Door County, Wisconsin --- Part Two

View of Lake Michigan from Ellison Bluff Overlook

Roger here...  The second half of our stay was every bit as fun as the first part.  

Mink Estuary...

A second hiking trail emerged from the far end of the campground --- this one to the Mink Estuary.

An estuary is the place where a fresh water river or lake merges with a large body of water.  In this case the Mink River merged with Lake Michigan.  The trail paralleled the estuary, but did not enter it.  I later read that the best way to see the estuary would have been to rent kayaks at Rowley's and paddle in.  

The trail ended at Mink River Road.  We decided to walk along the quiet roadway toward the town of Ellison Bay.  Along the way we caught sight of two sandhill cranes in a farm field.

It was at this point that we decided that walking all the way to the town would take up too much of our day.  We had other adventures to pursue.  We reversed our direction and headed back to our campsite.

Sister Bay ...

We needed to mail a package, so we hopped in the SUV (without the dogs) and drove to the nearby town of Sister Bay.  

Our first stop was at the Door County Ice Cream Factory --- the place that the story teller from the Fish Boil recommended.  We both had single scoops of ice cream and decided it was the best ice cream we'd had since Pinocchio's many years ago on Sanibel Island.

On our walk to the post office we lingered by the stunning harbor area.

Then we discovered a very unusual sight.  It seems that some of the buildings in Scandinavia have living grass roofs.  Two of them were re-created in Sister Bay.

The Swedish restaurant above had one of those roofs.  The grass was not the only living thing on the roof.  Goats were grazing on the living roof.  How cool!  Free lawn care :-)

Fish Creek and the Lautenbach Orchard and Winery...

The small town of Fish Creek was only a few more miles along the shore line.  Dianne had read about an interesting establishment that combined a fresh fruit market with a winery.  

The wine tasting was actually free and we enjoyed the wines.  We bought a few items in the market including fresh cherries and a few bottles of wine.  After taking our purchases to the SUV

we sipped a glass of wine on the patio.  










Newport State Park...

Our last day in Door County was every bit as enjoyable as the others.

Newport State Park was only a short drive. Bandido and Poquita were welcome on the trails and at the beach.

Bandido decided that Great Lake water tastes a lot better than the salt water at South Padre Island.

Poquita had a blast creeping up to the water between waves, quenching her thirst, then leaping away before the next wave arrived.  She repeated the process until we dragged her away.

We walked along the sandy and rocky shore for a short distance before embarking on a 2.8 mile loop hike next to the lake, then into the woods.

Ellison Bluff Overlook...

After the hike we drove through the town of Ellison Bay and out to a county park.  The main attraction was the Ellison Bluff Overlook.
Wow!

I took the picture below while leaning over the edge of the bluff.  The lakeside pine trees are fully grown.  Quite a drop.

Return to Sister Bay for More Ice Cream...

We drove along winding Beach Road to Sister Bay.  The road conveniently ended at the Ice Cream Factory.  We had to stop.  We actually went back for seconds --- our lunch for the day.  Oh, and the dogs woofed down small cups of vanilla.  They are not spoiled!

I looked at Poquita after she finished her ice cream and my poor baby was shivering.  I promptly moved her into the sun and hugged her until she warmed up.  We don't have that problem after eating ice cream in Texas! -- D.

Time to leave....

We reluctantly packed up to leave the next morning.  The departure was bittersweet since we also booked a site for the month of August next summer.  (I'm already looking forward to coming back! -- D.)

Our next stop will be in Duluth, Minnesota where we will be staying with our friends, Jim and Sue. 

Dianne's Teensy Weensy Trailer Tip:

This tip is in the category of "things to fix mid trip."   In the motor home, Bandido was the best traveler.  He would simply curl up in his bed and sleep for hours.  For some reason, he does not like sitting in the car.  He gets too excited.  We have used a travel harness to try to keep him in the back seat.  

"Ha Ha Ha"-- Bandido

As you can see from the photo on the right, he has learned how to wiggle out of his harness and climb into the front seat.  
We decided to tweak his area in the back to make it more comfortable and to add physical barriers to keep him confined:

The definition of "Jerry-rigged"

Here's the view from the opposite side of the car:

Pretty obvious that we use the SUV for a lot of storage that won't fit into the teensy-teensy trailer. 
We'll give an update on whether or not Bandido's new digs helps him calm down and in stay in place.

