5011. Go to Cana Island lighthouse in Bailey’s Harbor

 The one thing I wanted to do in Door County was walk to the Cana Island lighthouse. Cana Island Lighthouse is on an island, obviously, and there is a causeway that allows you to walk over to it. Since the lake levels are so high, it has been underwater and you can get a tractor pulled wagon ride over instead. Walking across the shallow water sounded more fun. This is is the whole reason I suggested Door County for our girl's weekend.

Getting to the lighthouse:

It is about 6 miles off Hwy 57 in Door County. There is a small parking lot to park in otherwise you are parking on the road. We got lucky and someone was leaving so we got to park in the lot. We did not walk to the lighthouse. We opted for the safer option of riding the hay wagon. We did talk about walking back.

On Cana Island

Once on the island, you stop in the visitor center and pay the entrance fee to climb the lighthouse and see the keeper's house. It is $10 for an adult to climb the tower and see the house. The tractor drive is like get your ticket to lighthouse but only one person needs to go in and pay for the tickets, then go get in line to climb the lighthouse. Once you've done that you can explore the house and grounds.

We were group 5 so we had some time to kill before we climbed the lighthouse. Only about 20 people at at time are allowed to climb the tower. 

In the mean time we checked out the keeper's house which is your typical lightkeeper's house. 

We also checked out the grounds. It was interesting history and nature. 

Climbing the Tower

The lighthouse has a spiral staircase of 97 stairs to get to the view platform of the lighthouse. 

The viewing platform has great view of Lake Michigan and the Island. 

I will be honest the climb freaked me out. I really don't like open back stairs. Once I got to the top I was fine. The climb down wasn't too bad until the end when there was less to hang on to. I survived. Been there, done that.. don't need to do it again.

Return trip from Cana Island

Stacy and I did walk back from the lighthouse. We contemplated walking barefoot since we were both in sneakers but were advised against it since the stones were not as smooth as they looked. 

The water was only ankle deep but with the waves it could be knee high or higher at times even though it didn't seem that bad. 

The walk wasn't bad at all. The hardest part was not to fall over when a wave crashed. I was worried about dropping my new phone.

We made it back safe and sound. I would definitely walk it again. It was fun and not as cold as we thought it would be. In hindsight, walking back from the lighthouse is the way to go otherwise unless you have water shoes on, you are going to be climbing the tower in wet shoes.

Cana Island Lighthouse is worth seeing. Take the hayride, climb the tower, walk back. It was an enjoyable afternoon and definitely should be on your door county bucket list.

5023. Walk under the lighthouse in Sturgeon Bay

I have seen pictures of the lighthouse in Sturgeon Bay and wanted to walk under it. Okay so it's not really the lighthouse itself but the catwalk leading to the lighthouse.

Stacy and my first stop in Door County was the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal so I could walk under the lighthouse. 

The lighthouse is part of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal and is actually part of the US Coast Guard Station there. There is small parking lot to park in or some street parking. It is a bit outside of Sturgeon Bay but not too far.

You can walk under the catwalk to the end of the pier. It is wide enough that you don't feel like you are going to fall in. It is concrete which does get wet when the waves crash up on it from time to time.

We walked to the end of the pier and back. As we were headed back in a lady stopped us and asked if we knew that a big ship was coming through the canal. Of course not. So we turned around and waited for the ship. What's funny is we had to wait for the drawbridge as we came into Sturgeon Bay and commented to Stacy that a big ship was out there.

It turns out the ship that was coming through the canal was the Arthur M. Anderson which was the ship behind the Edmund Fitzgerald when it went down all those years ago.

Seeing a ship come through the canal was probably the highlight of my day. Just seeing the enormity of the ship as it made it's way through the canal from the bay of Green Bay to Lake Michigan was jaw dropping. From what I learned there is no schedule of when a ship is coming through and we just happened to get lucky.

Check out the Sturgeon Bay Ship Pierhead and lighthouse the next time you're in Sturgeon Bay and who knows maybe you'll see a ship too.

4814. See the lighthouses of Door County

When planning the Door County trip, one of things Bonnie wanted to do was see the lighthouses. We happened to be up in Door County for the Door County Lighthouse Festival which happens in spring and fall. The festival included different tours you could take to see the lighthouses. We opted for a two hour boat tour. It seemed like a nice way to see the lighthouses and spend an afternoon.

We boarded the small boat in Bailey's Harbor. The boat theoretically could hold 40 or so people but they kept it to about 20 so we would be comfortable. I honestly don't know how they could fit 40 people on the boat unless we were on each other's laps. It only had seating around the perimeter of the boat which the guide assured us, it didn't matter which side of the boat we sat on, we could still see all the lighthouses.

