A couple times a year, I get the urge to, as I call it, drive the Door. For those unfamiliar with my state, which is Wisconsin, the thumb that juts out of the northwest into Lake Michigan is called Door County. It’s a popular tourist place. So far, they’ve managed to keep chains out of northern Door (aside from things like gas stations and a Little Cesars in one of those stations), and they offer all kinds of summer and winter activities (though the county is MUCH quieter during the colder months). There are two main highways – 42 runs up the bay side and 57 down the lake side. So long as you don’t drive into the water, it’s rather difficult to get lost.
Every now and then, I get to the urge to visit this county that I’ve known my whole life. And that’s not hyperbole. My mother tent camped pregnant with me, and my family visited there several times every summer before we moved there when I was just about to turn ten (our record was thirteen times). There are places I like to visit often, like DC Coffee (for their hash brown bake and delicious coffee) and the Skyway Drive-In during the summer (I actually worked there while I was in college). And, of course, Cave Point – my favorite place on Earth.
And sometimes, I just get the urge to drive and visit as many of my fav spots as I can. I’ll drive up the bayside and down the lake side, which I did yesterday. I stopped at two cafes (because, well, I love a good cafe) – Blue Horse in Fish Creek and Sip in (between Ephraim and Sister Bay) (I also partook in lunch here because my fav spot, Grasse’s Grill isn’t open for the season yet). The bathrooms at Sip always make me giggle.
I did a double take when I drove by Anderson Dock, so I had to turn around and stop. The building on the dock, which houses an art gallery, is usually completed covered with people’s graffiti. (They used to have benches, but people ignored the ‘no graffiti on benches’ sign, and those disappeared. Unfortunately, the graffiti has also moved to the posts around the dock and on some areas of the cement, as well. [sigh]) Every now and then, the building gets a new paint job – which it apparently did recently since, you know, you can actually see the color it was painted.
I also stopped by Peninsula State Park to walk up the Eagle Tower – which maybe wasn’t the smartest thing to do as my legs hadn’t quite recovered from deadlift day. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But the view at the top is always worth it. This isn’t the original tower, the one my sister had to run up and down while on our high school’s cross country team. (Did I mention there are, like, ninety-five steps to the top?) The plus about this new tower, though is that they made it accessible by building a ramp up to the top. (I will note that it’s still quite a hike and in places feels a bit steep if someone were to push themselves all the way up in a manual chair.) Unless you walk into the park, you will need a park pass to get to the tower.
At the tip of the peninsula, you can catch a ferry, year round, to Washington Island – which is absolutely worth it if you ever get the chance. I made it just as the ferry was finishing loading, and tempted as I was, I decided not to jump aboard. The waters were calm, though, so I imagine these folks had a smooth ride. (One time when I took the ferry over, there were splashes coming over the side. At least my car got a good wash. :-P)
I hadn’t actually planned to stop at Cave Point. In fact, I had a third cafe in mind (Roost + Banter in Baileys Harbor), but when I had stopped at Pen Park, I bought a yearly park pass at their kiosk. Unfortunately, it dispenses a receipt, and you have thirty days to visit an open station to trade it for the actual pass. Their website said Whitefish Dunes State Park had an open station, so I opted to head there first. Well the website lied (well, likely it never got switched to their winter hours). They were not open. But since Cave Point is right next door, I figured I’d stop for a few minutes and enjoy some natural ASMR. But then… the water levels were nice and low, and the cliffs begged to be climbed. What’s a girl to do?
I had a few other stops on my trek, like looking for ice shoves (as the ice on the bay breaks up, the wind will push it toward the shore; in some cases, sheets upon sheets will get stacked in places – makes for an incredible sight) and swinging by Cana Island. It’s always nice just to wander without much of a plan, and DC in the winter/early spring is a great place to do that.
Ami Maxine 