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.