Door County, Wisconsin: Quaint Towns and Scenic Beauty
Door County, Wisconsin is the playground for the well-to-do from the Chicago area. It is a peninsula jutting out into Lake Michigan with many resort towns teeming with tourists.
We had an uneventful drive to Door County and set up camp at Harbor Village Resort in Carlsville, Winconsin. This boasts two solar panel heated swimming pools, one with two water slides. The latter closed after Labor Day. When we registered we asked where we might get a satellite signal. The lady said at the far end. We started driving, looking for a site. All we saw were trees. Then the vista opened to open farmland. We had reached Nirvana. We had access to the satellite. Oh the simple pleasures of life.
Took the mandatory trip to Gills Rock (the northern tip of the peninsula), since neither of us had ever been to Door County. The peninsula is on a fragile ecosystem of limestone. Some areas have only two or three inches of topsoil, making farming or development difficult. People, however, want a piece of this beautiful countryside admist the fruit orchards, land and seascapes. So the area has been overdeveloped, tilting the delicate balance to problem levels.
On to the tour. First is Egg Harbor, so named from the “Battle of the Eggs”. In 1825 a group of men from Green Bay (disgruntled Packer fans) sailed into the harbor and waged an egg throwing fight. Sounds like some of the picnics I’ve attended. Egg Harbor is picturesque town with antique shops, artist galleries and numerous resorts. With a population of only 200, the town has two golf courses.
Just North of Egg Harbor is a road, which leads to The Peninsula Players Theater. We had heard of them, because some of the actors from Chicago have made appearances there. When we arrived at the box office, which is situated on Green Bay, noted for beautiful sunsets, we found out that they were putting on “The Foreigner” with David New from Steppenwolf and William Norris from Goodman Theater. We purchased tickets for Thursday night.
On to Fish Creek, another quaint town filled with senior citizens crowding the sidewalks on the main street. Like Egg Harbor, the businesses in town cater to the tourists. Next come Sister Bay, Ephraim and Ellison Bay, which are more resort towns, each one a little different. Each one offers spectacular vistas of the Green Bay coast.
The further North we went, the fewer tourists we met. We arrived at Gills Rock, the terminus of the ferry to Washington Island. Gills Rock also has a maritime museum, albeit small, but very interesting. I never realized that Lake Michigan had a thriving whitefish fishing industry. The fish have gone further out in the lake and are at greater depths now than the laws for commercial fishing allow: smart fish.
We made the return trip to our campground via the Lake Michigan shore, going through Baileys Harbor. This side of the peninsula is less developed than the Green Bay side. Whereas the Green Bay coast is rugged and hilly, the Lake Michigan shore is sandy flatlands.
John Pelley is a Geriatric Gypsy. He is retired from the rat race of working. He is a full-time RVer, who ran away from home. He began our travels on the East Coast and, like the migrating birds, seek the warmth of the seasons He has discovered volunteering with the National Park System. Hae has a CD he has recorded of Native American flute music., A Day with Kokopelli. For pictures, links, and more information visit http://www.jmpelley.org.
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