5389. Hit all the wineries on the Door County Wine Trail -- Anchored Roots

 It doesn't surprise me that Door County has a wine trail. The Door is full of wineries. I decided I want to go to them all. I have already been to several: Door Peninsula, Harbor Ridge, Simon Creek, and Von Stiehl. Now it's time to visit the other 6. I told my cousins for either an early or belated 45 birthday celebration, I wanted to hit all the wineries in Door County that I've not yet been to. Since they didn't go this year, it will have to be a belated 45 celebration. This gives a whole year to knock off a couple more.

The first winery that I decided to visit was one I never heard of. My cousin asked if I got up to Door County, if I would stop and get them a bottle of wine at Anchored Roots. I did know such a winery existed. I even asked Andrea who never heard of it. It is a newer winery just outside of Egg Harbor. It was founded in 2020. They are open 11-5 Wednesday-Monday. 

I wasn't planning on doing a tasting at Anchored Roots. I literally went in for a bottle. While I was waiting, I found out if I bought a bottle the tasting is free. I wasn't driving so it was a great plan. Free wine for buying a bottle. Tastings are normally $10 for 5 tastes. You can also get flights. 

They have 14 different wines to pick from on a laminated sheet. I had a tough time deciding on 5 wines because there were not a lot of fruity wines. It was definitely of a more developed palate type winery. I still love my fruit wines.  

I tried

2020 Rose -- which is dry rose. I don't mind rose but this one was definitely on the drier side. I'm still a sweet wine girl. It wasn't bad but not my favorite.

2023 The Ledge Rose -- This was an off-dry rose. It was better than the straight rose but still too dry for me.

2022 Riesling -- This was a bonus sample since the guy accidentally poured it for me. I wasn't complaining. Free wine is free wine. This actually turned out to be my favorite. It was nice and refreshing. I was tempted to get a bottle but not sure if anyone else would like it.

2023 Frontenac Gris -- This was a fruiter white wine with hints of pineapple and fruit cocktail. I got hints of the fruit but definitely too tropical for me. I am seriously picky of what wines I like lately.

2023 La Crescent -- This one is another semi-sweet white with hints of orange. I definitely got hints of orange. It was alright but not a huge fan.

2022 Petite Pearl -- This was a dry red with hints of blackberry. By the time I got here, I could remember what I was tasting anymore. Everything blended together. It didn't really stand out.

I did pick up my cousins' bottle of Chardonnay. They do have some pretty bottles.

I was not a huge fan of the place but I have a simple wine palate. Maybe it will grow on me one day or maybe Basil has turned me into a fruit wine snob. If your wine palate is more sophisticated, this is definitely a place for you. I would definitely check it out either way as they are a nice winery and you can sit outside and enjoy a glass or flight. Definitely not a pretentious place. 

5362. Go to Newport State Park in Ellison Bay

 After leaving Sister Bay Library and getting ice cream, we had time to kill and decided to go check out Newport State Park. It was only about 15 minutes up the road. Neither of has been to Newport before so it was a pretty easy decision especially with the day pass to the state parks.

Besides Rock Island State Park, Newport State Park is located the furthest north on the Door Peninsula.  It is located off of Hwy 42 in Ellison Bay. It is also a Dark Sky Park which means you can see the milky way really well from inside park. It is the only place in Wisconsin to be designated a dark sky park and one of 48 world wide. 

There is a small visitor center with a small gift shop. I picked up a post card and a pin. 

Heather and I decided to hike the poetry trail because it was only .6 miles. We were not looking for a long hike. We just wanted to say we've been to Newport State Park.

The Poetry Trail is right across from the visitor center. It is actually part of the Monarch Loop and Rawley's Bay Trail Loop Trails. Like it's name would suggest, there are poems along the trail. They are 10 of them that change seasonally. 

We did not complete the trail. We forgot to put bug spray on and we were getting eaten alive. We probably made it about a quarter of mile before turning around. It was a pretty rugged trail not like the trail to Old Baldy at Whitefish Dunes. I had to make sure I didn't trip over any rocks.

I really enjoyed the little romp in the woods. Hopefully I will get back to explore Newport State Park more when it's not so buggy. I would love to enjoy the dark sky park too. It is definitely worth checking out. 