The first set of lighthouses we saw were the Bailey Harbor Range Lights... from a good distance away. The range lights guided the boats into the harbor back in the day. If the lights aligned you had clear sailing into the harbor. If they didn't, you better get them to align or risk running across the many shoals that litter the peninsula and becoming another shipwreck.

Our captain steered us over a couple of the shipwrecks in the area and like when we kayaked many years ago, they were difficult to see. All you really saw were dark shadows that they claim to be wooden beams and hulls of ships that ran into trouble coming into Bailey's Harbor. Maybe with some good scuba gear, one might be able to identify the shipwreck. To us it looked like Lake Michigan.

Motoring right along, our guide got us as close to The Bird Cage Lighthouse as he dared without hitting those shoals and grounding (or sinking) us. The Bird Cage Lighthouse got it's name for the bird cage like structure at the top of the lighthouse where the light was house. It is need of repair and it was hard to see because it was hidden behind trees.

The last lighthouse on our tour was the Cana Island lighthouse which is world famous for it's design. The actual light is so large you can walk in it and stand up... after walking up 82+ steps to get to it. Not that I would know.. we never got off the boat. I would have loved to see this lighthouse up close and personal. I would have loved to feel the temperature difference out on the observation deck which I was told was like 15-20 cooler than in Bailey's Harbor. I guess I will have to wade out there some other day.

It was a nice boat tour if you don't mind seeing 3 lighthouses from a distance. I honestly thought I was going to get a lot closer than we did... like actually docking at them. Silly me. It is not a bad tour but I wanted more... more lighthouses.. closer to them.. a bigger boat.. something to make the $52 worth it.

A Sunday Morning Adventure

Mom ordered this Wisconsin Travel guide and was telling me about Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac with the lighthouse and train. She was mainly telling me about it so my brother could take my nephew but I was interested it in seeing the lighthouse. I like lighthouses, especially ones you can climb. When I heard that I could climb this one, I wanted to go.

Mom made plans with me to meet them in Fond du Lac for lunch and then go to the Galloway House. I thought I would stop at the lighthouse on the way home. Once mom found out that there was an A&W in Fond du Lac, she wanted to go there for lunch. Well A&W and the lighthouse are 2 minutes apart. It was much easier for me to stop there on the way to lunch.

I knew there was a going to be a car show at the park from my research but what I didn’t know was the lack of parking. I almost had a spot right by the lighthouse but I thought it was too good to be true and passed it up. I ended up walk ½ mile back to the lighthouse which was fine since I need to get my steps in anyways.

The lighthouse was built in 1932 at the southern end of Lake Winnebago. It is a small lighthouse -- 40 feet. There are only about 60 steps to go up to the top.

 A little motivational graffiti

Visitors can climb the lighthouse free of charge from 8 AM – Sunset from April to October When I drove past there were several people on the observation deck but by the time I walked back to it, I was the only one on top. There is a nice view of Lake Winnebago and the surrounding area. 

On the walls there are a few pictures describing the history of the lighthouse and area. It isn’t much but there really doesn’t need to be.

After climbing the lighthouse, I wander through the car show.  There were a good number of cars. However being married to the hubby for all these years, I have learned to hone in Fords…especially Mustangs. I like all cars especially different looking ones. While there were plenty of cars that I like to look at, there were only a handful of Fords. While I enjoyed the car show, it would have been nice to share it with someone. Maybe once the hubby cuts back on umping, we can go to the car show together.

Since I still had time before I had to meet mom and dad for lunch, I continued to explore the park. I found a covered bridge that lead to the petting zoo.

There were a couple of deer in a pen to the left. I didn’t check out the rest of the petting zoo because I got sidetracked by the railroad tracks.  

They went through a tunnel and I thought that was cool. The train is a small train that went around the perimeter of the petting zoo. 

Then I saw the carousel. If I had my nephew, I probably would have rode it but I might have gotten funny looks if I ask for 1 ticket to ride the carousel.

There also was another little kiddie ride. Each ride was 1 ticket and each ticket was a dollar. You could also rent paddleboats and canoes.

I spent about an hour in the park climbing the lighthouse, wandering through the car show, and exploring. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. I wish I had more time to rent a paddle boat or something. Maybe one day I will get back and rent one. I do like adventures by myself but there do sometimes have downfalls like not being able to rent a paddleboat. Alas, until the next adventure…