Adventurous Leila

Hello everyone! We FINALLY made it to Skoolie U.P. Michigan. This event has tons of amenities including bathrooms, showers, enclosed pavilions, a community fire, a go kart track, bleachers, tons of open space for rigs, a solar section, a generator section, a stage for shows or plays, picnic tables, a snack shack, stables, a huge pen, lots of hiking trails, and it is right by a town with all kinds of shops and stores to get anything you might need. It is also only a three minute walk to a dirt bike track! Skoolie U.P. is by far my favorite event I have ever been to. It is super family friendly and has so many amazing activities to do every day you are there. They post everything they are doing for the full ten days on the Skoolie U.P. platforms and they also have posters with the schedule at the main buildings which are the enclosed pavilions. Every morning they even drive around on a golf cart with a megaphone letting everyone know the schedule for the day.

The first day we didn’t really do much since everyone was still arriving. So us teens just chilled, caught up on each other’s lives, and played card games. The following day was way more fun because there were lots of activities planned. When I got up that morning I did all my chores, got ready, and went straight outside to hang out with my friends. We all chilled by the snack shack, just chitchatting and listening to music, before heading into Building A for the donut eating contest. Like last time I didn’t compete because I didn’t want to feel super sick afterward, but it was really fun to watch. The guy that won ate about 21 mini donuts! After the contest was over they let everyone grab some donuts, so of course I had to get some before all of us teens headed over to the go kart track to try it out for ourselves. After about 30 minutes or so of go karting, a few friends and I went over to the dirt bike track to watch the boys ride. Then one of their moms took us to the store to pick up some things before we headed back to the event site just in time for dinner and the glow in the dark disco party. We all had a blast singing, line dancing, taking tons of photos, and decking ourselves out with glow sticks. We stayed until the party was over, helped clean up, and then I headed to bed because I was super tired.

The next three days us teens didn’t really do many of the planned activities and instead did our own things. We played lots of card games, went to the dirt bike track, did line dances, went go karting, played board games, listened to music, did karaoke, played manhunt, tag, hide and seek, freeze tag, went for walks, made the snack shack run out of fries, and so much more.

The next day my friends and I all went over to the dirt bike track to burn some time before a fun activity later in the day. We got to backpack or ride around and also watched all the boys doing jumps. Most of the girls brought their books, so we all read while the boys messed around and tried to show off. After a couple hours at the track we headed back to do costume karaoke. Costume karaoke is so much fun because everyone dresses up and sings a song that matches what they are wearing. After that, the teens took over the speakers and we did our own karaoke, listened to music, and line danced until midnight!

The following day was pretty much the same as we just hung out, did karaoke, line dances, went to the track, and played outdoor games and card games. Unfortunately one of my friends had a really bad landing on the dirt bike and ended up breaking his collarbone. He spent a day in the hospital, but he was all good afterward and still able to join in on card games and line dances.

On the sixth day we were there, my mom, dad, little brother, aunt, uncle, and their three kids decided to take a family day trip to Lake Michigan. We had such a good time hanging out, playing football, swimming, tanning, reading, and making memories. We spent most of the day at the lake but made it back in time for kickball, which is always super fun but also very hard since most of the adults play. That night everyone sat on the bleachers to watch the fire spinning. Even teens and kids were allowed to participate because they offer fire spinning classes. After watching everyone do an amazing job, us teens took tons of pictures together and then just chilled and talked for hours until it was time for bed.

The next day I got up pretty early to do all my chores before finding my friends. We spent the morning in front of one of the buses just hanging out, playing soccer and football, and of course playing card games because that’s basically our lives. After a while we decided to head over to the dirt bike track. We didn’t do much there other than hang out and watch, but we did take a bunch of super cool photos. When we got back I helped deep clean the trailer because it was a mess from my little brother and all his friends being in it. Right when I finished, a fire truck came and started spraying everyone. Of course I had to join in because who doesn’t want to get sprayed by a fire truck on a hot Michigan day! They even brought out water guns, so me and my friends had a water gun fight that was very unfair because some of the boys teamed up on us girls. The rest of the night was spent trying to set up a projector so us teens could watch a movie. After about 30 minutes of struggling to get it connected, we finally got it working and watched Fast Five while eating popcorn and candy.

The next day it was super rainy, so we all went into Building B and did our nails. It ended up being everyone’s nails, even the boys, which was hilarious. I couldn’t take some of them seriously with their cute matching nails. After that we went into Building A to check out all the vendor stands that had to move inside because of the rain. One of my favorite things about these events is the stands, especially since most of them are run by teens trying to make money on the road. There were so many cool stands selling jewelry, book themed jewelry, blind date with a book, stickers, energy drinks, clothing, crystals and rocks, and of course the free pile that all us teens love because we get to try on random clothes and take funny pictures. That night they hosted the Full Moon Saloon party. They had punch and snacks for kids and a bar for adults, and everything was western themed. They did an amazing job decorating. We sang, line danced, took photos, ate snacks, talked, and people watched from the bleachers. Some of us stayed to help clean up before heading to bed.

On the last full day we went to the cookie bowl making activity where we got to make our own cookie bowls. They baked them, and later we filled them with ice cream, gummy bears, Oreos, whipped cream, and sprinkles. The afternoon was pretty chill as we played assassin and waited for our cookie bowls. That night was amazing because they held their annual fire show. Teens were even allowed to participate and they gave us Roman candles to shoot over the fire spinners while fireworks lit up the sky. It was so cool to watch and something I hope everyone gets to experience at least once. After the fire show everyone helped clean up and we helped the teen boys set up for a sleepover in Building B for one of their birthdays. After that, my friends and I sat in the car talking before heading to bed.

On the last day we packed up camp and said all our goodbyes before heading to our next spot. We loved spending time with our friends, doing all the fun activities, and making countless memories we will never forget. It was hard to leave, but it was time to move on. I hope you all enjoyed this blog post. Make sure to keep an eye out for the next one, and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already. It is called Adventurous Leila.

Dates August 1 2025 through August 11 2025