Handfuls of Manitoulin Island

While on Manitoulin Island -- the largest island in the Great Lakes basin -- I found many fascinating fossils and stones:

Crinoid and quartz

This last one is a fossilized sponge

Manitoulin Island is the largest island in the 

Great Lakes. This is one of the many islands I explored for my upcoming book.

I Ain't Nothin' but a Rock Hound!

It was torturous to hike and NOT pick up all the interesting rocks I came across.

Of course, already hiking with 30+ pounds on my back was a strong deterrent to rock-picking.

Still, when I came across these huge petoskey stones, I wanted to hoist them into my pack! 

Yep, that's a pretty big petoskey stone (ruler is 6")!

And another one!

All rocks in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore are protected and must be left there. This includes both North and South Manitou Islands, so I took only photos there.

Not sure what this stone was, but it was beautiful (N. Manitou Island)

Rocks of Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan has a wonderful variety of stones.

My eye constantly scans  for the perfect composition.