Another View of the Same Place: Haines Island in Monroe County

I just finished reading Don and Judy’s Off the Porch blog. As always, I really enjoyed it. I love the Haines Island Park they wrote about. I enjoy it, too, but from a different perspective. If I were going there, I’d enjoy it just as much, but for different reasons. Don and Judy are outdoor people. They will get up before the crack of dawn to catch sight of special birds. I prefer to wake up at home later and ease into my day with a good cup or tea or a Coke Zero with crushed ice, depending on the season and whether I’m by the fireside, in the sunroom upstairs, or on the porch. I like to get up early enough not to have to rush out for appointments, but late enough that the sun is already up. I like to think philosophical thoughts and read something inspirational. I might also check my email at the time they are out sloshing around the sloughs communing with nature.

I ran into Don and Judy at Lakepoint Lodge recently. Neither of us had a clue the other would be there. They were there for a big birding event and I was there for historic preservation. We were both having fun, but doing different things. They were looking for birds and I was looking for historic culture. If we were both at Haines Island, we’d have different agendas. I would be sitting on a blanket with a good book, a notebook, and a chicken box from Joe McKissick’s store. It is only store on the way. He is way out in the country, but people from Monroeville drive out to get his fried chicken. It is worth the trip. I’d have a cooler of soft drinks and tea with lots of ice. I would have packed a whole series of snack. I’m always all about food not matter where I go. I’d probably invite a friend to go, too, but not one that was very chatty. When I go out in nature, I like to be quiet and ponder things. I would only take a friend that like to read as much as I did. We might go into Monroeville and get a new book from the Beehive bookstore. Chrissy, the owner always has something good to recommend. I ‘d probably also bring along the magazines that I hadn’t had time to read earlier. I’d have a big blanket or bedspread to sit on. It used to be a quilt, but now that we’ve learned what valuable folk art they are, I wouldn’t dare take one.

I am sure I will be going that way this spring. The road to Haines Island is called “the Mountain by the locals. It is very high and one of the only places in rural Southwest Alabama where mountain laurel grow by the side of the road. That is a rare treat in this part of the world.

Another thing I would do at Haines Island is to take the ferry across to Packer’s Bend and right back. It is an old ferry that is powered by a gasoline engine. It’s a fun little excursion. I wouldn’t set up my contemplation site very close to the ferry, though, because the engine is loud. This is the original Gees Bend ferry that was moved in the 1960s/ There are pictures of it in operation  in the early 1900s at the Camden Ferry Terminal and Welcome Center.

Local Folklorist, Buster Singleton and others have written about the ghosts at Haines Island. There is supposed to be a group of Indians there as well as “Crazy Nancy Haines”. I have been on ghost finding expedition with the Central Alabama Paranormal Investigators there one cold fall night. The stars were magnificent that night and we actually registered some paranormal activity on the ghost meter. We also got a picture of 3 balls of light where we found the activity. Buster Singleton, according to his book, said that he saw the Indians in the daylight. I’m willing to chance it. Haines Island is too pretty to miss.