Sturgeon Bay... the Sequel

 

While we were at our last campground, the one we won't be going back to anytime soon, we took a drive to what was to be our next stop in the Sturgeon Bay journey. It was a good decision, because it was not going to work for a week stay. The site we were to be at was dry camping (no water, electricity, or sewer), and very shaded. Without solar we would struggle with electricity... and generators were not allowed.

Here we now move to plan "B". We drove to the campground that was two later in our journey and asked if they was an opening for us to arrive a week earlier, the answer was yes. Accepting the additional week meant that we would start in one site, and move to a second site, which was our original reservation.

We arrived at our new home, and beat the rain by a day.

For a couple of days it decided we needed a bit of rain, and for the folks that are local to the area, it was an answer to their drought prayer. Once the rain settles down we can take a drive through some of the little towns around here, and see some of the attractions. Door County has a lot of touristy stuff to see and do. I'm sure you have been watching the news regarding the Canadian wildfires, and the smoke crossing into the U.S. (I bet without a passport). For those living in California, the smoke they are getting here might not seem like much, but it has been fairly thick in some areas.

I promised more lighthouses, but before we see another one, we are going to take you to a motorcycle memorial park.

The park was created by fellow bikers to recognize their lost brothers and sisters.

These pavers are throughout the park, and represent the fallen bikers. As visitors walk the pavers, they can see beer bottles (not drank and drank), coins, and flowers of those paying their respects. 

The park was designed to be a fun, and a happy remembrance of their fallen friends.

 

Traveling the back roads of the United States, one can find fantastic secret spots off the beaten path.

Enough daydreamin', lets get on down that road. We took a drive towards Washington Island so we could find out what was needed to get on the ferry and tour the island. On the way we found another maritime museum, Death's Door.  (https://dcmm.wpengine.com/deaths-door-maritime-museum)

This museum is dedicated to  commercial fishing and the shipping fleet. 

The reason for the ominous name stems back to the days of the Native American Indians, the Ho-Chunk, and Potawatomi tribes. Stories were told about a large war party crossing the passage, a sudden storm came up wiping out the war party. It has also been told that travelers had been trapped and drowned on the rock shelf.

The yellow dots represents the ships that got too close to shore and sank. Zooming in on the photo you will see that some of the dots list several ships going down within the area of the dot. Most of the incidents occurred due to weather conditions unfavorable to sailing. These dots only represent a fraction of the more than 200 documented shipwrecks.

This is a small museum, but there is a lot of information, and even a few salvaged item from various shipwrecks.

For all you divers out there, many of the shipwrecks can be dived on, however, read and heed...

Because the passage posed such a challenge navigating between Lake Michigan and the bay of Green Bay, lighthouses were established. In 1848 one was erected on Plum Island, and in 1850 another was erected on Pilot Island. In 1881 the Sturgeon Bay canal was created, allowing ships to travel between Lake Michigan and Green Bay without navigating the hazardous passage. 

The museum tells a story of the life around this peninsula. Many moons ago there was a thriving fishing industry with many boats fishing off the peninsula. The fresh water fish from these waters could be found throughout the nation's fish markets. Circumstances such as pollution, over fishing, and invasive species destroyed the fishing industry, and this was all before 1920.

In 2019 there was a documentary made about the Door County fishing industry and surrounding communities, it is called From Net to Table. Though not on as large a scale, the industry is again thriving, and the numbers of fish have grown. One of the best experiences in seeing this growth is to attend a fish boil, something I will later address.

MODEL OF THE FISHING BOAT HOPE

In the early 20th century these boats were known as "fish tugs". It was fun going on the HOPE, and trust me when I say TALL PEOPLE BEWARE. Carol and I are both shorter than 6 feet tall, and we needed to duck getting to the helm station. The last photo is the "net winch" or "net hauler". They would haul in the nets, and separate fish from net, each going in their own compartments. Once on shore, the nets were hung to dry , and the fish were sent to the processing facility. The little guy saw its last haul of fish in 1992.

Like most good maritime museums, you can find a variety of motors and engines, no different here.

This boat is an example of craftmanship of Washington Island.

The boat was originally built in 1916 for a wealthy gentleman, and named the Berylune. In 1950 the boat was sold to a retired Coast Guard officer, who had other plans for it. 

The new owner added a cabin, and changed out the motor. The Carlson family enjoyed their boat until his death in 1978. The boat was again sold, this time to Mr. Nelson, who thought the added cabin was "extremely ugly". His intensions were to restore the boat to its original design, removing the cabin, and replacing the motor with the original motor, or something as close as possible. His efforts took him 15 years. After completing the restoration of the Berylune, Mr. Nelson donated it to the museum. I think he did an outstanding job.

I'm going to leave you hear, waiting for the next installment.