Potawatomi State Park in Door County Wisconsin

After relaxing in Oshkosh, we set off for Potawatomi State Park where we would meet Connie and Larry. We planned to spend a week exploring Door County Wisconsin. When we arrived at the park, we found the roads lined with trees, some with low hanging branches. We were able to maneuver through the trees and reached our campground. That was when the fun began...the loop our campsite was on had a narrow, winding road with many trees overhanging the roadway. I drove ahead of Bob, stopping where I thought he would need guidance to maneuver around turns. We finally arrived at our campsite and got backed in and set up. Connie and Larry arrived after us and had the same problems getting their rig to their site next to us. It was definitely happy hour once we were all settled!

We looked over all the park information and couldn't find anything about generator hours. The only guideline we found was to be respectful of neighbors with noise late at night and early in the morning. Since there were no hook-ups and the trees shaded our sites too much for our solar to be effective, we ran our generators when most other campers were out enjoying the park.

Bob and I were happy to find many trails in the state park. Our first morning, we hiked the Tower/Ice Age trail. We caught the trail across from our campsite. For about a mile, the trail followed Sturgeon Bay.

 Then it crossed the road to the interior of the park.

 We followed the trail to the tower...

 and then to the northern terminus of the Ice Age Trail. This spot was marked as one of the most scenic places in Wisconsin.

 So, we took advantage of the shelf behind the sign and took our photo at the scenic spot overlooking the valley.

 That afternoon, we went for a drive with Connie and Larry. We drove around the Sturgeon Bay area to see what sights we wanted to see while in Door County. We stopped for lunch at a pizza place on the bay. After lunch we walked the short pathway that housed the original bridge over Sturgeon Bay. The newer bridge is in the background.

On Friday, we took the ferry to Washington Island at the northern end of the Door County peninsula. Our drive to the ferry took us past the Sister's Bay and Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant..famous for goats on the roof!

After watching the goats, we continued on our way to the ferry.

Our first stop on the island was the lavender farm. They were distilling lavender oil in one of the buildings. It took quite a bit of lavender buds and stems to make a small amount of oil.

 The line of color at the above the metal ring holding the glass is the lavender oil. 

There are two main types of lavender, English and Spanish. The English lavender is edible, the Spanish isn't. Both varieties plus a hybrid are grown at this farm.

 After lunch at Fiddler's Green, we stopped at the Stavkirke. It looks old, but it was built in 1991.

We all enjoyed our visit to the island. Even Larry was smiling!

As we were waiting to catch the ferry back to the mainland, Bob got out and walked to the dock to see why we were delayed in loading....

...this flatbed truck carrying a large tank got stuck trying to back onto the ferry! The truck passed us while we were touring the lavender farm and this was a couple of hours later. The crew and truck driver finally got the truck unstuck and cars continued to load. We don't know how they eventually got the tank to the mainland.

The next day, Bob and I did our early morning hike. This time we hiked the hemlock trail. As we hiked, we found several geocaches. Parts of the trail are cross county ski trails in the winter.

That evening, we went to a fish boil at Waterfront Mary's Resort. The fish is cooked in a pot with potatoes, carrots and onions. At the end of the cooking time, the cook throws something on the fire to make it flame and dinner is ready! It reminded me of a low country boil only with more fire!

The cook rings the bell to let everyone know he is about to flame the pot.

FLAMES!

 Then they take the pot off the fire to plate everyone's dinner. It was definitely an  enjoyable evening.

The next morning, Bob and I drove into Sturgeon Bay to check out the farmer's market. We bought a few things and then moved on to walk around town. Yes, Bob got fish faced in Sturgeon Bay.

 Our next stop was the local brewery--Starboard Brewing Company. Someone left a painted rock on the bar near where we were sitting.

 All around Sturgeon Bay were painted Adirondack chairs.

On another day, Bob and I drove to look at local lighthouses. We found the Sherwood Lighthouse which is available for veterans to rent.

Then we drove to the canal on the other side of Sturgeon Bay to see the Coast Guard Station and its lighthouse. The two lighthouses looked very similar.

 There was also a beacon at the end of the Coast Guard pier.

These are the highlights of our time in Door County. It is an area I wouldn't mind visiting again.

Oh, on our last full day at the state park, we found out that generators aren't allowed in any Wisconsin state parks. I guess we won't stay in any more Wisconsin state parks unless the sites are more solar friendly.

Another Travel Day and a New Area

After looking at correspondence from Connie, I knew that they would be in Madison, Wisconsin, for one night before moving to Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Bob and I perused the map and decided to try for reservations at Great Lakes, but alas, they were full. Our next plan was to surprise Connie and Larry at Madison. We knew they were staying at Ho Chunk casino, so off we went. Bob spotted their RV in the parking area and we pulled in next to them, honking our air horn! They came out and were surprised to see us. We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with each other's travels since we last saw them in December.