5742. Go to Door County Ice Cream Factory in Sister Bay

When we did our library road trip, I wanted to try Door County Ice Cream Factory if possible. Mainly because I wanted a picture by the ice cream mural. Since we had time to kill, I was able to do this.

Door County Ice Cream Factory is located on the north end of Sister Bay, almost as you head out of town. They are open every day during peak season 11-9 or later. 

Originally Door County Ice Cream Factory opened its doors in 1912 and has many owners over the years but one thing remains the same, they still make all their flavors in house. They also serve sandwiches and pizza.

There are about fourteen different flavors. I went with a new one called Brownie by the Bay which was delicious. Heather opted to find a treat elsewhere. She needed more than ice cream. I was too hungry to even take a picture of my cone

It is cute little place with rich history. The sandwiches looked good. 

I took a picture of the mural but didn't take a picture with it. Alas next trip. 

Wilson's is still my favorite door county ice cream place but Door County Ice Cream Factory does rate right up there. Door County does not lack ice cream opportunities. I think I have visited most of them and will eventually check them all out. 

If you find yourself in Sister Bay on a hot summer day, check out Door County Ice Cream Factory. You won't be disappointed. 

5351. Climb Old Baldy at Whitefish Dunes State Park in Sturgeon Bay

InfoSoup Library System is doing another library road trip this year. Instead of going crazy like we did last year, I really only wanted to hit the Door County Libraries. Mainly I just wanted an excuse to visit Door County. I brought this up with Heather and she agreed to tag along. I suggested a few adventures and when State Parks are involved, she is game. 

I wanted to climb Old Baldy. This is not the hubby's cup of tea so I figured Heather would be up for the adventure. Old Baldy is a sand dune located in Whitefish Dunes State Park. I only briefly crossed into Whitefish Dunes when we were at Cave Point once since they butt up against each other. Since it's a state park, it does require an entrance fee. I went online and bought a day pass for $8. This would get us in any of the State Parks in Door County except Peninsula since their day fee is $10 and wasn't sure if I could use it at the other parks. Some of the area libraries had daily state park passes too. I figured $8 was a good deal. 

After checking out the visitor center and spraying ourselves with bug spray, we headed to the red trail. The red trail is a 1.2 mile out and back trail (so 2.4 miles round trip). This is the main trail that leads you to Old Baldy. There is also a parking lot up near the yellow trail that would be a shorter walk but you had to read maps and all that fun stuff. Since it wasn't too hot in the park, we decided to just do the red trail. 

Unlike the trail at Indiana Dunes State Park to do the 3 Dune Challenge, the red trail is a fairly easy trail. There is very little elevation gain and it is gravel, wood chips, or dirt. It definitely was doable and you are not walking on hot sand.

You do not actually climb Old Baldy. It walk up a series of stairs to the top of the dune. This is so much easier than actually climb up a sand dune. I was still slightly huffing and puffing when I got to the top but no where near the strenuous workout I was expecting. 

The views from the top aren't bad. You are not quite about the tree tops so you don't get a clear view of Lake Michigan from all directions but it still a nice view. We stayed on top for a few minutes before climbing back and down heading back to our car.

Along the trail are wild raspberries. They weren't quite ripe enough to eat. I was tempted but we were about a week or so too early. Oh well. Maybe next time.

I definitely would like to go back to Whitefish Dunes State Park and explore other trails or even to climb Old Baldy again. It is quieter than Peninsula Park and the trails don't seem as difficult. It is a more of a meandering through the sandy woods kind of park since it's right on Lake Michigan. 

Seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales

 One of the local news station announced that the Budweiser Clydesdales were coming to Green Bay as part of a cross-country tour to raise money for Folds of Honor. I joked to the hubby that too bad he wasn't at Bayport Thursday night as the Clydesdales were going to be at the Festival Foods in Saumico. We could have stopped. Then I saw they moved that stop to the Festival Foods in De Pere. I can totally drive to De Pere to see horses. 

The Clydesdales were to be at the De Pere Festival Foods from 4-6. I wanted to go to a library event in Little Chute at 5 so it was perfect. 

