During the summer of 2015, my family and I took a road trip to the U.P. You’re probably wondering where that is, if not even what that is. The U.P. is the northernmost section of Michigan, “Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,” that no one actually seems to know exists. The land of the Yoopers (name given to the residents of the U.P.) can be seen as basically Canada, “God’s Country,” or just simply, the middle of absolute nowhere.

Michigan is in my family’s blood, so traveling to the U.P for us wasn’t too bizarre since “going up north” is a common idea in Michigan itself, but none of us really knew exactly what to expect.

You may be wondering, “How did they end up feeling the need to travel to the U.P.?” Well, out of nowhere, my aunt had apparently won a cabin in Nahma, Michigan, for a week at some sort of charity event. We all decided to go and take this blind adventure, but when I heard “cabin,” I was thinking more of a nice, pretty log cabin nestled right on Lake Michigan with the calming waves coming right up to our own little private beach.

I was very wrong. The pictures of this place on the internet were no beautiful sight, but they definitely hyped up the place more than it deserved upon our arrival.

So we drove the hours on hours that it took to get to Nahma, Michigan, which really doesn’t deserve to be called a “place” considering how NOWHERE it is, but on the way lost our cell phone service, and slowly into the pine forests with no other people or buildings in sight we went, right to our cabin.

The cabin was not horrible, just a little frightening, but it was no log cabin. We were also expecting our “private beach” that the website had mentioned to be right outside our door, but instead we were basically on a deserted marsh with one giant silo and that’s about it.

My dad insisted that we were heading home the next day while my aunt brought us to a main cabin to play some board games. The first night was rough, to say the least.

After plenty of arguments, we decided to explore around our marsh, and finally stumbled upon the “private beach,” which wasn’t more than a little bit of sand, but the views onto Lake Michigan were incredible. It literally was a private beach, considering we were probably the only people in the entire town.

We stayed for about a week, and by the end, ended up loving it. (Maybe not the 1.5 hour drive to find a grocery store, though.) The Upper Peninsula may just be pine trees and small, quaint towns, but the views of the Great Lakes are insane. It truly feels like you are the only ones around, getting to experience the beauty of pure, untouched nature all for yourself.

With being cramped in tiny little cabins and having no service, we were forced to spend time connecting with our surroundings, including each other. We bonded as a family, and had an unforgettable time exploring the unfamiliar and unknown.

In the end, I’m grateful that my aunt won that ugly, rickety cabin in the U.P. Vacationing to somewhere so remote is an indescribable experience, from the plaid and pasties (the food kind) to expecting to see either a moose in the road or yard, Paul Bunyan, Bigfoot, or maybe all three at any second of the day made it quite the experience.

The vast beauty of the Great Lakes and the never-ending forests, as well as the feelings of tranquility and unbeknownst isolation taught me that sometimes what you need in life is a road-trip to “nowhere” that teaches you how to appreciate that it actually is “somewhere,” and that there’s so many other “nowhere/somewhere’s,” that are still out there waiting to be explored.

Summer 2015 and the U.P., I will never forget you.