Door County Wisconsin

There are 2 main highways in Door County, Highway 42 and Highway 57.  We left to explore the Highway 42 side of the peninsula.  I wanted to get some smoked Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish from Charlies in Gills Rock, which is just North of Hy-Lake Court Campground in Ellison Bay, where we are staying.  When we arrived in Gills Rock, the ferry is unloading cars from Washington Island and then will be reloading to head back.

Gills Rock Shore

Unloading of Washington Island Ferry

Getting ready to load Washington Island Ferry

With fresh smoked whitefish and lake trout in hand we left to drop off our "find" at the Motor Home and then off to explore.  There are 5 State Parks in Door County.  This weekend was a free weekend to visit State and County Parks in Wisconsin so we decided to visit Peninsula State Park.  The first thing I noticed was that there are Forget-Me-Not's in the park everywhere!

Forget-Me-Not

Welcome to Peninsula State Park

 We drove the Skyline Rd and discovered Sven's Bluff which overlooks Strawberry Island.

Strawberry Island

We headed back to Shore Rd and came upon Eagle Bluff Lighthouse.

Dwarf Lake Iris on the grounds of Eagle Bluff Lighthouse

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse

We discover Horseshoe Island next.

Horseshoe Island Overview

Horseshoe Island

We wanted to climb Eagle Tower, however, this Spring it has been determined that it is no longer safe.

Eagle Tower

We left the State Park and drove to our next stop, Egg Harbor.  There we found a beautiful City Park that had very comfortable Adirondack chairs to sit and watch the waves of the lake.

Egg Harbor

Egg Harbor

We continued our drive South to George K Pinney County Park near Sturgeon Bay.  From there we were able to see where they dry dock the "big ships".  Many of the locals come to this park to enjoy the beach, fishing, baseball, playground equipment, disk golf, and the walking trails.

Gaggle of Geese 

Dry docked ships

Rock ledge which you find all along the lake shore

Fishing along the harbor

On our way back North to the campground we decided to eat at a cute little restaurant that our friends Benny and Cynthia Jackson recommended called Al Johnson's.  The unique thing about this Swedish restaurant is that grass grows on the roof and when the weather cooperates, goats graze on the roof.  They are predicting rain here, so the goats were in their pens today and not on the roof.

Al Johnson's restaurant

Tomorrow, we will explore the Highway 57 side.