I can’t exactly remember how it all went down but I think it was over Christmas last year — we were all together, Caleb’s side of the family, and his dad mentioned that it had been awhile since a trip was taken together as a family! Before we knew it, we had a camping/kayaking trip planned to visit the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Upper Michigan. With our wedding season being so busy during the summer months and trying to coordinate five different schedules, we had to plan early … and we did it!
One of my favorite things about Caleb’s family is how active and adventurous they are. They are always up to try something new and time spent together never involves sitting around for long periods of time. These are my people!! When we were dating, one of the things I quickly learned and grew to love (SO much) about Caleb was his high value in life for the investment in experiences over things. The more I got to know his family and specifically his dad, the easier it was for me to see where this comes from. It is something I am so thankful for and feel really blessed by : )
Our trip together was short but since we were in the middle of nowhere (pretty much!), we had absolutely no cell or internet service of any kind. This meant no phones and a lot more time being present with one another. So even though we only had three-ish days, it really felt like a lot longer : )
We camped at Au Train Lake Campground just outside of Munising, about 20 minutes from Pictured Rocks. It was a smaller campground with a few trails and a beach on Au Train lake that was easily accessible for campers! The area was SO beautiful and we enjoyed watching the sunrise from a lookout point one morning! : ) Our site was right on the lake which was very peaceful and relaxing!
Our big adventure was our full day guided kayaking tour of the Pictured Rocks shoreline with Northern Waters Adventures. We got the BEST weather for the tour and I am so thankful! It was in the 70s, partly cloudy, and the most important thing was that the waters on Lake Superior were calm that day because there was little wind! We really lucked out!! It was an amazing tour and so, SO beautiful to see the rock formations up close! We were gone from 9 AM – 4 PM with a stop midday for lunch on the beach. I was a bit worried about how hard it would potentially be to kayak all day but I will say that it wasn’t bad at all! I did get sick of sitting for so long but the tour is slower moving and not as physically demanding as I had anticipated!
Here are a few “real” camera and iPhone pictures from the trip : ) So thankful for a short, relaxing time away amidst our busy season! Love these people to the moon and back!
I mean … this is insane!!!! Just GORGEOUS!!
Our morning sunrise stop!
On the last day, we hiked to Chapel Rock and the views all along the way were just stunning!
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