I guess the cool thing about COVID (jk, there’s really nothing cool about COVID) is that it’s forcing me to spend more time exploring the outdoors here in my home state.
This past weekend, my high school friends Zach and Kevin and I booked what was literally the last public campsite in the entire state of Michigan and went up north to spend a few days camping in Traverse City.
I haven’t been to Traverse City in years, so I was super excited. And — despite what my history as a city-dwelling Chicagoan may tell you — I love camping. I mean, I was a Girl Scout after all!
We basically spent our first night drinking by the fire. Kevin’s pretty much a basic white girl, so he rolled in late with like six cases of White Claw while Zach and I set up camp.
The next day we spent hiking the dunes on Lake Michigan — including Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Very socially distanced.
Sleeping Bear is pretty popular among Michiganders, but most people have never heard of it. It’s not a National Park, but it is a National Lakeshore. Regardless of its federal designation, it’s pretty cool.
There are a few different parts of the dunes. The area in the video above can be accessed by car. There’s a parking lot right next to it, so it’s easy to get to. We ventured to a few different parts of the lakeshore, including one part that was uphill and downhill sand dune hiking for like two miles and I didn’t take any pictures because I wanted to die during that part.
We started our next day with a kayaking excursion in Grand Traverse Bay. We packed a cooler of White Claw and rented kayaks, and then just hung out drinking and paddling for a few hours.
After kayaking, we went wine tasting.
If you didn’t know, Traverse City is pretty well known for both its cherries, and wine. And, well, cherry wine. The Old Mission Peninsula is pretty well-known for its wine trail… which is what we did. We spent the afternoon going from winery to winery.
Everything was outside this time of year, so COVID-wise, it was pretty safe.
I trust our governor.
That was kind of it. We went back to our campsite after winery hopping and then spent the night — again — drinking and hanging out by the campfire.
It was seriously so nice to spend a few days up north. Our campsite was right next to the TART trail, too, so I got to wake up every morning and go for a run by the bay.
Also, campfire cooking. Is it just me, or does food taste like 80 percent better when it’s cooked over a campfire?
It’s not just me. If it is, you’re all crazy. And maybe this slew of campfire food photos can convince you otherwise.
Also, I’m not into Snapchat, but Zach is, so please enjoy this series of super unflattering snaps roasting me that I can’t believe I’m actually publicly posting on the internet.
So, that was my weekend camping in Traverse City! Even though I grew up in Michigan, obviously, I haven’t spent a lot of time here lately. Thanks to my unexpected unemployment stint, I’ve had the chance to spend more time exploring my home state, and I’ve gotta say, I’m not mad. It’s very likely that I’ll be leaving Michigan again soon for a job somewhere — you guys know I don’t like to stay in one place — so even though COVID has taken so much from me (essentially destroyed my life as I had planned it), I’m trying so hard to be grateful for unplanned experiences like this.
This post was originally published on Jan. 21, 2021. Its timestamp has been updated.
