We took another trip. We wanted to see more of Wisconsin. Where do we want to go? We knew that sometime we wanted to camp at Point Beach State Forest, just North of Two Rivers Wisconsin. Once we were there, do we stay there, or explore the area? As it turned out, we didn't spend much time there at all. Sure, we were there every night to enjoy a campfire, but we barely hiked there or enjoyed the 6 miles of bike trails.
We checked in on Saturday around 3 and spent the rest of the day there setting up camp and relaxing.
Base camp consisted of 3 tents. One for Amanda and I, one for the girls and the dog, and the other for supplies. We also had the canopy over the picnic table that had LED lights in it for a little light on the site.
An American Redstart. Remember, we're bird nerds.
The girls spent some time catching frogs. This one was the smallest one they saw.
On Sunday, we headed over to Door County to see a few of the 5 State parks that are there. We ended up visiting Newport State Park, Whitefish Dunes State Park, and Cave Point County Park.
Newport State Park. The water was very clear and there was great views along the lake edge.
Inside the canopy offered a very different environment. It was much quieter and lush with mosses, ferns, mushrooms, and flowers growing in abundance.
This is a popular diving spot in Cave Point County Park. The weather was in the upper 60's with very chilly water temps, so there wasn't much activity in the water this day.
The rest of the drive was very scenic with curvy roads, forests of trees, big fancy houses, and some old farms sprinkled in here and there.
An old barn in serious need of some repairs
A famous curvy road in Northern Door County, especially in the fall during peak color season. One of the funnest roads to drive. I took this one through the windshield of the van.
On Monday, we got up early for a day of island hopping. Our destination was Washington Island and Rock Island State Park. We knew little about each place, but it sounded interesting and fun. A place that we should definitely check out. We had to drive to the tip of Door County and drive aboard a ferry with the van to get to Washington Island. We only had one destination in mind here for our first visit, Schoolhouse beach. Home of one of the worlds very few stone beaches, this one was very unique. As most people know, we love rocks! But there was a problem, there was a $250 fine for taking a rock from this beach so we could only look (and skip a few which was allowed).
A sailboat near the ferry landing
Not sure what type of boat this is, but I'd like to explore it.
Pilot Island with an abandoned lighthouse and fog building in ruin. Everything on this island is dead, except for the birds that are always hovering around it.
The "thumbs up" sign after sucessfully skipping a stone.
A longer exposure of the stone beach.
After this, we headed to the Northern most point of Washington Island, grabbed our backpacks, locked the van, and headed over to the passenger ferry to Rock Island. There's no wheels allowed on the island, not even bicycles. No power or running water. No modern conveniences. And more importantly, very poor cell service! Rustic and mostly untamed. They allow primitive camping which we will look forward to doing in the near future.
The passenger ferry dock at the old boathouse.
The fireplace in this old Viking Boathouse
The view from upstairs looking down (obviously)
Another out building in the background while Amanda and Evelyn hike up to the Pottawatomi Lighthouse
The Pottawatomi Lighthouse
A happy Grace!
Pelicans in flight
We only spent a few hours on each island which wasn't long enough to see much, but just long enough to wet our appetite to come back for more. There's so much more to see in Door County, from the lavender farm on Washington Island, the rocky shores of Rock Island, the darkness of Newport State Park at night (certified a dark sky area), to the goats eating on top of the Al Johnson's Swedish Resteraunt. Looks like another round of trip planning is in our future!
