Never mind that nature and north both begin with the letter N, it seems our brains were not allowing us to play with words on our Northern Michigan road trip.  Except for the letter N, we had completed the entire alphabet as we had traveled along on our two day adventure.  There was a sense of pressure to find our final letter before arriving home.  I can’t imagine how many opportunities we had already missed.

Then we saw it!  The “nature” preserve was tucked off to the side.  It was pouring with rain.  We could have easily talked ourselves into bypassing the opportunity.  Instead we turned down a miles long, dead straight dirt road.  The tunnel of trees created a canopy over the car as we ventured toward our unknown destination.  Along the way the magic of Michigan was present everywhere.

The greens  of the forest were almost ethereal from the rain. A magical mist floated among the branches.  As the woods wrapped us in their embrace, this peaceful location seemed untouched and unspoiled by man. Deer quietly stepped in front of the car, unafraid as if they had never known the fear of encroachment.  We continued driving. The deeper we went, the more isolated it became. Suddenly the road ended and we were left to explore the most amazing beach, free of everything except beauty.  We had been nourished.