5844. Go to Jorn’s Sugar Bush in Egg Harbor

 One of the random places I had left to visit in Door County was Jorn's Sugar Bush. I've seen the faded billboards advertising for the place for years. I've read the articles that say Jorn's Sugar Bush has the best maple syrup and I really wanted to check it out. To be honest, I just wanted to buy some real maple syrup. The hubby is game for the slight deour.

Jorn's Sugar Bush is located on Hwy T just off of Hwy 42 as you are coming into Egg Harbor from the south It is open 10-4 daily. 

Jorn's Sugar Bush is a one man operation. You literally ring the door bell, walk in, turn on the light, and wait for Mr. Jorn to come down to his little store from his house. I felt bad that we stopped because the poor man was on crutches and I made him hobble all the way down to sell me some maple syrup. 

The Store doesn't offer much just some maple syrup in various sizes along with some jellies and cherry pie filling. It is  nothing more than a cinder block shack. However it is the best in Door County.

The hubby stayed in the car while I went in to get some maple syrup. After talking to Mr. Jorn for awhile, I texted the hubby and told him he had to meet the man. He's 98 years young and had stories to tell. He may have repeated the same stories a few times in the short time we were there but what do expect from a nonagenarian. He was very interesting to listen to and well worth the extra time spent buying a quart of maple syrup.

If you haven't been to Jorn's Sugar Bush, stop by the next time you are in Door County. His maple syrup is worth it and so are his stories. I am so glad we stopped and got some real maple syrup. I know we will be back next year. 

Pancakes and Maple Syrup

 Stacy said if I needed an adventure this month, to let her know. I definitely did and tossed out a couple dates to her. She confirmed which one worked best for her. I tossed some ideas her way and we never really settled on anything specific. Then I saw a post for a Pancake Breakfast at Riveredge Nature Center in Newburg. Stacy was game. I bought tickets.

Riveredge Nature Center is in Newburg. It is open every day dawn until dusk. The Visitor Center is open Monday-Saturday 8:30-4:30. It is $5/person for a trail fee. 

We both remember going there in elementary school for maple syrup and pancake breakfast. Stacy distinctly remembers it raining and eating outside so was a bit concerned about the weather forecast (cold and rainy). I was like no worries there's a shuttle. I didn't realize we could have to eat outside. 

The Pancake Breakfast was $15/person. We checked in at the visitor center and got our tickets. Then we walked to the Sugarbush House for breakfast. The walk was about 1/2 mile along a very well maintained path. Or you could have taken a shuttle. The weather held so it was not a bad walk. 

We got to see the maple trees tapped for syrup. Blue bags are the new buckets apparently. 

For breakfast you got 2 pancakes, a piece of ham, and some pickles. Apparently in Southeast WI, pickles and maple syrup are a thing. I remember getting pickle spear as a kid with my maple syrup. These were just pickle chips. Either way they are good. Plus they pour fresh maple syrup over your pancakes.

We went out side to eat in the covered picnic area. They came around with fresh off the griddle pancakes and we each had one more. Overall it was a very good breakfast.

On the way back to the car, we checked out one of the play areas.. briefly.. I attempted to climb up the rope net and it was an epic fail. I only made it only rung and fell face first. Getting down was an adventure. Turns out scooting down on my butt worked best. It was not my brightest idea.

We wanted to check out a bridge but the trail was closed because of sugar dragon nesting area. I guess I will have to come back and explore at a future date when the sugar dragons are all hatched. 

It was a fun morning and only just the beginning of our adventure. More adventure fun coming soon. 

A Mini Lesson in Maple Syrup Making

With the hubby gone all day today, I wanted to do something and I didn't know what. I really didn't want to go to New Dublin nor did I want to do something by myself. Tara texted me asking if I wanted to go to a craft show. While I was searching for more information about the craft show, I stumbled upon several maple syrup hike/pancake breakfasts. The one at 1000 Islands Environmental Center in Kaukauna offered a free hike and was even on way to the craft show. I made the suggestion and Tara agreed.

It turns it out it was a self-guided hike.

When we got to 1000 Oaks, we headed for the sugar shack where they were making "maple syrup". It turns out that the maple syrup season was very short this year and they only harvested 1/3 of what they normally do. To demonstrate the process, they were boiling water instead of maple sap. They explained how to make maple syrup from the sap. It was very smoky in the sugar house and we didn't stay very long.

A short ways down the path from the sugar shack was another lesson in making maple syrup. This technically was the first step in the process. They showed us how to tap a tree for sap. It was quite easy. You take a hand drill, drill a hole 2-3 inches deep (or to the yellow on the drill), tap in the spigot, and hang a milk gallon on the spigot. I tapped my first maple tree. Too bad the sap season was over. Maybe next year, we'll tap Tara's maple tree.

Tapping a Maple Tree

We continued our hike through 1000 Islands. We did not find anymore maple syrup lessons but did enjoy a few ducks and geese along the raging Fox River.

I was disappointed that the maple syrup hike was just 2 stops and we really didn't learn much or see much of the process. I did enjoy tapping a tree. I have a feeling the mild winter and early spring played a role in the maple syrup process and if the trees were still producing sap, we would have had a more in depth experience. Next year, maybe we can see the whole maple syrup process.