Door County, Wisconsin

 While it will take a page to say it, we really just have one thing to say about Door County -- Spend some time there if you can.  

Door County is the Wisconsin county shown in red on this map.  It is a  70-mile- long tapering peninsula between Green Bay to its west and Lake Michigan to its east.  Look carefully at the map:  the very end of this land-thumb is Washington island.  The warmer waters of Green Bay meet the cooler waters of Lake Michigan in the straight between the two land masses,  creating turbulence.  Modern ferries cross it regularly now, but in the days of sailing vessels those  churning waters sank ships, earning both the straight  and the peninsula the moniker of Port Des Morts, or Death's Door.   Local folks thought Door County sounded more appealing, and so it is. 

The land itself tells its history as a remnant of the ice age.  It is part of the  Niagara Escarpment -- a long, arcing line of dolomitic limestone cliffs revealing  uneven erosion after the last glaciers receded.  These are the same cliffs that form Niagara Falls. They pop out in  several Door county locations  but our favorite was Cave Point County Park. 

Here's a Wikimedia map of the whole of the Niagara Escarpment. 

We watched folks much younger than us jump from the cliffs in Cave Point Park into Lake Michigan for a while, and enjoyed chatting with these dare-devils, and reminiscing about the days when we would have jumped ourselves.   For Bill is was never, for Cindy-- starting as soon as my mother wasn't watching until probably a decade ago.  

A much more easily accessed beach in  Whitefish Dunes State Park that surrounds Cave Point County Park on three sides -- the 4th side is Lake Michigan.  Door county claims that this is the only such surrounded park in the US.  

A much larger, state park in the town of Fish Creek -- Peninsula State Park on the Green Bay Side-- had about 600 camp sites, none of which was ours, a lot of hiking and/or biking trails,  two golf courses, and a restaurant opened from 7:57 AM to 3:01 pm.  And it sports the Eagle's tower:   a ramp that goes through all of the levels of the park's forest, ending up above the canopy with an incredible view of Green Bay.  

Peninsula Park also hosts  evening performances for the local  Northern Sky Community Theater.  Our friend Mary recommended it to us, and now we recommend to anyone still reading this.  Their scripts, the music, the acting  and whatever else is involved in live theater are all in-house creations of this troupe.  The plays are about the heritage and history of the area.   Lest that sound boring and dry, we can tell you they aren't.  Hell's Belgians poked musical and roll- in-the-isles comic fun at the settlement  history of the area by Belgians. Another play, The Fisherman's Daughters, recounted the creation of Peninsula Park.     Terrific!  

 You will notice that most folks in these snapshots are wearing long sleeves and long pants.   Those who are not are probably still applying their favorite anti-itch meds to the mosquito and fly bites.   The theater even provides bug repellant, and compensates all with free ice cream after the performance.  Can't go wrong with this troupe!  

Speaking of ice cream, Door county has lots to eat.  Besides ice cream, there is  cherry everything made from the cherries grown on  more than 2000 acres of cherry orchards.  We ate cherry pie (Bill loved it, but too sweet for me), chocolate covered cherries (perfect for me but  Bill liked the pie better) and -- I am not making this up -- cherry flavored BBQ potato chips. Not to mention the cherry salsa that's still in our fridge.   Don't forget  that Door County IS part of our nation's Dairyland, thus cheese curds are on every menu.  Wineries abound on the peninsula, too.     Plant-based meals in restaurants were hard to find.  The Prince of Pierogi's offers a good pierogi, but Roots Restaurant in the community of Sister Bay had it nailed. 

 For dessert, so did Wilson's Ice Cream shop in Ephraim.  Sorbet for me and Root beer floats for Bill.  The one pictured here is a liter container of root bear and lots of ice cream and yep, he finished it.

And we went back for more:   a single scoop (and this is how they defined that measurement)  of raspberry lemonade sorbet for me...next to Bill's Coke float.  The man loves his floats.  He finished his float and 3/4 of that lying- single scoop sorbet serving.

Besides Wilson's Ice Cream, Ephraim (pronounced E-from) has a rich settlement history involving the Moravian and Lutheran Churches.  The Moravians got there first, but if you go there  now you'll see their respective church steeples have landed at equal heights.  The little hillside town also features some beautiful inns with gorgeous gardens and magnificent views of Eagle Bay. The views are common to all the Door County communities.  Nonetheless we decided this was our favorite Door County Community.  

Don't miss Al Stevenson's Swedish restaurant and butik (store), also in Sister Bay.  This really isn't about food -- we can't speak to the food because  Swedish meatballs and white-flour pancakes are not for us-- The fun is on  the roof. It is a sod roof  cared for by goats and goat antics are funny.  They are even more so when they're trimming roof grass.  Al  even provides  a live goat-cam!  

We found public beaches in every town and lots of fishing, a rich maritime history. lots of boating and sailing,  and plenty of lighthouses. 

This picture was snapped of beautiful Eagle Bay, between Ephraim and Peninsula Park.  We didn't do any sailing, but I sure wondered if one of the many sailing schools could teach this old lady some new tricks.

We ventured to Cana lighthouse on the opposite coast of the peninsula in Lake Michigan.  We walked a short isthmus quite covered with dead  herring called alewives. These little  fellows are an invasive species  that folks hope will die out in the Great lakes.  A description of Door Island's beaches would not be complete without mentioning the mild, but unique olfactory experience thus created. 

 

Yes, Atlantic beach person that I am, I worried about the tide coming in and covering this connection back to the mainland. Local folks just laughed at me.  No real tides in the great lakes.  Even these HUGE bodies of water aren't big enough for the moon to care about.  Or so they say.   I don't really believe that.

Once gaining the island we explored its rocky shore and we (meaning Bill) played some horseshoes. (Horseshoes and miniature golf, not cornhole, are found about Door County.)  We also climbed the 92+ steps to the very windy top of that lighthouse.  Pretty view which I was too afraid to photograph because to do so would mean I had to let go of the railing.  It's higher than it looks!

We stayed in Door County for nine days.  That's a record for us!  And we might have stayed longer if we could have, but even in retirement, we have some time requirements. So Bill steered Baby south along Lake Michigan towards Chicago.  And  Wisconsin continued to impress! 

Retirement Lesson Learned:   A Great Lakes Road Tour might be in our future. 

Woyaya