10/25/04
Walk Along The West Shore
This dream is from perhaps a few weeks ago; I never took note of it as it was so vague by the time I remembered it that it didn't seem worthwhile. However, since it was about Mackinac Island, I decided to at least make a brief note of the vague image I remember.
Basically it involved me walking along what was supposed to be the west shore of the island, toward Devil's Kitchen, a sea cave located on this side. I remember walking along what seemed to be the boardwalk, even though that doesn't extend out to Devil's Kitchen. And the layout was all wrong. I believe I was headed west so that means the island would have been on my right and the lake to my left, but instead I seem to recall walking on a boardwalk with the caves kind of to my left and behind me, as well as something pressing in on my right--like being closed in on both sides. And I was both beside these caves yet beyond them and even above them all at once; very confusing. They were supposed to be in the vicinity of Devil's Kitchen, I believe, but there was more than one (I've heard the Kitchen is actually a group of caves, though only one is visible from the shore). I was very curious about this area and seemed to be walking atop or over these caves, as their roofs formed a solid land mass which dropped off steeply on the sides, though I wasn't afraid of falling. They seemed much like the brecciated, water-worn stone of Devil's Kitchen, only darker, a very dark gray almost like charcoal. I think evening was coming on so I might have been pressed for time, yet I really wanted to explore. I feel there were some people with me doing the same, though I don't know if we were together or not. I was just kind of walking along, looking at these caves which were kind of behind me, thinking of walking a little further to see more. I can't stress enough how the caves and whatever else it was--the bluff?--rose on both sides to almost block me in away from the water, though there seemed to be some kind of opening to my front left...very odd. I walked a lot.
There was more to it but going along this boardwalk and looking at/walking atop the caves was all I could remember when I awoke.
A Cave By Any Other Name
Another Mackinac Island dream! :D Although I must admit, by my standards this was pretty dull. :/
I seemed to be with a group of tourists and we were all on Mackinac Island. I can't recall the specifics of this but there was this woman who seemed puzzled over why certain areas or land features were named the way they were. I can't recall which specific ones she mentioned but I'll use Cave of the Woods, the example I myself thought of in the dream, as her example. I also don't recall her specific argument but it probably went something like, "Why do they give these places these obvious names? Like Cave of the Woods?--I mean, it's a cave, and it's in the woods. So that name is rather obvious and kind of unnecessary. Why don't they call them something else or just not name them anything at all?" If she had spoken of Crack-in-the-Island, she probably would have said something like, "And Crack-in-the-Island...I mean, it's a crack, and it's in the island! How much more obvious can you get than that...?" You get the picture. I'm not POSITIVE that this was what she was arguing, but it was something along those lines; she didn't understand the naming system on the island. And as we walked out to British Landing and headed on toward Crack-in-the-Island and Cave of the Woods, that was when I thought of my example, and thought to myself, "You know, she's kind of right...it's a cave, and it's in the woods. 'Cave of the Woods' just isn't very creative." ^_^ I'm an old-fashioned sort though, and rather fixated on the names of island sites, so it didn't really bother me as much as it seemed to bother her.
I think it was overcast, maybe wet, as I think we...yes, I'm pretty sure I was at least wearing my jacket. So maybe it was a little bit cool but not so bad. And the trees were still green, unlike in real life. I do not recall the woods that one really has to pass through to reach this location, and I never saw the Crack or the cave. But we came out at the airport field just behind these two features. Even this area looked completely different from in real life--it wasn't nearly as big, was closed in by pine trees and such, was narrower, and didn't seem to have the airport in it! There was also no wooden fence that I can recall. We all just kind of filtered out of the woods at this spot and looked around.
I looked to my right, along the treeline, and thought of something I read, in real life, in a Fifties guidebook I have to the island. In that, it mentions in one part how to reach Crack-in-the-Island. It says to cut across the airport field until you see this big rock near the woods or something. Now back then, directions were not what they are now, and since they never seem to name any specific trails, plus many of the trails back then are no longer in use or accessible, the Fifties directions are practically useless. I kid you not; here are those very directions themselves, word for word:
"Follow directions to the Grand Hotel -- Pass the Hotel on the road directly in front, pause to view the Tea Garden below and the Grand Hotel Swimming Pool [you can't do this nowadays and hope to get away without paying a fee!], and continue on up the slope passing in front of the cottages. Follow the road as it leaves the bluff and turns right, turn left at the next block and continue west. Take the next fork to the right and stay on the most traveled road [does it have some sign saying "most traveled road" on it??] as it passes some lesser ones and some private drives. Follow on as it forks again, go right and then left and continue up the long gradual slope, leaving the cottages behind. Go right again at the next fork and take the first trail that wanders left into the woods. (It's wide enough for a horse if you happen to be riding and good going for a bicycle.) This road will take you to the airport. The airport is an emergency field used mostly in the winter when planes are the only method of transportation to and from the Island. Look across until you find a large rock just at the edge of the woods. (Incidentally, if it's in season try some of the wild strawberries at the south end of the airport.) Cross the airport [trespassing, anybody?] to this rock and enter the right fork of the trail that begins here. You will soon come to the 'Crack in the Island.'"
