It’s not prohibited, but not encouraged.

We’re visiting Michigan, staying on a lake Up North close to Sleeping Bear Dunes. We went on the scenic drive today and took in the view of Manitou Islands and Lake Michigan. The view is striking high up on the bluffs and it feels like you’re so close to nature. The water is intensely blue, you feel like you can almost reach out and touch it. And then reality hits with an intimidating sign that says “Enjoy the view from here. Don’t risk injury and rescue fees by going down—or the 2 hours it may take to climb back up!”

It seems like a metaphor for so many challenges in life, what could take 20 minutes of fun to walk down the bluff would then take hours of a strenuous (to say the least) climb back up. What seems like a good idea for quick fun turns out to to be exponentially longer time getting back to where you started. And yet there were still people who went all the way down and were struggling (to say the least) to get back up.

Perhaps needless to say, we didn’t go down.