Natural Feral Behaviors

Superior Break

Kitty and K cut through Canada on the way North. The trip itself was an eye opener for Kitty. The section of Ontario they used for a 'shortcut' was nothing but flat farmland on all sides - for hours, though when they crossed out of Canada into Detroit, it really was like going into another world - one of all concrete and broken old buildings. They were barely in the city though before K turned and immediately shot North up I-75. To Kitty, the gritty, dirty city reminded her of the dirtier, more dangerous parts of her own hometown of Chicago, had Chicago been all but abandoned in spots.

Being from Chicago, Kitty had always heard about some of Michigan's sights, considering how well off her parents were, and how so many places in the mitten were well known as vacation destinations to those from Chi-town. But the talk was always as a vacation spot, not as if people lived there all the time, and until the women had with the Motor City hours behind them, she simply didn't understand it. She first realized it when K, grinning, pointed out that there was no turning back now that they'd crossed the 45th parallel.

"Time to leave the trolls behind," K said a while later as she tipped her chin up, and shortly after, the massive Mackinac bridge came into view. The yellowish towers peeked out of the deep green of the rolling hills leading up to it, visible for miles before they got to it. They crossed the bridge around sunset, and the straits were glowing in the evening sun. the water below the bridge was like a mirror.

Kitty had to admit to herself that she indeed felt like she was in a different country once they'd gotten into the K's turf of the 'Superior Peninsula' - it even smelled better - less road dirt, more pine and fresh air. They picked up some dinner outside of St. Ignace as they motored down US 2 hugging the northern shore of lake Michigan for a good long while. Though, Kitty was a little unnerved as there was no map in the car. Eventually, they made it to the cottage, after crossing through a few hours of woods, though K expressed her regret that Kitty couldn't see Lake Superior in the dark. The little hide out was off a paved road that turned gravel, then down a two track, and a beaten path that turned into a mostly overgrown trail. It was well after dark.

The rustic cottage was small, but cozy. K was surprised to find that not only had Bill gotten her message, but he'd dusted the place and stocked the fridge for her. Kitty was already falling in love with the little cottage. The place was covered in cedar shakes, and there was a creek right next to the house that they used a little footbridge to cross. But when Kitty saw the slowly turning water wheel that was attached to the cottage, she nearly squealed. To her it looked like something out of a painting.

"It's really not much in the dark, Kitty. Wait until morning," K told her, sighing as she sat down.

As nice as it was at Xaviers, it really felt good to be in her own place again after oh, so long. The girls brought in the bags and K started a fire in the pit outside on the deck. She warned Kitty to stay away from the railings as they pulled out a quick snack to reheat over the fire. As they ate their late dinner, the travel started to catch up to them. They quit feeding the fire and as it dwindled, the lonely howl of wolves echoed closer and closer to the house, finally surrounding them and making Kitty nervous.

"Don't worry," K told her. "They won't come near the fire. They know people are trouble." Even though even Kitty could hear them trotting through the woods around them. After they settled down, K asked if she was ready to go in, and Kitty nodded eagerly. She could fall asleep on the deck if it weren't for the wolves. When K doused the remains of the fire, the women went in and locked up.

"It's hunting season," K explained. "You never know who's wandering where they shouldn't be."

Late the next morning, Kitty woke up to the smell of coffee and she sleepily made her way down the stairs, eyes half open. When she got out to the kitchen and got a mug of coffee, she turned toward the large windows in the living room and her mouth dropped. The entire wall of windows on that side of the house overlooked a large lake that seemed to go on for miles, the trees on the opposite side looked fairly small from where they were, though Kitty was sure that was not the case. It was beautiful there, and the sound of the water outside and the creaking of the waterwheel added to the ambiance of the deep piney smell of the woods. She pulled up a chair as K brought her some breakfast.