Circling the U.S. Chapter 23: Door County, Wisconsin

Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2019

Our change of direction to Michigan's Lower Peninsula gave us easy access to Wisconsin's Door County, a place several people advised us to visit. It is located on the end of a peninsula sticking out into Lake Michigan, with Green Bay along its western shore. The city of Green Bay sits on the southwestern end of the peninsula. I've seen Door County compared to Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and I think the comparison is apt. Both have quaint overcrowded tourist towns, lots of boat-filled harbors, ice cream shops, and beaches. Although I think Cape Cod offers a greater choice of long walks on quiet beaches bordered with high rising sand dunes.

A fellow cyclist who works for one of the state parks highly recommended a bicycle route that, while quiet, was just another tree-lined road. And he recommended a hike that afforded few views of the water or of the cliffs we knew were somewhere tucked behind the trees. Another path, recommended for either hiking or biking, we found to be overtaken by mosquitoes, again with no views.

We expected crowds and, in that, we were not disappointed. My recommendation is for anyone considering going on a bike tour of Door County, go in the off-season and enjoy tinkering around the quaint tourist towns on the western side of the peninsula.

On Wednesday, July 24, Rob and I boarded the historic S.S. Badger (built in 1953) around 8:30 in the morning for a 9:00 departure. When the ship arrived in Manitowac, Wisconsin, four hours later, we both agreed that the ferry ride wasn’t long enough. There were many choices for ways to occupy our time on board - eat breakfast, play Bingo, watch a movie in the movie theater (“The Green Book”), lounge on the deck in one of the recliners, play Trivia, nap inside in a recliner, sit at a table and work on a computer. We couldn’t possibly do it all. We shared a breakfast then Rob headed to a recliner to nap and read; I sat at a table with a view outside and did some writing. Then I joined Rob. We enjoyed listening to the Bingo game; it reminded me of times I played Bingo on my family vacations in New Hampshire. Afterwards we would all go out for ice cream

We landed shortly after noon to a new time zone. Then we rode on a beautifully landscaped bike path along the Lake Michigan shore to Point Beach State Forest. The bike path was lined with benches, small gardens, and sculptures. We stopped often to savor all of it.

From the signs in each garden, I surmised that individuals and businesses took care of them, adding their own individual flair. It was fun to see how some people created their own story with a collage of plants intertwined with what might have been their own memorabilia. This one is titled, "Sing, Dance, and Grow."

"Dancing Sand Hill Cranes." If you look carefully you can see three wire cranes.

Fifty-eight miles on Thursday, July 25, went by quickly on quiet, flat roads, past farms, cornfields, and wildflowers.

That was all we expected, with just a couple small towns to pass through, towns that were only dots on the map, their names written in small print. By now we knew not to expect much from those names, sometimes just a church, maybe a town hall, if we were lucky a small park where we could have lunch with a public restroom.

We were pleasantly surprised, twice.

Our first stop of the day was in the town of Keewanee where we found a waterfront park with benches on a lawn overlooking a beach. We stopped to enjoy some chocolate Entenmann's donuts with almond milk left over from breakfast; then Rob wanted to relax and read for a bit. On our way out of town we passed by an even more extensive waterfront park that included a historic tugboat open for tours.

This is why Rob and I don't put in the long, hard days of riding that other touring cyclists lay claim to. We come across a bench in the shade, overlooking a quiet beach, have a snack, then sit and read before moving on.

We came to Algoma, a town with character, about ten miles further along the Lake Michigan shore. Next to the visitors center we found gardens and benches along the shoreline, a perfect lunch spot. A brochure from the visitors center described a walking tour of the downtown filled with carefully preserved buildings from the town's early days and signs reconstructed from former times, painted on the old brick buildings. Rob and I decided it was worth the time to find some of the old buildings and signs. We stopped in one of the old buildings, now a floral and gift shop, and talked to the owner. She said that you are not considered a native until you are fourth or fifth generation, which she wasn't, but she enjoyed the small town feel where people look out for one another. I was struck with how so many small dots on our maps have come alive for us already on this trip.

The Mathias Melchior Building, c. 1900, has been home to a dry goods store, post office, law and dentist offices, jewelry store, and, since 1967, a florist business.

Lidral and Andre Hardware, 1902.

Throughout Algoma we found these recreations of murals that were once the advertising signage applied directly to buildings.

We had fun taking the time to look for the historic buildings and murals that this small town has taken pride in showcasing.

We arrived in Door County shortly after leaving Algoma and spent the night at the Potawami State Park campground outside Sturgeon Bay. The campground was unremarkable, as was Sturgeon Bay.

We got an early start the next morning thinking we could beat the crowds but we didn't. We stopped in Egg Harbor and Fish Creek to see what makes them so special. Both towns would be lovely without the crowds clogging the sidewalks and the cars clogging the roads. Kind of like Bar Harbor in Maine. It's a great little town if you are there in late spring or early fall but claustrophobic in the middle of summer.

How can you not make the most out of a name like Egg Harbor? We found artfully decorated eggs sprinkled throughout the small town, as well as a farmers market and organic food store.

We arrived at Peninsula State Park around 3:00, fully expecting to be put in some bicyclists' low-rent district. But even though the sign said FULL, they had a couple free sites. Our original plan was to set up our tent and go for a short hike, but we were both feeling lazy so we set up the tent and read and took naps. Then we shared dinner with our neighbor, a young man from Green Bay who was planning to camp with his fiancee but she had to work so he came alone with his dog and a hefty supply of beer. He had extra hamburgers to share, plus the beer, and we had a precooked organic vegetable dish, rice, and chocolate chip zucchini bread from the Egg Harbor farmers market to share. We asked him about Green Bay, wondering if it was worth visiting. He said that, unless you are into football, which he wasn't, there wasn't much to see.

We played tourist for a second day Saturday, trying to find out what makes Door County special. We started out with a two-mile loop hike in Peninsula State Park, which we found to be just a quiet walk in the woods.

The loop hike took us down to shoreline along Green Bay but we did not have clear views. Neither did we have clear views of the stone cliffs along the shore.

One of the things that makes a bike trip special is how much you appreciate the little things. Like clean laundry.

Because we've been staying with friends and Warm Showers folks this was the first time we had to resort to a laundry. The gold standard for laundromats can be found in Jasper, British Columbia. If you happen to be there, check it out. This one outside Sister Bay didn't even come close.

We set out for downtown Sister Bay with our panniers full of clean clothes.

Want to ride in bumper-to-bumper traffic? We parked our bikes and explored the town.

We found the public beach and watched the crowds for a little while, then found some five-star ice cream. I had cherry and chocolate and Rob had cherry and mint.

This giant pink floatie was being equipped with a cooler and other accoutrements by a couple young women wearing shirts that said "Bride Tribe." We could only assume it was a bachelorette event. I wanted to stay and see it put out to sea but, alas, the young women left the scene.

Nobody we talked to convinced us that Washington Island or the tip of the peninsula were must-see places so after leaving Sister Bay we headed to the eastern shore, known as the quieter "nature side" of Door County. We spent the night at a private campground in Baily Harbor where the manager was nice enough to create a spot for us even though they were full.

Among the bonuses of cycle touring is the opportunity to stop and admire lawn and, in this case, mail box, art. Often I'm in a cycling groove and don't want to stop and take a picture but this one I couldn't pass up. Only upon a close examination of this photo did I realize that the mail box is a replica of the house it belongs to.

Sunday morning found us on our way south towards Green Bay and a northwesterly route through the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

.