Shut the door! Door Peninsula, Wisconsin

Je t’adore, Door Peninsula!

What a verdant state. Every place I’ve been so far has just been so lush and beautiful. Even the county campground I stopped at en route from Bayfield to Sturgeon Bay was charming.

I had my own private path to the little lake! It even had electricity. I don’t strictly need to plug in, but making coffee in the morning is so much easier with my little electric coffee maker than with my French press. Neater, too.

The next morning, I got rolling and arrived at Potawatomi State Park, just outside Sturgeon Bay. The women working at the park are just wonderful. They picked out a site for me that was the right size. Even though it was rated for a trailer three feet longer than mine, backing it in was a challenge. But, I made it on one pass – on the second attempt. Sometimes, you just have to start over.

I got it in, snugged right up between the trees. When I went into the office to book an additional day, the ranger told me that she was impressed with how I handled my rig. My neighbors who saw me back in told her, and she said that she came to check it out. I was beaming.

There were two reasons I selected Potawatomi State Park. The first reason has to do with my first year teaching in Kalamazoo. Coming from Buffalo, NY, I knew all about the Iroquois Confederacy. Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca. I had never heard of the Potawatomi.

So, when I presented the first lesson to my third graders, I pronounced it:

pah-tow-wah-TOE-mi.

Little did I know it was:

pah-tow-WAH-toe-mi.

The name has held a special place in my heart after that.

The second reason was that my friends from Porcupine Mountains were going to be staying there. And, as fate would have it, Dale and Cheryl were just a few sites down the road from me. We finally met up, but more about that later.

The forest the campground is in is so dense! I pulled in during the afternoon in bright sunshine, and the automatic headlights on my truck turned on. That is some serious shade.

In spite of the narrow opening to the site, there was plenty of space under the trees. I could have held a jamboree in there.

Each campsite had the requisite picnic table and fire ring. In this park, each campfire came equipped with these study and comfortable benches. I thought this was a nice feature.

My site was just a little way from the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. This outcropping was right by Sturgeon Bay. I could have slithered down the embankment and into the bay, if I had wanted to.

Growing up just a short drive from Niagara Falls, I was really surprised to find that the Niagara Escarpment ran all the way to Wisconsin.

I spent the rest of the day getting set up and taking care of business in the Airstream.

By the time I was on the road in the morning, my friends Dale and Cheryl were already out and about. I left the a note and went off to play tourist.

The first stop was lunch in Egg Harbor.

After a bit of sustenance, I continued driving up the peninsula.

The things you see when you are out and about!

A friend had recommended Peninsula State Park, so I went to check it out. It was truly beautiful. Some of the campsites were right next to a sandy beach. The sites, however looked even tighter than the one I was already in. And, they had these little warning signs posted:

If black flies, mosquitoes, ticks and barn flies weren’t enough, now they are warning about the plants.

I saw one really cool thing that I am thinking of adapting; a little free library.

What a great idea! I could put my name on it and do this instead of those signs that people put out in front of their sites.

A little further along, I saw one of the tourist information booths that had free bikes for loan. As anyone who knows me, free is one of my favorite words. And, I had been wondering if I could still ride a bike. They say riding a bike is like…riding a bike. So, I stopped to inquire.

Alma, the information specialist, took my name and other data, helped me get the helmet on and then went out with me to help me pick out a bike.

Unfortunately riding a bike isn’t like riding a bike, at least not for me. I just couldn’t make myself get on it. Last time I went for a ride, I fell off. I wonder if they make training wheels for grown ups? Or do I have to graduate to a tricycle?

Anyway, I had a nice chat with Alma, and she took the picture of me.

I just had to stop in this store. I love The Cherry Hut in Beulah, Michigan and I wanted to see how this one compared. They had fresh, hot cherry pies here. Oh, my, it smelled wonderful! of course, I had to buy one. The rest of their goods were wines and preserves and such-like. I found them easy to pass up.

Right about that time, I got a call from Dale and Cheryl. They were asking me if I wanted to join them for a fish boil.

A FISH BOIL?! Me?

Of course this was inner dialogue. I am not a fan of the fish, but I figured that since the opportunity presented itself, I should accept it. And besides, I wanted to see Dale and Cheryl again.

What is a fish boil? The one we had was potatoes, onions, carrots and whitefish steaks cooked in boiling salted water. The boil master said that it started in the fifties when the Norwegian fishermen in Door County would want to cook up a bunch of food for a gathering. So far, not all that thrilling.

The thrilling – and manly – part comes when they throw the kerosene on the fire.

Yes, you heard me right.

Kerosene. On. The. Fire.

They do that because it burns off the “scum” that accumulates on the top of the boiling water.

Ready?

It burned off quickly, and we went back in to wait to be served.

In case you didn’t know, a whitefish steak is a section of the fish cut crosswise. It isn’t a fillet with the bones removed.

Believe it or not, the fish was good. I ate all three of my steaks. I made a good-sized dent in the potatoes, onions, and carrots.

We topped the dinner off with cherry pie. You can never have too much cherry pie, right?

Dale and Cheryl were leaving the next morning, so we said our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch.

The next day, I figured I’d check out the other side of the peninsula.

The first thing that caught my eye was this sign:

Well, cool! I love geography! What could it be?

In  case you can’t read the plaque, it says that the 45th parallel runs through a point that is half a mile south of this marker. I got the giggles thinking about all the places you could put signs saying that you are half a mile away from something or other.

I continued up the peninsula, admiring the prosperous looking farmland.

There were fields of corn, various grains, and orchards.

I headed for Newport State Park.

I decided to test out the water.

It felt so good, that I went back up to the truck and got my bathing suit. There is no photographic evidence to back up my claim.

After a refreshing dip, I headed back to Sturgeon Bay. I had seen these cool sturgeon sculptures there and I wanted to get a better look.

They were part of a display called, “Sturgeon Around the Bay”,  to be auctioned off in September. The proceeds would go to the Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center and the individual artists.

This one was particularly fun because the fish would rotate when the handle of the spit was turned.

And with that, the sun sets on my Door County adventure.