinnying VERY LOUDLY, so perhaps he wasn't as good with people as the guy had been saying, or else the man leading him wasn't very good at it. In any case, up on my left I saw a small building with a sign reading Cannonball, and all sorts of people moving around on the pavement before the lake ahead of me, and a cannon on the beach, and the Mackinac Bridge way in the distance, and knew I'd at last reached British Landing.