Tue, Sep 11:  Breezy Hill Campground, Fond du Lac, WI, to KOA, LaSalle/Peru, IL:  Left this morning at 10:00.  We had to backtrack a little on I41 to get to Rt. 151 south.  Took Rt. 151 for only about 30 or 40 miles and then headed south on Rt. 26.  Rt. 151 was a limited-access, four-lane highway and really good road.  Rt. 26 was iffy at first and only a two lane road for about 50 miles but then opened up to four lanes also.  And really good road.  Switched just before Janesville and Mike drove the rest of the way.  Surprisingly, I39 wasn’t too bad southbound.  Got to LaSalle/Peru and were set up by 2:15.  82 here in LaSalle/Peru.

Former school house on County Road ZZ.
Door County

Barns of Door County

Mon, Sep 10:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI, to Breezy Hill Campground, Fond du Lac, WI:  Went for one last breakfast at the Viking Grill this morning.  Came back, hooked up the truck, and were on our way by 10:00.  Going back a different way, avoiding the bad highways up here.  County Road ZZ to Old Stage Rd. to Rt. 57 to the circumvential around Green Bay and headed south on Rt. 41 to the campground. Well, that was the plan, but with me navigating we were bound to get off track.  Although, Mike agreed that the map was a little confusing.  We got back on track and arrived here and were set up by 2:00.  Mike said this campground was a former KOA.  Wasn’t sure how great this park would be.  But, what a surprise.  It’s one of the nicest we’ve stayed at—bar none.  There are 55 seasonal sites in here.  Usually these permanent sites tend to get junky.  This place is pristine.  The permanent sites are kept up beautifully with flowers, little storage sheds with nice landscaping and the grass is neatly cut.  These people take pride in their sites and take care of them appropriately.  We will definitely be back here.  I could go on and on about this place—all the little extras they provide.  Anyway, the weather up here is going to be amazing next week—upper 70s and 80s.  Of course!!  But, except for the chilly temps the past few days, we had very little rain—seemingly only at night.  69 here in Fond du Lac today, but really warm in the sun.  And our slide went in just fine and everything traveled well.  We leave tomorrow morning for LaSalle-Peru.  I’ll drive the back roads to Beloit and then Mike will take over on I39 which was really bad (sigh).  Once we get back on I55 we’ll be fine. Poor Mike will have to listen to me bitch about bad I39. 

One of the lake side homes in Sister Bay.

This little log cottage has a sod roof.
Sister Bay, Wisconsin

Another beautiful lake side home in Sister Bay.
Door County, Wisconsin

Look at this huge home!
Sister Bay, Wisconsin

Sun, Sep 9:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Got the laundry done this morning and then went to Rowley’s for their Sunday brunch.  A chilly but sunny day.  We stuffed ourselves and then gassed up the truck.  Back to our site and relaxed for a while and then we put away all the outside stuff, so we’re ready to roll tomorrow.  Mid-60s here today.

Our new and improved bike rack.  On the other rack the bikes were too low and would drag on the ground going up a hill.

This one sits a lot higher, but it's definitely a two-person operation.  I can't put it or the bikes on myself any more.

Pretty much all packed up and ready to go tomorrow.

Sat, Sep 8:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  A chilly, breezy, but sunny morning.  We put the bikes on the bike rack on the back of the fifth wheel ready for us to leave on Monday and then Mike wanted to go on a bakery run.  He is such a bad influence.  So, we stopped first at the Door County Bakery on Rt. 57 which we’d never been to before.  They have this wonderful Corsican bread they make there.  It’s infused with olive oil and the bread is almost dripping with it.  So, you don’t need any butter or dipping oil.  They have samples you can try and it is delicious.  They apparently ship it all over the US.  Left there and then went to the Swedish Bakery at the Rowley’s Bay resort.  Got two cherry turnovers and two cinnamon rolls.  Spent $35 on pastries.  Most of it is for Mike.  Then, before lunch we went for a long walk on the trail to the beautiful sand bay near here.  We didn’t walk all the way to the lake, but made a loop out of it—well, Mike made a loop out of it.  I get lost in the mall.  The trail can be used for hiking, biking, cross country skiing, and show shoeing.  It must be beautiful up here in the winter.  After lunch Mike tried again to get a fire going.  Last night it was a lost cause because the wood was too damp.  Grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob for dinner tonight.  And it turned into a beautiful day.  Really warm in the sun, but really cool in the shade.  I checked the weather at home.  It’s not much better.  Upper 60s here today.  I guess we can enjoy our pastries with alacrity since we went for that long walk.  HBD!

Fri, Sep 7:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Laid low today.  Cooler than yesterday.  I watched the remaining episodes of Downton Abbey and was sad to see it end.  We had breakfast for lunch—bacon and eggs.  Read for a while and then walked part of the trail to Sand Bay on Lake Michigan.  Pork chops and sweet corn for dinner tonight.  Mid-60s again today.

The historic Gus Klenke garage.  There are paintings of this historic structure in a lot of the galleries.
Door County

Barns of Washington Island

Thu, Sep 6:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Took the 11:00 ferry to Washington Island this morning.  A beautiful day, but on the chilly side.  Explored around the island and stopped for lunch at The Granary.  There were about 8 local guys sitting around talking and drinking coffee.  They were funny to listen to, with their Swedish or Norwegian accents.  I asked them why there were no deer around, which brought a lot of laughter and discussion.  Apparently, they’re everywhere.  We’ve seen sand hill cranes and turkey, but no deer.  Took the 4:00 ferry back and crashed.  Was going to cook up some sweet corn and have that with sliced tomatoes for dinner.  We're too full from lunch.  Mid-60s today.

Our ferry arrives.

Boarding begins.

Arriving at Washington Island.

Stopped to check out this tower.

We had to climb up a series of stairs to get to the top of the bluff.  Over 100!  And then we had to climb the tower!  I was hoping there would be a medic up there with oxygen or something. 

On the other side of the island you can catch a passenger ferry to Rock Island.  Part of the island was purchased by Chester Thordarson in 1910 where he built his summer estate.  The boat house was part of that estate.  It's now part of the Rock Island State Park.  A few years ago we took our backpacks and camped over there for a few days.  The boat house is neat.  I used to play the piano in there and we'd play cards or do puzzles.

This is the ferry that takes you over there.

Jacobson's Museum

There's a pretty little inland lake here.

This is Jacobson's summer cottage.

Pretty Little Lake

Stavkirke

This beautiful, all-wood church was patterned after the Bergund, Norway, church built in 1150 A.D.

They used Viking shipbuilding techniques.  "Stav" means pole or support, and there are 12 center staves, or masts, as well as heavy beamed, ship-like construction throughout the structure.  It is truly beautiful

This ship hanging from the rafters is a replica of a mackinaw schooner, popular for fishing and transporting goods across the lake in the mid-1800s.

This beautiful door has wrought iron fastenings.  The panels on each side of the door are hand carved.

The ceiling and rafters.  It smells so good in here with all the wood.

Wed, Sep 5:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  I got up, showered, dressed, and cleaned up our site while waiting for Mike to wake up.  Made my smoothie and then it started to rain.  Rained all morning.  When Mike got up we changed the sheets and took the dirty ones to the laundry room when the rain abated.  Got that done and then just read and took care of some computer stuff.  The sun never made an appearance, but it’s supposed to be sunny the rest of the week.  Mid-70s today and cloudy.  Left-overs for dinner.  HBM!

They love their flowers up here.