The Story:
We continue our tour of Northern Michigan's unique islands with part two of our feature on Bois Blanc Island.
Last week we introduced you to those that live on the island. We even heard from the island's only school teacher.
Tonight we show you what Mother Nature gave the island. 9&10's chief photojournalist Corey Adkins and Kevin Essebaggers take you there.
"I always tell people were just southeast of Mackinac Island and exactly the opposite. There's no pavement, there's no fudge, lots of state and federal land. If you don't enjoy nature this is not the place for you. You have to be self sufficient, self entertaining," explains teacher Wendy Spray.
They could be the exact reasons why people go to Bois Blanc Island.
"There's a lot of fishing," says Barbara Schlund, owner of the Bob-Lo Tavern. "There's good hunting, relaxation, outdoor living. It's like living in a state park living here on Bois Blanc Island."
"I guess it depends on the person and what they are looking for. I mean if I'm a hunter I looking for oak trees or apple trees. People that like to look for flowers look for a swampier area where's there's a lot of vegetation, that's very particular to just this island," says resident Joe Schlund.
Bois Blanc does have beautiful cottages and homes like this one covered in birch bark. And check out the stairs built out of stone a hundred years ago. The island has three inland lakes.
"I love Mary's Lake," says Barbara. "To me it's one of the prettiest lakes that we have. There's lots of hiking, you can go into the trails and into the woods. Get out and find the morel mushrooms -- we have that also."
"The inland lakes are very rustic, untouched. Very, very little if any homes," says Joe.
The thing that really gets people talking on the island is the wildlife.
"In the fall you see a lot of the nature migration from the north that go by the Straits area. We see a lot of the ducks, a lot of the birds, a lot of the hawks."
"There's coyote, fox, beaver, mink, rabbit," says Austin Sims, owner of Hawks Landing.
Barbara adds, "and nothing that hibernates. We got a lot of raccoons and coyotes, fox, eagles, a lot of eagles."
And perhaps the main attraction for nature lovers on the island have white tails and a friendly demeanor.
"The deer are just incredible. I feed deer right in my back yard. I had a buck who decided the does weren't being nice so he ate bread right out of my hand instead of getting beat up by them," says Wendy.
"You can be 10 feet away from a deer and it will sit there and look at ya," Austin says. "It's just a whole other world."
After a day of taking in all the island has to offer, Bois Blanc has more to give.
Wendy says. "sunsets are gorgeous. I mean beautiful, beautiful sunsets especially on the west end."
"If you like the outdoors you would really like the island."
"You have to be content with yourself and peacefulness and quietness because there is very little activity."
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