Overnight rain was expected during the early hours of June 1, so I did some of the preparation for travel the night before so as not to have to do it in the rain. It did in fact rain, but by morning it had passed and the day was sunny and pleasant. This is always a good thing when pulling the trailer, and I have been lucky this trip as there have been few times when I drove with any precipitation to deal with at all.
The shortest drive from Mackinaw City to Door County, WI crosses the Straits of Mackinac over the majestic five-mile-long bridge that once boasted to be the longest of its type in the world. Although surpassed many times over its sixt-year life, it still holds some records and is quite a sight to see and an interesting drive while pulling a trailer. Signs warn of high winds that can sometimes lash the tall, narrow bridge. But today was calm and bright, and it was a comfortable crossing, although focused.
Once the bridge is crossed, the driver finds himself in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The drive traces the shoreline of Lake Michigan along the northwest quarter of the lake, with lake views interspersed with pine forests and a few, small cities along the way. More remote than wild, it was a beautiful drive, one of the best of the trip so far. The largest town along the way is Escanaba, Michigan, at least until the suburbs of Green Bay are reached. Escanaba seemed pretty and I would like to have looked around a bit, but Egg Harbor was beckoning.
One thing I noticed today, and it’s been true throughout the trip, is that there are many highways in the country that are four-lanes and divided but not part of the Interstate Highway System. Most are U.S. highways and some even state routes, but they are sometimes in better condition than the interstates and almost always more lightly travelled, which makes them quite a pleasure to drive.
When the outskirts of Green Bay are reached, it’s a sign that you are on the home stretch. Egg Harbor, the southernmost town in Door County after Sturgeon Bay, is within 50 miles or so. The drive up the peninsula is primarily inland, and does not betray the charm and beauty that awaits at the end. I reached the campground shortly before 2:00 p.m., set up camp, and began to explore the area. This has become a pattern that I’ve followed at all of my stops: arrive, detach and set up the trailer for the stay, and then drive around and survey the area to see what looks interesting.
My campground was about four miles south of Egg Harbor, so I headed north. Even before my campground, I had begun to see a number of wineries, farm markets, cheese stores, and other assorted shops along the way. This intensified as I reached Egg Harbor. Egg Harbor was a cute little town, just the first of a string along the west coast of the Door Peninsula. After Egg Harbor, they are lined up like little soldiers, separated by about five miles each. Fish Creek, Ephraim, Sister Bay, Ellison Bay, slightly distinct from each other but every one delightful in its own right. Others may disagree, but here’s my quick take on each: Fish Creek seemed the most quaint and “unmodern”, if that’s a good word. Although there were shops, I just didn’t get a touristy feel from it. Ephraim seemed most contemporary in some ways, with a high school right along the way. Maybe contemporary isn’t the right word. Perhaps “true to life” is better. More of a small town that is like other small towns and not as affected by tourism. Sister Bay is the most tourist-oriented, with lots of shops, restaurants, and lodging options. Ellison Bay is the smallest and most artsy of the group. Each town boasts a population of 1,000-2,000, but they seem larger than that. Perhaps because they are lined up along a coastline and thus are long and narrow. In any event, each of these towns was a pleasure to visit.
We spent our 4 days (5 nights) in the area exploring the shops, hiking the many state and county parks and conservation areas in the region, and shopping for treasures. On Thursday June 2, we took a ferry to Washington Island and drove around its 25 square miles. The difficult access keeps the number of people rather low, but there are a good number of attractions, including lavender farms, Schoolhouse Bay with its unique stone formations, markets, museums, and a delightful soup and sandwich shop on the northeast corner of the island, Jackson Harbor Soups. This is a good day trip that is well worth the time and cost of going over. It’s not cheap, with a round trip toll of $14 per person plus $24 for the vehicle, but I would suggest taking a car as the sights are spread out and although transportation is available, the independence is worth the added cost.
We hiked most days. There are plenty of great places to hike. Our best was at Newport State Park, a 2.5 mile walk along the shoreline that was spectacular. I heard from others, although I did not do it myself, that Peninsula State Park has the best and most varied hikes in the area. Saved for next time.
Another activity which was a discovered surprise was the fish boil. This is a group dinner that is part entertainment and part culinary delight. A large pot of water is set to boil over a wood fire. Potatoes are put in early on, then with about ten to fifteen minutes remaining, fish is added to the pot. After the fish is deemed to be fully cooked, kerosene is added to the fire. This causes a massive flare-up which burns away the oil and impurities that float on the surface of the water. The fish and potatoes are then removed, and guests are invited in and served family style. Slaw and delicious breads are added to the dinner, and the result is absolutely awesome. I ate at the fish boil at The White Gull Inn in Fish Creek, and I understand that it and the one at Pelletier’s are two of the best around.
All in all, the trip to Door County was outstanding. There is plenty to do here to fill many days with many varied activities, and also a place that would lend itself to just taking it easy on those “downtime” days.
I was in Door County from June 1 through June 5, leaving on the morning of Monday June 6. On Saturday the 4th, I woke up thinking about my next scheduled stop, which was to be Duluth. After seven weeks on the road, the prospect of driving an additional 550 miles out of the way for three nights stay felt like more of a burden than additional enjoyment. I want to get to Duluth some day, but my instincts told me that it would be best to cut out that part of the trip and get home. So I canceled my Duluth plans and moved up my three-day stay in Spring Green, which was to be a roughly halfway stop on my way home from Duluth, and made it my halfway stop on the way home from Door County. This would get me home three days earlier and with less expense and wear and tear. At that point it felt like a no-brainer.
The drive to Spring Green was only about 240 miles, but it seemed longer than that, due to a persistent rain and busy highways most of the way. I was glad to get there and managed to set up camp after the rain had passed. The campground was okay but not the best, with lots of long-termers and a general run-down feel. It had changed ownership just a month before, and the new owners had not done this before. They were earnest and nice, but they are definitely going through some growing pains and figuring things out. I get the feeling that they were not left with the best situation, and I hope they can make it work.
The first full day at Spring Green (June 7) I took a tour of Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home in Spring Green. I had been there before, and it is a cool place. Although the weather that day was nice, that night it rained torrentially, and the ground was saturated with lots of standing water surrounding my campsite. The second day started rainy and I made a long drive to New Glarus to tour the New Glarus Brewery. A nice trip which I enjoyed, but it felt like I was killing time and I was eager to get on the road for home the next day.
As a sign, the last night as I was getting out of my truck, the inside door handle broke off in my hand, forcing me to open the driver’s side window to let myself out of the truck. This was a good reminder of the fragility of mechanical objects. I had been very lucky on this trip, with 8,000 miles driven, 5,000 of which was pulling a trailer, and no meaningful failures or mishaps along the way. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, or perhaps the good Lord was sending me a message that I shouldn’t press my luck any further.
The final day of our trip was blessedly uneventful. A 410-mile drive on good quality, four lane divided back highways that were lightly traveled got us home at about 3:30 p.m. Ollie recognized home and jumped out of the truck. As happy as I was to get home, I think he was even more joyous. All along, I had known that the road would eventually lead us back here. But there was no such understanding for him, and perhaps he thought he had seen the last of this place. But we are here now, and the planning for the next adventure has already begun.
I plan to make another post that contains summaries, lessons learned, and a conclusion. Thanks for following, and stay tuned.