Trails and Tribulations

On Monday, we drove and hour and a half up north through Door County and arrived at Gills Rock in time to catch the 10 AM Ferry.  Our bikes waited patiently by the fence while Don and Roy purchased our ferry tickets.  Round trip tickets were $13 per person, plus an additional $4.00 per bike.

Another couple agreed to take a picture of the 4 of us together.  We're standing on the top deck of the ferry, with the harbor behind us.  You can tell Char is acclimated to the cooler climate of Wisconsin while I have donned my windproof jacket for the trip across the channel.  I hope I'm prepared for our trip across Death's Door Passage, which is only 6 miles wide and has turbulent currents at all times!

On the way over, Char and Roy check the map of Washington Island and discuss where we are going to bike to first.  There are some bike trails, while at other times we'll have to ride on the roads.

Yeah!  Just ahead is the dock in Detroit Harbor!

First stop for me: Take a picture of the prominent Washington Island sign.

We're off!    Well, almost we're off.....looks like we need to get a bit more organized before we head down Lobdell Point Road.

Another quick stop while Char checks the map to confirm that we're headed in the right direction.

Oh, no!  We started up after stopping and then noticed about two blocks down that Don wasn't with us. Good grief!  He had another flat tire!  He and Roy had worked on the bikes Sunday afternoon and had just put a new tube in his back tire.  That is the second flat tire on his back wheel since Saturday!  Out came the tools from the backpack.  Fortunately, we carried a spare tube and compressed air containers. At least we found a nice, shady spot for them to work in.

This cute "cat-fish" was sitting in a front yard along one of the roads.  Definitely too cute for me not to stop and take a picture of!

Roy is pushing his bike up the sandy hill towards Sand Dunes Beach.  That was tough.

Lunch time.  Don didn't want to turn around and is wearing his sun glasses on the back of his head.  I decided to make a funny face and Roy is the only serious one in the bunch.  We all were hungry at that point.

After lunch we were headed to Norwegian Stavekirke (Stave Church) when we came across the historic Island Dairy building built here in 1916.  We stopped and looked around and that is when Don noticed that his back tire was going flat again!  Roy had pulled out a small steel piece of shrapnel out of the tire when we stopped the first time, but there must have been something else that was missed.  

So, we went to Plan B.  Actually, we only had Plan A until this point, but it was clear that we weren't going to make it to the church and then back to the harbor.  It would have been no problem for Roy, Char and me, but Don would have wound up walking a long, long way.  We made another stop for water and to add more of the compressed air to Don's tire that was getting lower each mile that he rode.

We were almost back to our starting point and I stopped to get a picture of the huge Norwegian Coffee Pot sign.  My aunt Eleanor had given me an enamel coffee pot years ago with this type of design on it and I still have it in my kitchen cupboard.  It doesn't go with the southwestern decor in my house, but it holds too many dear memories for me to get rid of it.

As we turned the corner and were almost back to the harbor, this sign caught my eye.  Was someone trying to tell us something?  Was this a not-so-subtle hint?  Who knew about all of our bike issues?

End of the day:  second flat tire on the bike and 4 sets of tired legs.  Even after all of that, we still managed to bike 12 miles.

Green Bay Packers

When you think of the Green Back Packers, you probably think of the football team, especially if you are from Wisconsin.  The "team" I'm referring to are the guys that work on the ferry that goes between Gills  Rock on the most northern point of Door County to Washington Island.  These 2 spots are situated between Green Bay and Lake Michigan.

These guys really know how to pack in as many vehicles as possible for the short trips made numerous times a day during the summer season.  

First the bikes were loaded, and you can spot Don, Roy and Char ahead of me.  Our bikes were all strapped in at one end of the ferry.

Next came the walk on passengers. 

Then they started to load the waiting cars and trucks......

which were packed in so tight that both the front and back bumpers were touching.  I thought for sure the man in the white truck was going to scrape the side or back of the car in front of him.

Oh my gosh!!!!! I thought the passengers on the bus were all going to disembark before riding the ferry over!

