Door County

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My first day exploring Door County has been enjoyable. The official visitor guide (which is also available online at www.doorcounty.com) says inside the front cover - One of the Top Ten Vacation Destinations in North America according to Money Magazine. One of the speakers at Grandfather Mountain earlier this month had Door County on his list of must see travel spots in North America as well.

So I had extremely high expectations as I set out this morning. Early on I was very under whelmed. I guess with all I heard about this area, I expected to see a magnificent farm, water, beautiful shoreline, unique building or lighthouse around every turn and not knowing what to photograph as everything was going to be spectacular.

I spent the day in the northern half of the county - from Bailey’s Harbor north to the end of the peninsula. They have a nice map of the area that is fairly detailed. However I still had to really want to get to some areas highlighted on the map. There is a 40+ mile bicycle route. I followed part of it (but my bicycle was on the back on the Jeep, not under me!).

After going to Northport and seeing “Death’s Door” (the area between the peninsula and Washington Island that was very treacherous for boats going from Green Bay into Lake Michigan. That is where Door County got its name) I was able to find Door Bluff Headlands County Park. I was the only one in the park and had my picnic lunch. There wasn’t a marked trail down to the shoreline, but I was able to follow paths people had blazed before me. The “beaches” on the Great Lakes are quite different from the white sands of Myrtle Beach!

I then worked down the Green Bay side and visited Ephraim. It is a neat village with Moravian roots. From there I worked down and across the peninsula back to the campground.

Door County is known for its Fish Boils and the folks at the campground suggested I take one in. The origins of the fish boil go back to the logging days. White fish from Lake Michigan is used. They have a large pot of boiling water over a wood fire. They boil red potatoes, onions (they were sweet like Vidalia but not as large) and the white fish. White fish is very oily so at the end, they throw kerosene on the base of the fire to make the pot boil over and remove the oil from the top of the water.

It was an enjoyable experience, but I’m not much of a fish eater. I don’t like de-boning my meal.

Well that’s it from today. I’m going to upload this while the office and game room is still open so the mosquitoes don’t feast on me tonight.

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Photos

Moravian Church
Moravian Church in Ephraim, WI

Pioneer Schoolhouse
Pioneer Schoolhouse in Ephraim, WI

Door Bluff park
Shoreline from the county park

Along the shore
Another view of the shoreline from the county park

Chevy Rust in Peace
Along with the rustic barns there are rusting trucks. Here's a Chevy I found out in a field by a barn.

Ford Rust in Peace
Equal time here. I also found a Ford out in a field.

Grazing on the Roof
Al Johnson's Swedish restaurant in Sister Bay has a grass roof and goats to keep it manicured!

Fish Boil 1
The fish boil was an interesting experience. This is a shot of the meal as it is being boiled.

Fish Boil bell ringing
Here he has removed the metal from around the fire. They ring a bell to let folks know they are about to make the pot boil over.

Fish Boil bell adding fuel to the fire
He is throwing the kerosene on the base of the fire to make the pot boil over and remove the oil from the water.

Fish Boil - fire in the hole
These next couple of images are self explanatory.

Fish Boil last shot
You can see the water overflowing from the top of the pot in this shot.