To Sturgeon Bay

June 12, 2021

We stayed last night in River Hills Motel, a newly renovated older traditional place on the opposite side of the river from downtown. It’s just a room, with barely enough space to squeeze our bikes in, but the price was right and it was fine other than being a bit snug.

We’re in no hurry again today - it’s not too hot, and we have a short, easy ride ahead that almost qualifies as a rest day. We decide to have breakfast at the Captain’s Galley Room, the same place we enjoyed lunch at yesterday. They open at seven, and when we arrived at 7:05 after about a quarter mile walk along the river from our motel there were three tables occupied already.

I held us up for a few more photos of pretty Algoma, this time in the morning light. It probably cost us a place or two in the queue for breakfast.

After breakfast I sat around over a second cup of coffee while Rachael went next door to the bakery for a goodie for the road. She came back disappointed - the place was packed, and some items were selling out already. So we just headed back to the room to pack up, stopping along the way to admire the geese on the river, the many anthills mounded up along the seams in the sidewalk, and whatever else caught our attention. Nice place, Algoma.

Like I said, today’s ride doesn’t amount to much. We’re staying in Sturgeon Bay, which is only 20 miles away. I forget now why I picked this destination so close to Algoma, but we’re good with it. After ten straight biking days, we don’t mind a breather.

We followed the shore of Lake Michigan for the first half of the ride, and then angled northwest toward Sturgeon Bay. The whole ride was great, but especially those first ten miles. Serene, scenic, sunny. Pretty perfect.

The lilacs here are prolific and spectacular.

Save for this twenty car Porsche rally, the road was very quiet.

An eastern kingbird, a species I like that we don’t see out west. Right after taking this shot I looked up and saw four white pelicans soaring overhead.

This was a beautiful stretch of road. For a mile or two the road was just yards from the shore.

Crossing Sturgeon Bay and entering the town. The mouth of the bay is behind us, to the west. Looking ahead, it continues on as a a navigable ship canal that crosses the entire peninsula.

We arrived before noon at our Sturgeon Bay motel, the Best Western about a mile and a half north of downtown. We’re way out there because everything close in to very touristy Sturgeon Bay is quite expensive. We were happy to be able to check in to our room early, and after snacking in the room we left the panniers behind and took a second easy ride, this time across the bay to Potawatomi State park. It’s a pretty spot at the mouth of the bay, with some attractive low profile limestone cliffs lining the water.

We had hopes of staying near the park until dinner and then eating at Waterfront Mary’s, a bayside fish house right by the park - but they were closed to the public this afternoon to host a wedding party with 300 guests. The pandemic is over, apparently. Instead we headed back to the room, cleaned up, and walked downtown for a meal. I overate, and had to lug my meal back up the hill to the motel afterwards.

Looking across Sturgeon Bay, we see that the Cason J Callaway, a seventy year old cargo hauler, is in port. I wonder if ships this large navigate through the canal?

In Potawatomi State Park. At the tip of the park are some low limestone cliffs with cedars growing from the crevices here and there.

Looking across the mouth of Sturgeon Bay feom In Potawatomi State Park. The open water is Green Bay.

The John Purvis, a century-old tug that is now moored here as a permanent exhibit of the maritime museum. The ship was a originally a sea-going tug, the Butterfield, and saw action in the Aleutians in World War II.

Video sound track: Bright Moments, by Grover Washington, Jr.

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Jacquie GaudetThe RWGPS map looked very odd--the town of Sturgeon Bay was in the water. Switching to any other view fixed it.
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3 years ago

Ride stats today: 37 miles, 1,300’; for the tour: 529 miles, 15,500’

Today's ride: 37 miles (60 km)
Total: 528 miles (850 km)

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Jen RahnLove the lush greenery in that video!!
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3 years ago