Like I said before, we are not back in travel mode and we forgot to get a picture of the four of us. At the last minute, Bob did remember to get a picture of our site. Yes, it is just a parking lot! The interstate was beyond the trees in front of us so there was a bit of noise until later in the evening.

We parted ways with Connie and Larry the following morning. Our plan was to head to Oshkosh, Wisconsin and spend three nights. Bob found a Passport America Park--Osh Vegas Palms--that had room for us.  Wisconsin was not a new state for us, but this was the first time we had been in the eastern portion of the state.

After the previous  three days' travels totaling over 1100 miles, this was a short travel day! We made it to Oshkosh early in the day and got settled. It was time to check the area to find some tourist activities for our stay. After a short rest, we got in the car and drove to downtown Oshkosh. There was not much to see, but they do have a nice riverwalk. We returned to Sol and continued planning.

The following morning, we set off for the riverwalk. The walk follows both sides of the Fox River through downtown Oshkosh. Along the walk are insects, each painted with a theme:

 Outer space.....

 The city....

 Gulliver's Travels...

...and my favorite, Photography. If you enlarge the picture, you may be able to see all the elements of photography used to make this insect.

We thoroughly enjoyed the riverwalk. The path even took us to the Oshkosh campus of University of Wisconsin.

After a trip back to Sol for lunch, it was time to visit the Experimental Aircraft Association Museum. Oh, my, what a lot of interesting flying machines and history! It was well worth the visit.

The following day we decided we needed to do some hiking. Bob found a conservation area with a good trail...Terrell's Island.

The trail follows a breakwater that was built to keep an invasive species of fish out of the reservoir.

It also offers views of white pelicans who stop in the area as they migrate.

 After our hike we returned to Oshkosh for a late lunch at Fox River Brewing Company. The weather was nice, not too hot or windy, so we opted to sit on the deck overlooking the Fox River.

We enjoyed our visit to Oshkosh, but it was time to move on to our next stop, Potawatomi State Park near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

Exploring New Territory

Bob and I have been traveling 6-8 months a year for the last 12 years. In that time we have visited many states, most of them in the west and southwest. This year it is time to see something new, so we planned a trip with our friends, Connie and Larry. This trip will take us from Florida, north to Wisconsin and then into the UP (upper peninsula) of Michigan. After exploring Michigan we will begin to wander back to Florida.

On August 7, Bob and I left home to begin our journey to Wisconsin. Our plan was to meet Larry and Connie (who were traveling from the west coast) at Potowatomi State Park in the Door County region of Wisconsin on August 14. Well, most of you know we don't like to travel more than 250 miles a day. Looking at a map and doing the math, that was not going to happen this trip. We decided to bite the bullet and do a lot of driving each day to get us near our destination, then we would take our time and rest for a few days.

Our first night on the road we made to an Army Corps of Engineer park near LaGrange, Georgia. The park, Whitetail Ridge, was just a half mile short of Holiday Park where we stayed on our trip home from Gaffney, SC earlier in the year. We just stayed for one night so we were lucky to find a pull through site which meant we didn't have to unhook the car. We were able to get an early start the following morning. Because we were in travel mode, we forgot to take a picture of our campsite or get the GPS coordinates!

Our second day on the road, we traveled through the rest of Georgia, Tennessee, and then stopped in Kentucky. Our trip through Tennessee reminded us of why we don't like to travel on interstate highways. The traffic was terrible near Chattanooga and it was HORRIBLE in Nashville! We stopped for the night at an Army Corps of Engineer Campground at Land Between the Lakes. Their computers were down and they didn't know which sites were available so they put us in the group campground with 5 other campers. We had a view of the lake and a 50 amp hookup, but there was no grass at our site. To make sure the car battery was charged, we drove around the area and from that drive, we know we need to return to spend more time at Land Between the Lakes.

Day three had us driving another long distance, with our sites set on Pontiac, Illinois. We called ahead and made plans to stay at a Harvest Host. The tourism office in Pontiac offers overnight camping for one or two vehicles. We were able to get a spot in their parking lot. In fact, they put out a one to reserve our 'site' for us.

 Yes, our site was in the middle of town, in front of the tourism office.

 Across the street were several museums--our favorite was the Route 66 Museum.

 This mural was on the back wall of the building.

 Of course, Bob and I considered trading Sol for this recreational vehicle which traveled Route 66 several times. The decks on the back and on the top would have been great places to watch sunsets.

 The inside was a tad cluttered, so we decided to stick with Sol.

After touring the town with our special VIP pin, we returned to Sol to plan the next leg of our trip. It would soon be time for a couple of days of staying in one place.

Hiatus

This blog has been on hiatus for the past several months. We have been traveling and having a great time, but no blogging! I think the hiatus is over. Keep watching for future updates.