What brings people to the tiny town of Algoma? For us, it is definitely Roy and Char Beyer, good friends who just happen to be our son's in laws. But there are many other things that draw people from Milwaukee and Chicago to this quaint place of 3000 plus inhabitants. After all, you can't even find a single stoplight here! You have to drive to Luxemburg to find the only stoplight in the county!
One of the most prominent places to stop is the lighthouse. I purposely got up early two mornings in a row to get sunrise pictures. One morning, the sky had a golden hue to it. The very next morning, it was mostly pinks and blues.
The local Von Stiehl winery is quite well known, and draws people from all over Wisconsin and Illinois. They have an awesome cherry wine that I'm fond of, so one of our first trips was over here to do some wine tasting. This was the first licensed winery in Wisconsin. Others may have been in business before Von Stiehl, but had not gotten a license.
Also big in town is sport fishing. Large charter boats take people out to fish for Salmon, Steelhead, and trout. Algoma even has a 24 hour fishing hotline! Believe me, there were plenty of anglers out trying their luck before the sun came up! I think I was the only one out to get some pictures.
Boats below are on the Ahnapee River, which flows into Lake Michigan.
Another prominent building is St. Paul's Lutheran Church. Our son and his wife, Kim, were married here on the 4th of July in 1998 by her father. Roy retired last winter from St. Paul's so now he has plenty of time to fish. All he has to do is walk down to the stream behind his house and throw out a line!
In 2007, downtown Algoma was the site of the Walldog wave. Various artists who paint murals on buildings came here to paint beautiful pictures on ten different historic buildings. These murals are a reflection of past businesses, people and products. The Big Jim steam tractor is still around, and we saw it last week in front of one of the farms near the Ahnapee Trail.
The Ahnapee and Western Railroad no longer runs, but the railroad bed was converted to the Ahnapee Trail for local hikers and bikers. We have already ridden on three different sections of the trail since we have gotten here.
The yellow arches are a familiar sight to everyone. McDonald's is the only fast food restaurant in town. Forget about looking for a Taco Bell, Burger King, Carl's Junior, Arby's or Wendy's! That is also pretty much the case for Door County too. Local restaurants rule!
This is taken from the beach, looking out towards the lighthouse. Only 2 young girls were on the beach that day. I'm sure the water was C O L D....at least way too cold for me.
I couldn't figure what dark grey thing was on the beach. From a distance, it looked like a piece of wood. This plastic wolf wasn't doing a very good job since the gulls were all over the beach! Maybe he would be more intimidating if they had him automated.
Another favorite place of mine is Bearcat's Fish House. It doesn't look like much, but if you like any kind of smoked fish, this is the place to go. I waited 3 years for another taste of the delicious smoked Cajun salmon that can be bought here. Roy & Char had some waiting for me in their refrigerator when we got here. I am one lucky lady! Bearcats even has smoked lobster, which I have never heard of before. People will drive from Green Bay and other towns just to buy this local delicacy. Yum!
Do they have smoked dried herring there? I haven't been able to find that for years!
ReplyDeleteNathan