Nope, the bus driver backed it down the middle of the ferry!  I was nervous just watching him and was sure glad that we decided to take our bikes.

With just inches on each side, the behemoth squeezed in between the rows of vehicles. They were packed in like sardines in a can!  Another successful load for the "Green Bay Packer Team"!

Doing Door County

If you ask us about what there is to do in Door County, both Don and I would answer, "Plenty"!  This part of Wisconsin is a popular tourist destination with plenty of quaint towns such as Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Sturgeon Bay, etc.  There is Peninsula State Park with miles of bike trails, boating, fishing,  5 lighthouses , lots of hotels and B & B's, and hundreds of tourist shops.  This is almost like a "one size fits all" type of dress!  

Char and Roy had the whole day planned for us.  We left in the morning and headed an hour north to our first stop, Door County Coffee and Tea Company.  The aroma in there is wonderful (if you like the smell of fresh coffee) and there is a huge selection of flavored coffee.  Boy, this is right up my alley.  I got some Chocolate Cherry coffee beans and also some Mocha Mint.  Don found some dark roast coffee that he liked and Char found some specialty teas.   We were all happy campers.

I had Roy and Char sit in the colorful Adirondack chairs outside on the lawn so I could get a picture of them.....and the chairs.  Both Don and Jerry (our brother-in-law) had built some of these comfortable chairs this year after seeing them in a store by Glacier National Park.  

Next stop was Peninsula State Park for a bike ride on one of the many trails.  This is a mighty popular place for people not only from Wisconsin, but people living in Milwaukee and Chicago.  This weekend, all 400 + camping spots were taken.   We set out to tackle the Sunset Bike Trail, which traverses through mostly shaded, woody areas, but at some points travels along the edge of Green Bay.

This was a short rest stop for us after we just came up a steep hill.  Everyone made it up the hill except me.  But I wasn't the only one who had to stop and push their bike the last 50 or 100 feet or so.  There were plenty of bikers out in packs on this trail, so we had to be sure and ride single file.

The clouds were building up, and then we heard lightening and thunder.  But that isn't what cut our nice bike ride short......

it was Don's back tire!  He heard a "pop" and sure enough, his back tire was flat.  We had only done 3 miles of the trail when this happened.  Rats!

Roy biked back to the entrance, where we had left our vehicles.  Don, Char and I had to be content with waiting by the kayak launch while he loaded up his bike and came back for Don's.   At least we had some nice big trees to keep us dry while the storm passed overhead.

On our way out of the park, we made sure to stop by and see the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, which was built in 1868.   It is aptly named Eagle Bluff since it sits atop a 40 foot bluff and cost $12,000 to build. The first lighthouse keeper was from Norway.  The 1000 pound anchor came from the schooner, Oak Leaf, which sank in Sturgeon Bay in 1926.

So, our bike ride was cut short, but it didn't us send us back to Algoma.  Our next stop was Not Licked Yet, my favorite frozen yogurt place.  Every time we get to Door County, I have to go here for some Butter Pecan frozen yogurt.  I am usually a chocolate type of gal, but here the Butter Pecan trumps the chocolate or vanilla flavors.

Don and Char head out after our supper that was topped off by our favorite waffle cones.

After some tourist browsing in popular Fish Creek shops, we headed over to the Peninsula Players theater.  Roy and Char had gotten tickets in the 5th row to see the play, "Murder on the Nile".

We had gotten there early to avoid the crowds, so we had time to sit in the beautiful courtyard outside.  It was cool enough for a sweater that evening.

Looking west, the glowing orange orb created a beautiful sunset over Green Bay.  There were a lot of people taking pictures!  The sunset was just about gone by the time we headed into the theater.  What a great day we had, in spite of rain and a flat tire.  By the time we got home, it was 11 PM,  past our normal bedtime.  At least we managed to stay awake for the hour's drive home, and didn't encounter any deer along the dark country road back to Algoma.

Access to the Ahnapee

There is always access to the Ahnapee in Algoma.  Agreed?  Or is it implied acquiesence and agreement or just plain aggravating?  Are you a bit addled with all of these awesome "a" words?

