Northern Michigan has been buzzing recently with talk of the infamous “ice caves” that have formed between Leland and Northport along the Lake Michigan shoreline. We decided to venture out to see just how amazing they really were.

Skeptic/snob alert: usually when a lot of people say something is “so amazing “and “so awesome,” I have a tendency to tune out. Just like the books that are at the top of the best seller lists; usually when a lot of people read something, it makes me think that it’s not very well-written and I avoid it. So. Northern Michigan ice caves… hmm.

You guys.

They ARE amazing. Awesome. Once we slid over the ice, hoisted each other over the top of the caves, scrambled a bit and got down to them… I turned around, gasped a bit and teared up. I was stunned. Kids were playing around, sliding and yelling, “this is awesome!” The late afternoon light was incredible. The ice formations at this scale? I had never seen anything quite like it and I wondered if we would again.

Photo alert: there are a lot.

What an impactful experience for all of us, but especially for the children. Nature is amazing. God is amazing. We live in an incredible place.

It was one of those rare experiences in nature when I felt deep and wide in my heart that there is an incredible force that’s greater than all of us, within all of us, hugging all of us tight.

The scale.

My ice birdies.

And with the warm-up this week, these are sure to become hazardous. It truly felt like a once-in-a-lifetime gift. And it was worth every minute of the slippery hike down and the long walk back with cold, hungry, whiny birdies.

Thank you, ice caves. Thank you, Mother Nature. Thank you, God. We are refreshed and renewed.