Pet Picture of the Day...  

Bandido and Poquita waited patiently on the picnic table while we hitched up the trailer.

Do we have to leave here?

Door County, Wisconsin --- part one

Roger here...  We stayed at Door County, Wisconsin (some call it the Door Peninsula) for four nights.  We barely scratched the surface of the wonderful sights there are to see and do in this amazing place.  That being said, the star of the show was our campsite at the Wagon Trail RV Park near Sister Bay.  Wow, wow, wow!!!

Campsite...

This campground is amazing!  Our large, water/electric, fully-wooded site is so secluded, even though there are neighbors that are fairly nearby.

We were in the deep woods of the Door Peninsula and felt as if we were all alone.  The back of our site where the Airstream was nestled was totally shaded.  Below is a view from my outdoor chair.

How could a Wisconsin campsite get any better than this?

Below are a couple of additional photos of our site.

The outdoor kitchen (above) was an ideal place for Dianne to fix chili with the Brooks Chili Hot Beans that she cannot seem to find away from the midwest.  

Our sitting area was so very spacious, and yet cozy.  The temperatures were perfect --- mid-70s.  So nice!

Dianne is in her element when she can build a campfire in this type of setting.  The campground provided a free fire starter and free kindling.  We actually had two fires during our stay.

Hiking...

We actually spent quite a bit of time hiking with the dogs here.  The trailhead for our first hike started a few steps from our campsite.

We followed the hiking trail to a quiet road, and then walked a short distance to Rowley's Resort on Lake Michigan.

Dianne made a bee-line to the resort's Swedish Bakery, while I took the dogs to a bench on the dock so that we could enjoy the (non-keto) deliciousness.

After our mid-morning (unscheduled) snack, we found our way to the back of the resort where myriad hiking trails could take us to a beach, or back to the campground.  They could also get us hopelessly lost :-).

We did eventually find our way to Sand Beach, a county park, where dogs were not allowed.  We took a couple of pictures and moved on.  We know when we are not welcome.

Dianne thought this bright red dragonfly was dead.  However, it was evidently posing for a picture.  It flew away after Dianne snapped the photo.

We did actually get lost a couple of times trying to follow the old "wagon trails" back to the RV park. but we survived to write this post :-).  

Fish Boil....

That evening we walked back to Rowley's for a fish boil.  

An old school bell was rung to announce the beginning of the event.


Fish boils are a traditional Scandinavian feast.  Rowley's replicates the food preparation with authenticity, history, and a story teller.

We met the story-teller (cast as Rowley) prior to the performance while having a glass of wine outside the staging area.  Interesting guy.  He is a retired English professor from Iowa State.  We talked about this part of the peninsula.  (He directed us to the best place in the area for homemade ice cream --- next post.)

The food prep began with red potatoes and salt being lowered into the boiling water.  Yellow onions were later added --- then the white fish.  At one point all the participants were moved back as the "boil master"  threw kerosene over the hot coals, and...

... the boiling water flowed over the cauldron removing all the oils from the white fish.

When the spectacle ended, we were led into the dining room where a complete buffet awaited us, including fresh cherry desserts.  We ate too much, but were able to walk it off on the way back to the RV park.

Stay tuned for more fun from Door County, including some amazing photographs.

Dianne's Teensy Weensy Trailer Tip:

Have we talked about our minuscule closet?   We literally have no hanging space the way we have configured it for the trip.   One morning I remembered that I had brought along a large friction hanging bar that I had used in the motor home to dry things on over the shower.   In the back bed area there is out-of-the-way wall space, so I tried the bar and it fit perfectly:
   

Best of all, it is not even visible unless you are Roger back in his bed, and it does not interfere with his space at all.   Unbelievably, the clothes we hung there have not fallen off during travel (I thought they would).

The small black packet with a handle on the left in the photo above is actually my travel raincoat.   It unzips to reveal a full-length black raincoat with a hood.  It looks nice enough that I wore it in New York when we went into the city.   I bought it from a company called Travelsmith years ago.   

Pet Picture of the Day.

Yet another picture of Poquita staring at the Airstream waiting for Dianne to emerge.  Dianne truly mistreats this little dog!

Mommy, come back!