Sturgeon Bay

We decided to spend a few days touring Door County, Wisconsin, so we checked into Potawatomi State Park located on the point of land between Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay.  We wanted to stay three nights, but because of the profusion of trees, our solar panels would not be doing their job.  I know what you're thinking, "They don't like trees or campfires, why do they go camping?"  Well, I guess our excuse is that we are RVers, not campers.

Door County is known for its lighthouses so they were on my list of must-sees.  Sherwood Point Lighthouse is located just outside the park.  It took some effort and we ended up on a dead end road with 'no trespassing' signs, but I got a shot.

On our way to visit the town of Sturgeon Bay we passed these Sandhill Cranes.

Since the town is on the bay, you can imagine their interest in all things nautical.

We arrived at the end of the 24th Annual Classic and Wooden Boat Festival, so we only caught a bit of the festivities.  We admired the beautiful hand-crafted boats on display.

But we were really disappointed that we missed the giant sea battle.  It seems two-person teams are given plywood, boards, a caulk gun, and Sikaflex (adhesive/sealant) and they construct a boat on the spot in four hours.  Plastic cable ties can be used during the construction process, but must be removed before the water trials.  Then the builders take the boats out in the water and the ones that don't sink naturally, battle each other until only one boat is floating.

We talked to the couple who constructed this one and they said it wasn't as unstable as they thought it would be.

Some didn't hold up very well,

These girls look like they did pretty well.

This team and their 'Yellow Submarine' look like they did well.

I found a YouTube video of some of the boats if you want a laugh.


Then we were off in search of more lighthouses.  First a little background.  As Carol did in her blog, I'll quote Widipedia.

The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal is a shipping canal connecting Sturgeon Bay on Green Bay with Lake Michigan, across the Door Peninsula, at the city of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, United States.

The canal is approximately seven miles in length, and consists of two parts: a dredged portion of Sturgeon Bay, and a 1.3-mile canal dug through the eastern side of the Door Peninsula. This shorter portion was dug by a private group headed by then-president of Chicago and North Western Railway, William B. Ogden, between July 8, 1872 and the late fall of 1881. Although smaller craft began using the canal in 1880, it was not open for large-scale watercraft until 1890.

At the Lake Michigan end of the canal is a Coast Guard Station and two lighthouses.  The first is the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Lighthouse at the entrance of the canal.

But there is also the North Pierhead Lighthouse at the end of the pier that extends into the lake.

If you want more information on the specifies of the lighthouses, check out Carol's blog here.

Algoma

Ron wanted to do some genealogy research at the library in Algoma.  No problem.  Like Kewaunee, Algoma is a cute town right on Lake Michigan.

The buildings in town are beautifully maintained.

And Algoma also has a hook – murals. 

Most of them are copies of ads from yesteryear.

This one had special meaning to Ron.  It seems his Great-uncle Joe had worked for Kohlbeck before moving away and starting his own tailor business.

And there was this lovely mural depicting Algoma’s relationship with Lake Michigan.

Barns and Goodies

Moving north, we stayed a night in Kewaunee.  I always say every place needs a hook and Kewaunee County’s is a driving tour of barn quilts.  Volunteers painted quilt patterns on boards then attached them to interesting barns in the area.  We saw just a few.

Quilt pattern:  Tangled Star

Barn type:  Bohemian, 1882

Quilt pattern:  Double Nine Patch

Barn type:  Norwegian, Octagon

At the next stop, in addition to the barn quilt . . .

Quilt pattern:  Skyscrapers

Barn type:  Czech

We were just in time for

What are kolaches, you ask?  (As did I)  I would describe them as danishes with a more dense type of dough. 

After our tasty snack, we continued with our barn quilts.

Quilt pattern:  Flock

Barn type:  Wood Peg, 1800’s

Quilt pattern:  Blazing Star

Barn type:  German

This barn wasn't part of the tour, but I just liked the patriotic touch and the unusual colors.

But my favorite has to be this barn we spotted in southern Wisconsin.  It’s not often you see such a happy barn. 

