Thu, Aug 30:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  A beautiful, but cool day today.  So after our morning ablutions and some breakfast we headed over to Cave Point State Park on the eastern side of the peninsula.  Parked and walked the trail on the bluff overlooking the lake.  The lake shore over here is very rugged.  So was the trail—with rocks and roots everywhere.  After that we drove over to Clark Lake, which is a small inland lake adjacent to the park.  There are some amazing homes on this pretty little lake. Then we decided to check out the Ridges, which is a range light which helped boaters navigate into Bailey’s Harbor, which is surrounded by shoals.  Walked some of the trails there.  A beautiful, natural area and they’ve done an excellent job of preserving the range light and the keeper’s home.  The light keeper had to replace the oil every three hours, day and night, in all weather, 365 days a year.  They were tough!  After our excursions we headed to the Coyote Roadhouse for some lunch, which is also on a small inland lake—Kangaroo Lake.  Decided not to stay there and instead stopped at the Blue Ox in Bailey’s Harbor. Back home and crashed.  Only in the mid-60s today, but beautiful.

The best way to see this rugged lake shore is by kayak.

Beautiful rugged cliffs and crystal clear water.

The lower ledge is a great place to go for a swim.  Easy in and easy out.  Water is only 68 right now.  When I went in last week it was 72.  Still pretty cold, but felt great.

Mikey

One of the cottages on Clark Lake.

Pretty little Clark Lake.

The range light.  The keepers house is a ways behind.  This was built in 1868.

Keepers home.

Range light with the keepers home way in the background.  The keeper had to replenish the oil in the light every three hours, day and night, 365 days a year.  What a job!

Mikey on the boardwalk.

One of the pretty trails in here.

Beautiful lily pond on the nature trail.

Wed, Aug 29:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Another cool and cloudy day.  No rain, but only in the mid-60s.  We hung out all morning, and after lunch we ventured out.  Drove into Sister Bay and then continued on to Ephraim to see what’s playing at the drive-in theater.  Yes, there is a drive-in here.  Playing right now is Mama Mia 2 and Mission Impossible 6.  We’d like to see the Mission Impossible movie.  I’ve already seen Mama Mia and Mike has no interest in it.  We continued on to Sunset Park at Fish Creek and sat on a bench enjoying the lake vista.  The two main roads here are Rt 42 on the Green Bay side of the peninsula, and Rt. 57 is on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula.  The villages on Rt. 42 are Egg Harbor. Fish Creek, Ephraim, and Sister Bay.  The biggest population is in Sister Bay—800 plus.  Fish Creek, Egg Harbor, and Ephraim each have 200+.  Gils Rock boasts a population of 4 people and 2 dogs.  The “quiet side” of the peninsula is on Rt. 57.  We’re over on that side.  Once you get away from Rt. 42 and Rt. 57, it’s a landscape of farms, woods, and orchards.  Back to our site and relaxed the rest of the day.  Mid-60s today. 

A porcupine along the road.

They call them hedgehogs here.

Swan out on the lake.

Tue, Aug 28:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:   Well, we had quite a storm last night.  We put the awnings up because Door County was the target of a severe thunder storm.  It was a torrential rain storm with lots of lightning and thunder.  No wind to speak of, thankfully.  At 11:00 they cancelled the severe warning for Door County, so we breathed a sigh of relief.  This morning dawned dreary and cool with a misty rain.  So we decided to get some unpleasant chores done, like grocery shopping and errand running.  Got that out of the way and stopped at the Viking Grill for lunch.  Back home and put everything away. It was too wet to sit outside. As I write this another thunder storm is brewing.  I feel sorry for the tent campers.  Low 70s today.

Out for a sail on a much better day than today.

Mon, Aug 27:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Rained all night and most of the morning.  Love listening to the rain at night.   Later in the afternoon the sun came out and we got on the bikes and rode over to Rowley’s Bay.  Biked through the residential area and then stopped at Rowley’s marina and sat on “our” bench and enjoyed the lake.  While we sat there a guy swam across the bay and back.  Then did it again.  I wanted to say, “give it a break, you’re making us all look bad.”  Back on the bikes and rode down a dead-end road through a beautiful forest of white cedar, birch, and pine.  Ferns covered the ground.  What a beautiful place!  Back to our site and sat outside for a while.  It’s actually quite warm.  I wanted to go for a swim.  We’ll do that later this week hopefully.  At least in the upper 70s when the sun came out.

Peninsula Lighthouse--Peninsula State Park

Sun, Aug 26:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Up this morning and did the laundry right away.  Got that chore behind us pretty quickly.  Sunday is a good day to do the laundry because most people are packing up to leave.  Today the owner was in there doing a load of cleaning cloths. First time we’ve shared the laundry room with anyone. The owner and her husband spend a couple of months in the Keys during the winter also.  They rent a house on Little Torch Key.  Maybe we’ll get together with them this winter.  A nice warm, sunny morning, so after lunch we planned on checking out a couple of new county parks between Egg Harbor and Sturgeon Bay.  Unfortunately, the weather turned.  Clouded up and started sprinkling.  The sprinkles didn’t last long, but it got noticeably cooler.  Stayed inside and watched a DVD we borrowed from the office.  A not so great movie with Dennis Quaid.  After that we started making beef tips and gravy for dinner tonight.  Served with mashed potatoes (Mike doesn’t like noodles) and a vegetable.  Smells really good in here.  Got the fireplace going and it’s nice and toasty in here. 

Wild flower in Peninsula State Park

Bike ride in Peninsula State Park back in 2010 when we spent the whole summer here.  I LOVED it.  Mike not so much.

Sat, Aug 25:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Cloudy and cool again this morning.  But no rain.  We headed to the Viking Grill for a huge breakfast.  Came back and cleaned up our site and then walked the trail over to Rowley’s Bay and back.  The sun made an appearance later in the afternoon and it warmed up nicely.  We were thinking of taking the ferry over to Washington Island, but there’s a big barbecue event going on over there and the lines for the ferry are huge.  Nixed that idea and just hung out.  Upper 70s today.

Shops in Fish Creek

 

Fri, Aug 24:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Cloudy and cool this morning.  Mike laid a fire and we sat around enjoying that for a while.  We went inside as the fire died down—just in time because it started to rain.  We watched a movie, played spades and read for a while.  A nice relaxing day.  Probably only in the 60s today.

Sturgeon Bay Lighthouse