Door County

1 degree morning
10 degrees 5:00
Sunny, blue skies

On one side of the Peninsula we have open water in Lake Michigan, on the sheltered Green Bay side, ice is obviously on its way out with warmth from the sun. We travelled Door County today.

Door County is named after “Death’s Door” the aptly named water passage that lies off the tip of the peninsula where the waters of

Green Bay and Michigan converge. Numerous shipwrecks have been found here, the earliest in the 18th century, the latest in the 20th century.

There are 11 historic lighthouses that dot the shore, there are parks, nature preserves, beaches, wineries, golf courses. One of the top cherry producing regions with 2500 acres of orchards, the branches glowing purple now in the sun. Unfortunately my camera may not show that. I would love to see them in bloom in May. Art Galleries, there are over a hundred. The list is long, it is easy to see why the County attracts over two million people per year in peak season, one million alone head to the State park.

We drove from Sturgeon Bay through Baileys Harbor, up to Gills Rock along the East side then back down the West side through beautiful little towns with names like Sister Bay, Fish Creek, Egg Harbor. Stately Resorts, very impressive homes, simple cottages and quaint little shops and restaurants lining the way. We stumbled on a side road a sign, “North Bay” oh I wish it was that close. I will admit I am missing everyone and look forward to seeing them very soon.

We also drove through Peninsula State Park. Considered Wisconsin’s most complete park there are over 450 campsites, three huge group camps, a summer theatre, 18 hole golf course, sand beaches, bike trails, a lighthouse and eight miles of shoreline. The sky high limestone bluffs are part of the Niagara escarpment. I have learned a lot about the Niagara escarpment while reading here. The photo of the escarpment is not mine, ice remained on the bay and not strong enough for me to stand on, I will admit I would not have done it anyway. The roads in the park are lined with huge cedars, spruce is abundant, some birch, less pine.

It was a perfect day to do this drive, tomorrow it is supposed to rain. Easter decorations are everywhere, the stores will be closed Sunday and Monday as Mom and Pop operations spend time with family at Church, Easter Egg Hunts and gather for dinner, probably with ingredients from their own back yard.

It took us five hours, we did stop for lunch and a bit of shopping but added 150 meandering 35 mph, kilometres to our trip. We were happy to have come to this Cape Cod of the North. I have also included the map of our long trip to get here, worth every minute.

We were also happy to dine in, we picked up a few groceries and in a kitchen equipped with horrible knives, just salt and pepper we managed a lovely dinner with wine in front of the fire, watching television. Perfect! We shall see what tomorrow brings!