North Kettle Moraine

Did I say I was catching up?  Maybe we're just doing too much.  Leaving the southern unit of Kettle Moraine, we headed to the northern unit and Mauthe Lake campground.  Ron really wanted to see Mauthe Lake because he said that when he was in high school, that was the place to go after the prom.  I know all of you are as shocked as I was, but Ron was quick to explain.  It seems they had a picnic at Mauthe Lake on the day after the prom.  Whew!

He said the lake still looked the same, but the parking lot had been expanded and paved.  I bet it was even free when he was young.

We admired the local flora

And fauna. 

We tried to walk the two-mile trail around the lake, but it just kept getting wetter until it looked like a stream. 

We saw the distinctive square holes made by Pileated Woodpeckers, but no birds. 

We took a drive and stopped at the Parnell Tower.  We had a workout climbing the 250 steps up to the tower.

Then we wheezed our way up the tower.

From our elevated location, we could see moraines in the surrounding countryside.  (Moraines – Jumbled hills of unsorted, unstratified glacial debris found at the sides or front of a glacier.)

And some of the classic Wisconsin farms with their multiple silos and giant barns.

(If the outbuildings don't seem that huge to you, just compare them with the house on the left.)

We also stopped at Greenbush Kettle, formed when the Ice Age glaciers melted about 10,000 years ago.  (Kettle – A depression formed by the melting of a large block of glacial ice that was partially or completely buried by the retreating glacier.) 

More Kettle Moraine

We stayed three nights at the Southern unit of Kettle Moraine so we did some running around before Pam arrived.  We asked for a trail recommendation at the campground entrance station and were told to check out the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail.  Were we glad we did.

The beginning of the trail doesn't look like much, but soon it opens up into meadow with a beautiful display of prairie wildflowers.

I showed this picture to Pam, but now I can't remember what she said this cute little flower is called.

But I think it's pretty safe to say these are Black-eyed Susans.

The springs were pretty interesting.

More pretty flowers - Pam?

Ron said this tree looked like it should be next to a haunted house.

And yet another butterfly posed for me.  I discovered it's a Giant Swallowtail.  At about four inches across, it deserves the name.

Meeting Up with Pam

I had started reading Pam's blog, Nomadic Newfies, quite a while ago because she does a lot of hiking and takes beautiful pictures, especially of flowers.  I thought she lived in Wisconsin so when we were on our way to that state, I contacted her and asked where her favorite hikes are.  She did one better and offered to meet us in Kettle Moraine State Forest and give us a personal tour.  Cool.

The first loop she took us on was through the woods on nice wide trails with some rolling terrain.  The famous Wisconsin mosquitoes weren't too bad and we only had to use minimal bug repellent.

Reading her blog, I thought she must be a genius because she always knows the proper names of every flower she photographs.  She confessed that she sometimes has to research them, but she knows a lot anyway.  I loved these tiny Indian Pipe flowers which Pam said she hadn't seen yet this year.

 
Even Ron identified this as Mayapple.  And look!  An apple.

Pam, like all of us, gets up close and personal with the flowers, but she also talks to them.  I didn't hear any answers.

One of my favorites is Queen Anne's Lace.  It's just so pretty.

We were awed by this gorgeous blue butterfly, which Pam identified in her post as a Red Spotted Purple.

And she also identified these Aphrodite Frittilaries

We made a stop at the Visitor Center where Ron could ask all his questions and where I sat in tree sap and almost ripped my favorite hiking pants trying to stand up.

Then Pam took Ron, me, and my sticky pants to the Bald Bluff Trail.  We hiked about 1/2 mile up the bluff before Ron and I admitted we were ready to go home.  Pam was very understanding, although I'm sure she would have kept going.

We really enjoyed meeting Pam who is a bundle of energy.  My excuse is that she is quite a bit younger.  :-D
It turns out I was wrong about her living in Wisconsin since she's over the line in Illinois.  We were actually closer to her when we were at Chain O' Lakes, but it was too hot then for hiking anyway.  We're so glad she was willing and able to meet up with us.  Thanks, Pam.

Oh, and before you ask, I Googled how to get tree sap out of clothes and there were lots of choices, but I went with rubbing alcohol.  I just poured it on, rubbed a bit, and the sap disappeared.  Who knew?