camping, pictured rocks lakeshore

dave and i LOVE camping. but we hadn't been truly out-in-a-tent, cooking-over-a-campfire camping for a couple of years, so when our dear friends amanda + nate from kansas city told us they were hatching a plan to go camping for a few days in our neck of the woods (ish) and would there be any possibility we could join them, we of course said a hearty yes.we spent a lovely few days on the shores of lake michigan (ie. the little ocean) completely unplugged, cooking over the fire, running down onto the beach at night under all the stars. fell asleep every night to the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore. went on a ten mile hike and found a magical forest of trees. were introduced to hobo packs, ate 'meatless' and 'gluten free' at a roadside diner that used 'questionable' 'quotation marks' on their menu. it was just so simple and nice. there were some places we trekked to where literally we felt like we were on the edge of the world, with no one around for miles except the four of us. i need to remember this more in real life : just having those moments of idleness and listening. loved getting to spend this time with amanda + nate, who we met at a photography workshop earlier this year. we love their hearts and the magic they make with their cameras blows us away every time. coming home and soap smelled so clean, we missed our friends, and we clung to the campfire smell that lingered in our clothes.my only regret is that i didn't take a picture of the zombie wine. (yep, there was zombie wine..)click play to listen to the soundtrack of our days as you scroll through the images below.september 2013 / pictured rocks national lakeshore, michigan