Don't walk on the far side of the fire

Our adventure began late, disorganized, and not completely planned out, but in the end all went according to plan; we had fun. Each weekend we (generally Joe, Libby, Katie, and I) attempt to plan out an unforgettable hike to somewhere fun and exciting. This past weekend someone came up with the crazy idea of making camp on top of Moro Rock. Having been up the 400 steps before I must admit I was a skeptic. First off, how on earth were we going to find a spot on top of a huge rock that would be comfortable enough to sleep and secondly it was technically illegal.
All jumping into the car we decided to scope the rock out as we climbed the grueling steps. We would make our decision once we got there. It quickly became apparent that our crazy idea was just that: crazy. No where on the step rock was there a place that we could even attempt to make camp. So we decided to make our way down the rock to our backup plan: hanging rock. Hanging rock is generally the location that individuals go to get a good view of Moro Rock. It is just as high, but more of a cliff than just a large rock jutting out of the mountain like Moro. After scouting hanging rock for only a few minutes we had found our camping site. It wasn't the easiest place to get to, nor the best place to lay our heads, but defiantly one with the best view.

You can just see Moro Rock on the right

After setting up camp we headed back up Moro Rock to see an incredible sun set. While it wasn't the best I'd ever seen, it was nice to get a little reminder of life in Pentwater. I am a big fan of the age old tradition of  making our way down to the beach in order to watch the sun fall into Lake Michigan, throw the fling sock and merely enjoy the company of family and friends. While there was no coarse sand under my feet, and if a fling sock was thrown it would be lost to the thousand foot drop (estimate), it was still nice to get a little reminder of the good old days.

The smog from the city below actually makes for a great sun set

Panoramic view

As we watched the sun disappear under the horizon we sat ourselves down anticipating the arrival of the millions of stars that would sparkle above us. As we merely sat and enjoyed each others company little sparkling lights began to appear not only in the sky but in the valley below. In the day light the large city on the edge of the mountain range is invisible to the naked eye, but as the sun goes down and the street lights come on, the enormous city slowly comes into plan view.
We decided to make our way back to our camp site to enjoy a small illegal fire on the side of our cliff in order to cook s'mores. After satisfying our taste buds with the sugary treat we just sat back and enjoyed the view at which time we all witnessed the best falling star that I have ever seen in my life. It must have lasted five or six seconds, and the fire trailing behind was plainly visible. It was no little streak of light in the sky like any normal shooting star, but very large, long lasting, and beautiful. It was a great way to end our night.
As we lay in our sleeping bags we fell asleep under the stars (rain cover was off). The next morning we awoke to a new day in which we would find even more adventure. We visited Grant Grove, Crescent Meadow, Eagle view, and Panoramic View.

Panoramic View