This past summer felt extremely different.
My second summer after graduation, deep within the thralls of my first “big girl” job. No 3 months of vacation time to reset, connect, and explore (besides the fact that I traveled across the country for 10 days and visited some amazing national parks… but thats a post for another day.. and another blog) I was working, 40 hours a week, in a lonely little town.
I quickly learned that being an adult and living on your own can be VERY lonely. But it’s nothing connecting over a campfire with old friends can’t fix. What started as an obscure idea in a group chat, turned out to be one of the best weekends I’ve had in years.
If you’ve ever visited my blog or read any of my other posts OR simply just read the name and title of my blog as a whole, you know how I feel about Northern Michigan. It has been my home away from home for my entire life. So when the urge to camp with friends kept bugging me this past spring, I knew it had to happen and I knew exactly the right place.
Okay, so, the right place turned out to be difficult to apprehend. Naturally, I began to panic because, as much time as I spend up in the M22 area, I never really camp. It turns out that the one campground that I usually relied upon, had suddenly disappeared.
Alright well… maybe I’m over-exaggerating a *little* bit.
From what I know, that campground was bought by the state and it was going through changes in ownership. I don’t want the share the name because I have literally no idea if that’s true and if it’s not, I don’t want to affect their business. All I will share is that it is a cutie little gem deep in the rural farmland of Empire.
(If you don’t know about Empire, check out my blog post here.)
What I assumed was a setback that would derail the entire trip turned out to be an opportunity to expand my horizons into the world of campgrounds along and around M22.
Now let me tell you, I was originally highly skeptical of the campground we ended up staying in but, honestly, it turned out amazing.
We set up camp at Garey Lake State Forest Campground. It’s a state campground so it’s first come, first serve and you pay in the box near the entrance (only $15 a night by the way). The web detail seriously did not do it justice! Although it was very rustic (i.e. no running water and vault toilets) the sites were amazing. Perfectly spaced out, clean, and quiet.
Basically it was a REAL campground, not one of those parking lot hookups.
Our site was right at the boat launch for Garey Lake which served as a lovely view at any time of day. It was the best! I hate to explain it like that but it’s true! I definitely recommend Garey Lake if you’re ever in need of a campground in the Empire area.
The two nights, and just about 3 days, we spent at the campground were so special. We lived off of PB&J’s. Had deep chats over the campfire. Shared many, many (MANY) spirits. And just enjoyed each others presence, whether it was under the stars or lounging peacefully near the lake early that Saturday morning.
We did not spend EVERY waking hour at the campsite. We did branch out. We spent Saturday afternoon sprawled out all over Bohemian beach (which you can read about here) and grabbing an early dinner in Glen Arbor (which you can also read about here).
Side-note that I thought I should mention: We ate dinner at Good Harbor Grill! It’s been there forever but I’ve never once stopped in there. It was so small and cozy and great. They had quite a few of gluten free options as well. 10/10 would stop in again.
By the time the weekend was over, and our camp all packed up, we absolutely did not want to leave. But we were adults. We had to work. We had to go back to school. Two of us had a bus to catch to Chicago at 3pm.
Selfishly, I saw my friends off and stuck around for a few hours. I drove back to Glen Arbor and treated myself to a new M22 sweatshirt and a mocha from Leelanau Coffee Roasting Co. I lazily roamed the streets. The weather was beautiful. I felt so at peace. Something I hadn’t experienced in months.
I took M22 down the coast to Frankfort, took a nap on the beach and dug into a good book. It had been a while since I visited my favorite lighthouse. Overall, extremely cathartic.
Moral of this long blog post, go camping!! Spend time with good friends. Spend time up north. Spend time with nature.
Spend time. You will not regret it. I promise.
Your Michigan Girlfriend 