the wandering chick
...Door County, Wisc.
with Madi and Mookie

Wisconsin's Door County was the location chosen for a couple days of fun and relaxation by my sister, my great-niece Madi and myself.

It was a good choice. We got to the peninsula at cherry season and tried to get our fill of fresh cherries in any form we could. We even found a cherry salsa, which turned out to be delicious.

Door County is a series of coastal towns on a narrow peninsula that jets northward between Lake Michigan on the east side and Green Bay on the west.

We stayed in Egg Harbor and explored a few of the towns to the north, but we also spent a full day on Washington Island, a 30-minute ferry ride from the very north tip of the peninsula.

The journey didn't end there. We got back to Beck's house and got up the next day to visit Minnehaha Falls, which Madi hadn't seen before. Then on the last day, we visited Cannon Falls on our way to take Madi home.

The pictures on this page are of the three of us acting silly and just having a good time exploring new territory. We're not sure where a trip next year may take us, but we hope it will be as much fun.

sunset over green bay
We stayed at the Alpine Lodge in Egg Harbor and got a glimpse of the sunet over Green Bay.
ducks on rock
We visited Egg Harbor's beach where we found these ducks sunning.
cherry pie - NOT
We couldn't wait to get some of the area's fresh savory cherry pie into our pie holes. Here's our first bites! But wait!!! This isn't cherry!!!@#%%$#$!! Awwwww, mannnnn!!!$%^^&%$#!!
Gill Rock boat dock
A drive up the west coast of the peninsula landed us at Gills Rock.
goat on roof
Sister Bay is known for a lot of things, but one of the main highlights that gets all the tourists in a jovial mood is seeing the goats on the roof of the Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant. A tradition for decades, the goats graze on the roof's sod all day in the warm months and are taken down each night to a cozy barn. They spend the cold winter months in a location on the outskirts of town.
goats on roof
goat on roof
Sister Bay beach
There ARE other interests in Sister Bay, such as the calm waters of its beach.
Sister Bay beach
ferry to washington island
We may have missed this ferry going to Washington Island, but we were one of the first in line on the next one. The trip was 30 minutes, the sun was out, and the waters were calm. Perfect!
beck and madi on the ferry
beck and madi on the ferry
a cairn we built
Our first stop once we got to the island was, of course, a beach! This was a small beach on the island's east side...
madi on beach
...where we built a cairn.
our own cairn on the beach
shore rocks
tower overlooking the island
Near the center of the island is the Mountain Wayside Park and Observation Deck. We climbed way too many stairs to get to the tower, then we had to climb the tower itself! But the view up there was beautiful. (Only two of us did the climb...one is a little afraid of heights.)
madi on the observation deck
beck giving thumbs up from down below
the tower
madi on the stairs to the tower
the view from the top
the stairs to the tower
farm museum
madi behind glasses
We visited the Washington Island Farm Museum ...
feeding a chicken
...where Madi finally got this funny-looking chicken to eat corn kernels from her hand. I think he probably couldn't see them because of all the hair covering his eyes! That was one weird-looking bird.
Jacobsen Log Cabin
We also visited this wonderful little log cabin called Jacobsen Museum, located on the south shore of Little Lake. Jens Jacobsen built the structure in the early quarter of the century. Nothing much has changed on the inside since being filled with old historic artifacts from the island.
Jacobsen Museum
beck and madi
beck and madi on the path to a lighthouse
After leaving the island and heading back to Door County, we drove along the east side, next to Lake Michigan. We stopped at the Cana Island Lighthouse. It was closed, but we were still able to see it and to walk on the shore of Lake Michigan.
What are you doing to her ear??? Get OUT of there!
madi and beck
cana island lighthouse
Much better!
Schoolhouse Beach
We sat a few minutes on Schoolhouse Beach and gathered a few pretty white rocks. There were plenty to choose from!
on the small lighthouse beach
white rocks on Schoolhouse Beach
a rabbit in the brush
Mookie got a little jumpy, and Madi a little giggly when this rabbit attempted to cross our path. He saw us and ran for the bushes!
sunset
sunset
sunset
sunset
We got back to Egg Harbor just in time to catch this beautiful sunset.
We left Door County on a Thursday morning, and all the way back to St. Paul we looked for a Sonic. We finally ended up at a McDonald's close to the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. The next day, we got up and visited Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis.
Minnehaha Falls
Minnehaha Falls
Minnehaha Falls
Minnehaha (city) Park and falls is located in Minneapolis at the lower end of the Minnehaha Creek. The 53-foot drop is one of the most popular and most photographed features of Minneapolis.
Minnehaha Creek
Madi in the creek
Minnehaha Creek
Minnehaha Creek
We were sad to leave Madi on Friday, but she had a bunch of things to look forward to to end out her summer. We made one last stop in Cannon Falls, Minnesota on our way south to drop her off. She got one last attempt there to feed some birds...this time, swans. They seem to be a little hungrier than that silly chicken.
Cannon Creek Falls
swan grabbing food
swan grabbing food
swan grabbing food
Here's a link to our Duluth trip.

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Here's a link to a South Dakota trip with Mackenzie.