Autumn Adventures in Door County

When we were researching campgrounds in Door County, we didn’t know too much about the area, and Tom didn’t think he wanted to take the motorhome all the way to the northern tip of the peninsula.  He was having trouble finding campgrounds with FHU sites in the lower area, and everything around Sturgeon Bay (about halfway up) was fully booked.  He finally found an RV Park in Bailey’s Harbor, on the Lake Michigan side, about 3/4 of the way up, that had FHU sites and availability for the weekend.

So, we were going all the way north . . . . it turned out to be a good location – it was only about a 15 minute drive to either Egg Harbor or Sisters Bay – and that’s where most of the action was!

There was a lot to see and do in Door County, and although we were a little early for fall colors, it was a beautiful time to be there . . .

apples and pumpkins were in season,

and the sunflowers were still beautiful.

We visited lavender farms, apple orchards, bakeries, wineries, creameries and farm markets – pretty much foodie heaven!

We visited several marinas,

where there were still lots of boats in the water . . . and we drove on some very scenic roads!

This is the most-photographed road in Door County, and there’s no explanation for why it’s not just a straight road!

We enjoyed the view of Green Bay at the far northern tip of the peninsula,

and experienced our most interesting visit to a lighthouse – the Cana Island Light.

Under normal circumstances, the lighthouse is just a short walk away from the parking lot, but when the lake level is at a record high . . . it’s a little more challenging!

There were a bunch of cars in the parking lot when we arrived, so we figured people must be around, but we weren’t sure where . . . we were standing there wondering how we were supposed to get to the lighthouse when we saw the solution coming toward us.

We weren’t planning to tour the tower (too cloudy to see anything), but we were able to ride over in the wagon to get a picture . . . and enjoy the ride!

Our host explained that they had been using a smaller tractor to pull the wagon, but it got stuck in the rocks on one trip over and had to be towed out by the Park Ranger’s truck, so they rented this bigger tractor for the rest of the season – I’m glad he waited until we were in the wagon to share that story with us!! 

He also said that they have had to close down quite a bit this summer due to high waves . . . as it was, the waves were pretty big, and we had a little water get into the wagon!

A few weeks earlier, when we were at Big Sable Point lighthouse in Ludington, the volunteer had told us that the lake was very close to, but had not yet reached the previous record high level . . . but now it had!

They say it’s a 7-year cycle, so next year the lake level is supposed to start going down.  So, in a couple of years, you should be able to walk to the lighthouse again.

That was interesting and fun . . . and something we’ll remember for a while!

We ended Saturday at the Alefest in Egg Harbor.

We heard about it, but weren’t sure what to expect.  Participants paid $45 each (or $15 for a non-drinker) for all the beer they could sample from Noon – 5pm.  There were several dozen craft brewers set up in tents along the waterfront.  Now, this was something that Nick and his friends would really get into, but Tom could never drink enough to get his $45 worth . . . besides, it was already almost 4pm. 

We stopped at the ticket booth to get the scoop, and they said that since there was only about an hour left and many of the brewers were already out of beer, Tom could come in for $10 and I was free . . . and we each got a free beer glass!

That’s not a bad deal . . . Tom got started drinking his $10 worth, and we listened to the band.

They were really good,

and we enjoyed the last hour of the festival . . . and Tom definitely drank $10 worth of beer!

We had heard good things about Washington Island at the tip of the peninsula, that it was bike friendly and we could take our bikes over on the passenger ferry with us for free. 

We caught the 11 am ferry in a pretty dense fog,

and followed the coastline between the peninsula and the group of small islands that create a narrow channel in Lake Michigan – according to our captain, this area is the location of numerous shipwrecks.

It stayed foggy for the entire 30 minute trip, but it was still a nice ride.

Arriving at the ferry dock, we got our bikes and stopped at the Visitor Center to pick up a map of the island. 

I thought I had read that the island was five miles around, but it’s actually 5 miles end to end, and 5 miles side to side.  We had about 4 hours until the last ferry back, and we were hoping to be able to hit all the popular spots on the island, so we got going.

We stopped first in the little downtown shopping area and looked through the few shops and talked to the shop owners, including this little cabin brought over from Switzerland,

and the Sweet Shop owned by the island’s former high school science teacher, where we enjoyed a fresh cherry mini pie for a snack.

From downtown, we continued toward the north end of the island, where we found a cute little white church,

and School House Beach.

School House Beach is one of only 5 beaches in the entire world that is completely sand-free, with the shoreline completely covered by smooth limestone rocks, prefect for skipping on the water or building little cairns.  Even I had to build a cairn of my own.

No Petoskey stones though . . . I asked several people, and apparently they’re only on the Michigan side of the lake – not sure why . . .

Continuing on, we headed east and soon came to the Washington Island Farm Museum.

There was nobody around, except the goats,

so we just wandered around the buildings and grounds.

Barns

the House

Sheds full of tools

One more barn loaded with vintage tools and household items --

sewing machines,

an old fashioned ice-cream machine.

and a washing machine.  Tom was trying to figure out how to use it!

After a quick attempt at horse shoes (I’m no good at it!), we left the Farm Museum.

We had planned to continue to the east side of the island, to check out a fiber arts shop I saw on the map, and a fire tower in the center of the island on the way back, but we were running short on time and needed to start back toward the ferry dock. 

We made it back to the downtown area with about a 1/2 hour until the ferry was due to leave, and my bike was acting up badly.  Tom ended up finding somebody with a truck to give us a ride back to the ferry dock to make sure we got there on time.  Probably a good decision!

It was a nice day, and we rode about 11 miles . . . and that was the most we’ve ridden in a long time!  We’d be feeling it later!

After that adventurous day, we were ready for a hearty meal, so we stopped at Al Johnson’s Restaurant in Sister’s Bay.

Tom had Swedish meatballs and I had fried chicken – both were really good!

The place with the goats on the roof!  Seriously – they live up there all summer!

Before leaving Door County, we had one more nice dinner out at a really quaint Italian restaurant in Fish Creek.  We enjoyed a delicious $40 dinner for two – an appetizer, two salads, an entrée and a dessert – it was all very good, especially the dessert – chocolate and vanilla cannoli!

We finished just in time to run down to the Green Bay to catch a beautiful sunset – a great way to end a nice weekend!