I got up there around 3:40. There were plenty of people already hang out in front of the store. Not a lot but enough. I found a nice shady spot to stand and within 10 minutes the Budweiser truck was pulling in.

It took them about 10 minutes to get the truck in place and the horse out. Yes.. Horse.. as in one horse. Not the whole team. That might had to do with it was like 85 out. I really don't know but I was kind of bummed that it was only one horse. It was still a Budweiser Clydesdale so there's always that.

The Clydesdale was not a full grown horse. It was only a little taller than me and he didn't have a nice set of fur boots yet. 

I decided to wait in line to get my picture taken with the Clydesdale. It only took about 20-25 minutes. The line would have probably moved faster if it was better organized. It was not completely chaotic and everyone was nice about it. 

I talked to one lady who was older than I was. She said she was telling her daughter about seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales and her daughter was like "what? You are going to see a horse?". Her mom was the it's the BUDWEISER horses. She had no clue. That is said. They are iconic. 

If you get the chance to see the Budweiser Clydesdales, do it. They are beautiful horses and just one of those things you should see. Yes, going to Warm Springs Ranch, home of the Budweiser Clydesdales, is on my bucket list. I'm just bummed we couldn't have seen them deliver beer to the various establishments with the beer wagon the next night. 

5208. Go to the Calumet County Historical Museum in Chilton

 The hubby decided he wanted to check out the Calumet County Historical Museum so I added it to the list. We had some free time and decided to go check it out.

The Calumet County Historical Museum is located in Chilton just off of Hwy 57. It is only open Sundays 1-4 June through September. It is free to visit. Parking is behind the museum.

There are two buildings to the museum plus a small cabin. The first building has a lot of stuff in it. Stuff being the optimal word. It looked like a flea market. A lot of stuff was not labeled or labeled with numbers. It was a lot of random house hold items and farm implements that people would have used in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some of it was very disorganized. Really the only thing cool in there was the 44 star US flag. 

The second building was the better of the two buildings. It illustrated all the one room schoolhouses in Calumet County and where they were. Someone put a lot of time in this and even found pictures of them. There was also a list of what happened to the schools. Most of the either were turned into residences or abandoned. 

The log cabin was a very small. It was really only one room but very interesting to see. It was built in 1860. I was slightly put off by the fact they put down carpet to protect the floor. It did not fit with the carpet at all. 

This really was not the hubby's better choices of things to do. I've seen better flea markets. If you like looking at old stuff, definitely check it out some Sunday afternoon. 

5063. Go to the Vulcan Replica House in Appleton

 While on my urban hike, I noticed that the Vulcan House was open for tours on Sundays. I made a mental note of this and informed the hubby of it. He said he would like to check out too. Due to rain, we couldn't that weekend but found some time a few weeks later.

The Vulcan House is actually a replica of the original Vulcan House built in 1882. It is only open for tours Sundays May-October 12-3 weather permitting. You can also call for tours during those months as well. It is free to visit and is run by the Appleton Historical Society.

Thanks to Heather pointing out where I could park to walk the new walking bridge, I knew where to park. We ended up parking in the old Neenah Paper Mill lot off of Lawe Street. It was a very short walk to the Vulcan House. The lot Heather showed me would have been a much farther walk. 

The Replica Vulcan House is really just a lean to shed. It was built to produce hydroelectric power to the Hearthstone House, the Appleton Paper Mill, and 4 other homes in the area. The replica was built in 1932 for the 50th anniversary of the first house to be powered by hydroelectricity. 

Inside the house is not much. It contains 2 leather belts, a replica water wheel, and an original Edison K dynamo. These pieces of equipment worked together to produce water power from the Fox River. It is very noisy. The person in charge would watch 2 light bulbs to determine if more or less power would need to be generated. I am sure it was a very boring, lonely, and probably cold/hot job. 

The Edison K dynamo was a generator that helped produce the power needed. The one in the Vulcan Replica was donated by Henry Ford himself. When they were building the replica, a group of individuals traveled to Dearborn, MI in hopes of securing one. When Mr. Ford heard of what they were looking for and why, he graciously donated it to the individuals.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend taking an hour on a Sunday afternoon to go check out the Vulcan Replica House. Then go to tour the Hearthstone House and learn all about the family that brought hydroelectricity to the Fox Valley.