I mean, SERIOUSLY!--it's hard enough going even with the CURRENT map! And I have always reached the Crack and the cave by taking the Lake Shore Road to British Landing, and using State Road to head inland...the airport always comes AFTER I reach those two, not before. So I have no clue where this guy is coming from. O_o
Anyway...I remembered these directions about the "large rock" and decided that I wanted to see if such a thing was still there, since there's no "large rock" in view when you approach the airport from Crack-in-the-Island. I accordingly turned right and started walking along the treeline. This field was narrower than the one in real life, and covered with medium-tall swaying grass, kind of light greenish but dry looking, like prairie grass; the treeline was perfectly straight as if it had been cut that way. I left the others behind and went looking for the rock. At some points it may have seemed like there was a smallish bluff through the woods but I'm not sure (there's no bluff there in real life, that's closer toward town). I think I spotted what might have been a big rock ahead, although it wasn't terribly impressive; still, I was curious. I approached but it seems like when I got there, instead of a rock there was a sign, and I think it was telling the name of the woods or else the kind of tree that dominated this part of the woods (there are different sections of forest on the island, some dominated by deciduous trees (like this part of the island is in real life), some by evergreens (like this part of the island seemed to be in the dream). I really can't recall what it said but it was two words, "_____ Woods," I believe. The first word was a tree name, I think, but it was short; I think it had a double E in it, kind of like the word "Leeds," though of course there is no kind of "Leeds" tree. I only give that as an example as I can't recall what the word was. I glanced at this in only mild curiosity before moving on. Again, I can't be too sure if that was the name of the woods or the kind of tree which dominated these woods; sorry.
I reached the end of the field where the treeline took a sharp left and cut off my access at a ninety-degree angle, just like it had been cultivated that way. I felt a bit disappointed that I couldn't go further as I'd intended to explore some more, but I just turned and started heading back, still keeping my shoulder to the treeline, on my left this time. A few of the tourists might have been wondering what I was doing but for the most part they ignored me and I ignored them. I know that I had taken some digital pictures with the Polaroid camera earlier in the dream, perhaps of the trees and woods as I went along; now as I came abreast of the sign I decided I wanted to take some pictures of it as well. I slowed down and pulled the camera out of my right jacket pocket (this is how I remember specifically that I was wearing my jacket, as I have no other clothes with big side pockets like that) and lifted it up to turn it on and take some shots.
Crap! I noticed that the light on it was blinking, and there was an image displaying on the preview screen--meaning I had not turned it off after my last shots! How long had I been carrying it this way and using up its batteries? :( It also wouldn't stop flashing. I considered turning it off and turning it on again to take pictures, but I worried that it would overwrite whatever I had on there already. (I've had some bad experiences with this camera in real life; see "In Search Of The Fairy Arch" for yet another recent Mackinac Island dream featuring camera worries!) I fretted about this for a few moments before sighing and deciding to just take some pictures and turn the camera off carefully when I was done. The image on the preview screen, by the way, seemed to be just some vague indistinct black background with a couple of little blurry blobs of white light in it. I was worried about overwriting my earlier pictures but started trying to frame some shots anyway. At first this sign had been merely a black sign with white movable lettering, but now it featured like a photograph of this area of the woods, mounted under glass. Kind of weird, to have a photo of the area right by the area itself, but oh well. o_o It didn't seem strange in the dream. I think the photo was older, but in color, and had a bearded, bespectacled man in it, kind of husky looking. I got the vague feeling that he was associated with this somehow, like he was the photographer, or a geologist, or something scientific.
I think I tried to take some pictures while the light was flashing. I considered checking them on the preview screen to see if I'd overwritten them, but decided not to since I thought that might mess it up even more, plus it uses up a lot of the batteries. I just took my chances. I snapped a couple of shots of this sign but I think the flash glared off the glass. They were okay but not wonderful shots. I got closer--the sign filled up almost the entire space, although I wasn't THAT close. And the edges of it always seemed cut off no matter how I framed it. I tilted the camera sideways to get the best shot. I think I tilted it at too much of an angle so the sign seemed uneven, wide at one end and narrow at the other; I tried to remedy this and get as straight a shot as I could. At that point, at least, the sign image seemed taller than it was wide, though I think throughout the rest of the dream it was wider than it was tall.
I crouched down now so I was practically lying on my left side, tilting the camera up and closer to fill the shot with the sign. Awkward. O_o I remember cocking my arms and head at this weird angle as this guy from the group of tourists came walking my way, giving me an odd look. But I was just totally engrossed in taking a good picture of this stupid sign. I noticed if I took the shot from below, the sunlight (such as it was) and/or flash would not glare directly off the glass and I could get a better shot. Despite the weird angle. *shrug* I kept taking pictures, but it seemed like they never turned out right!--they always seemed to come out dark, or something. And I kept trying. I wondered if there were other signs like this in the rest of the woods. As this guy approached and I cocked my head to take another, hopefully better shot, my alarm went off and I awoke.
Real-life associations: The day before I had this dream, I had written in my paper journal that I wished I could have more dreams about the island...so I don't know, maybe for once in my life my subconscious listened. Even though it was rather dull. ;P
As I said, I do not think it was the word used in the dream, as it's not the name of a tree--but "Leeds" makes me think of a character I created, Thomas Leeds, who lives on my fictional version of Mackinac Island, Manitou Island.
2004 Dreams
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