Okay, time to fess up and let you know what we did for our first full day in Algoma with Roy and Char.  They are not only our daughter-in-law's parents, but also good friends and fellow bikers....as in two wheel bikes!  We rode 2 miles just to get to this trail head.  This wonderful trail is used by hikers and bikers during the summer, while snowmobilers take over in wintertime.  This morning our 13.5 mile ride took us over 2 hours since we rode slowly and stopped several times to see the scenery.

Here we are at the start of the bike ride.  Most of the trail was shaded.  Don and Roy are up ahead while Char waited for me to take a picture.  This trail was a former railroad bed.  Ships would bring in supplies from Lake Michigan and unload in Algoma, and the goods were then brought up to Sturgeon Bay and other nearby towns via the Ahnapee and Western Railroad.  The A & W was incorporated in 1890 and the last train ran in 1986.  It had a good run before being "recycled" into the trail!

I wonder what Don and Roy were looking at as they gazed over the wood railing.  I couldn't see any fish in the water or even a lonesome duck nearby.

The bridge took us over the Ahnapee River which winds its way along the countryside and finally 

winds up flowing into Lake Michigan.

We came across some beautiful Goldenrod and Queen Ann's Lace as we rode along the path.  

Our destination today was this dam, which is south of Sturgeon Bay.  This is proof that we made it!

Roy is checking out the lake behind the dam, this may become another place for him to fish, even though he has a creek right behind his house.  

The berries were beautiful, but I "Googled" them, and they are highly poisonous!  They are called Red baneberry or Snakeberry.  Good thing I only took a picture of them and left them alone!

Heading home!  We even stopped on the way back and picked apples from a tree just off the trail.  Didn't pick enough for a pie, but there may be some sweet cinnamon apples on the dinner table this week! 

Midwest Meanderings

Willy Nelson was "On the Road Again" with me (at least in my mind) as we headed east and north on Sunday.   Our destination this time is Algoma, Wisconsin, which we plan to arrive on Wednesday, August 22nd.  It will take us 4 days to get there, since we travel between 300-350 miles a day.  Yes, I know it is considered "slow" by most of the people reading my blog, but at this stage of our life, we have lots of time!  That is one of the great aspects of being retired (besides not having to go to work).   Half of our traveling the past two days has been on Interstate 80, through all of Nebraska and most of Iowa.  We got to see a LOT of corn fields.

We stopped at the Windmill State Recreation Area on Sunday night.  It's located in Gibbon, Nebraska.  Even though it is just off on I-80, the traffic noise wasn't bad at all and we had our choice of sites in the campgrounds.

Don was registering while I hopped out of the truck to take pictures.  Taking pictures of the campgrounds and our sites helps us to remember where we were at a certain point in time.  I also keep a written journal of our travels.  At our age, we need all the help we can get! 

There was a nice little lake and beach at this state park.  I guess it was too late in the day, or maybe just too late in the season for anyone to be swimming here.

I expected to see lots of cornfields as we drove through the heartland of America, but was surprised to see an abundance of huge windmills.  There were a plethora of them along the Iowa highway.

Monday's stop was in Altoona, Iowa.  Altoona is a suburb east of Des Moines and the RV park was no where near the interstate.  We drove on some small, hilly county roads to finally get to Griff's Valley View park.  

No leveling needed here!  The cement pad made it a piece of cake to get the 5th wheel set up for the night.  Behind us is a huge grassy area, and beyond that is the huge area for the horses.

I stopped by the corral by the entrance and spotted 3 horses by the watering trough.  I just had to take their picture so I could send them to our two "horse crazy" granddaughters. 

Then, as I began taking pictures, one horse peeked around the enclosure.  That prompted both him and the other horse to start sauntering in my direction.

All of a sudden, another horse appeared!  I hadn't even said a word!  The only audible sound was coming from the shutter on the camera.

Two of them decided to get a much closer look as they hung their heads over the railing.  I guess I passed the "horse test" since they didn't put their ears back and snort at me!  After all, I was wearing new Sketchers on my feet and had on a clean pair of Levi capri pants!  I'm sure they were impressed!