Lake Michigan Tour Day 3: Algoma to Washington Island, WI

June 21, 2022

Before I start, here’s a sunset picture from walking back to my motel after dinner in Algoma:

The day started in the low 70s in Algoma – I grabbed a breakfast sandwich from a local store, and headed out. The first 15 miles were pretty boring – just farmland.

Llama or Alpaca? I'm not sure I know the difference.

I did pass a cool church at one intersection. I occasionally see churches for sale around the country and have often thought of renovating one into a home, but the timing was never right. This one wasn't for sale, but was exactly the type I would like. Neat and trim - not too big - quiet neighbors...

Once I passed Sturgeon Bay, I was actually in the Door County peninsula. My route took me right over to the lakeshore, and I soon became cold! The temp got down to 54, so I had to stop and pull out a jacket. Of course 30 minutes later I was a bit inland and had to peel it off.

Most roads near the lakefront in Door County look like this – running through woods with cabins on both sides. When my parents lived in suburban Chicago, my dad had a co-worker who let us use his cabin a few times up here. I’m sure I passed it, but didn’t remember where it was.

What I did notice is the newer cabins are much larger than what I remember from 25-30 years ago. Back then you mostly saw small cottages or simple a-frames tucked into the woods. These homes looked much fancier, and had larger clearings with lawns and landscaping. I was also passed by a few Mercedes & Porsches with Illinois plates – I guess that’s where most of the money is coming from.

My route meandered back and forth through the middle of the peninsula. Next to this lake, I stopped at a roadhouse for lunch – a very fresh perch sandwich!

Aaaaand then it got hot again. First in the upper 80s for a while before settling at 91-92 as I got closer. There were more hills as well, which didn’t help. I again had to detour off my route to find a gas station and some cold drinks. This is a change from last year – in Nebraska and Iowa, with all the farmland, the roads have to go through small towns, all of which have some sort of gas-station or store, so it was easy to top off drinks every few miles. Here, it’s some farms, and lots of vacation homes, and my routing software was keeping me AWAY from the towns, because that’s where the busier highways were. C’est la vie!

At last I reached the ferry terminal, and was just in time to roll on. They had an air-conditioned cabin, but once we got out on the water, the breeze became much cooler and felt really nice.

Washington Island Ferry Going the Other Way

There are several islands off the tip of Door County. Washington Island is the largest. Plum Island is a smaller one, and is designated as a bird sanctuary.

The US Coast Guard Auxiliary maintains a station on the north side of Plum Island, and my ferry ride gave me a good view of it. When I worked in Milwaukee, I communicated regularly with that station – it’s seasonal, and only manned in the summer months. It looks great – and a local told me it’s been extensively renovated in recent years.

Washington Island is the largest of the islands of Door County. It is about 25 square miles in area, and pretty much supported by tourism.

Once my ferry docked, it was 2 miles to my stay, a really quiet place on the west shore of the island with views of the sunset. After checking in and showering it was dinner time. I was recommended a cool old restaurant/pub, so I cycled another two miles to get there.

Nelsen’s Hall and Bitters Club claims to have been continuously operating and serving alcohol since 1902, even through prohibition, mostly because the authorities didn’t make the effort to cross up to the island to enforce the law. They eventually did weather a legal challenge – read more here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/nelsens-hall-bitters-club

I had some of the best whitefish I’ve ever tasted. It’s caught locally and cleaned just 5 miles away. There’s nothing like fish that was just pulled out of the water! I even joined the bitters club (read the article)!

I headed back to the resort, and sat on a bench by the shoreline, and watched the sun set for about 30 minutes. Several other guests did as well - it seems to be "a thing" at that resort. It’s the longest day of the year so the sunset got quite late. My window looked out over that shoreline, so I left it open, and the gentle sound of the waves made me sleep like a baby.

Most relevant song today was Older, by They Might be Giants. Given the aches and pains I was feeling right then, it seemed especially timely.

Stats: 83.8 miles, 2172 vertical feet, Average speed 13mph.

Tomorrow takes me back down the peninsula to Sturgeon Bay. It’ll be a shorter, easier day!

Today's ride: 84 miles (135 km)
Total: 249 miles (401 km)

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