31 Jul 2022 - Visit to Little Sand Bay Recreation Area

 31 Jul

This morning we drove about 20 miles north near the town of Russell WI to the Little Sand Bay Recreation Area.  This area is part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (National Park).  We primarily wanted to look over the campground but also the sandy beach area.  There is also a huge boat dock and a picnic area with gazebo.  We took the back way there which included an unpaved road for part of the route.

The National Park Service folks there in the visitor center were very friendly and  helpful.  Doreen was curious where she could get her lighthouse passport book stamped for the lighthouses we will be seeing in the next couple days, and they pointed us to a gift shop in La Pointe.

Outside the visitor center was a historic display featuring a couple fishing boats which is the history of the area.  Commercial fishing has been the mainstay in the Sand Bay area for many years, but back in the 1920's, the Hokenson brothers began a commercial fishing operation here.  During the fall herring season, the brothers would fish at night as it was cooler and would be easier to preserve their catch. The wat the story goes, their friends noted this habit and said, "There go the twilight fishermen."  The Hokenson's therefore named their fishing boat the "Twilite".    

The winch mechanism inside and this chute are part of the net lifting system.  The nets were very heavy when loaded with fish

The Twilite was equipped with a housing that enclosed the fishermen and protected them from the severe elements of Lake Superior

 

Many fishermen in the early 1900's used open boats like this one.  

The crates were used to transport the fish 

We then headed for the boat dock which is really nice and huge, protected by a breakwater.  The National Park Service has three boats there, but as we walked out the dock, another boat arrived to pick up the passengers (shown on the dock with their cargo) and take them to one of the nearby islands for a vacation.  The area to the left of the dock is a launch for kayaks.

We then strolled the beach where Doreen looked for interesting rocks.  No "seashells" here, but lots of granite!  The water is crystal clear.

The water is very cold!

Beautiful sand beaches all along the shore

One of the reasons for our visit was to have a look at the campground, and it was nearly full!  This is another very popular area for kayakers.  We will keep this on out list for future camping in this area.

When we got back to the campground I cleaned our front cap as we had acquired some bugs on the trip up here from Antigo.  That is about it for today.  Tomorrow we head for the dock here in La Pointe for the Grand Boat Cruise which will take us on a 3 hour boat ride around the Apostle Islands. 

30 Jul 2022 - Visit to Madeline Island

 30 Jul

This morning Doreen, Liberty and I, and our big ol' brown truck boarded the Madeline Island Ferry at the Bayfield terminal for a 20 minute ride to Madeline Island.  

Some interesting information we learned:

"Gidanamikaagoo omaa mooningwanekaaning"...Welcome to Madeline Island in Anishinaabe, also called Ojibwe, the native language of the Ojibwe Tribes.  The Ojibwe people lived here hundreds of years before the first arrival of the European fur traders and missionaries.  The island's English namesake is Madeline Cadotte (Ikwesewe), a prominent local 19th century Ojibwe woman who's father was Chief Waabajijaak.  Her husband was Michel Cadotte (Gighi-miishen), a fur trader of Ojibwe and French ancestry.  

There are apparently many place names in Wisconsin that come from the Ojibwe language because of the people's long history in the area.  Many of the signs on Madeline Island have been translated into Ojibwe to reflect the island's history.

So back on the ferry, there were just a few other vehicles and a handful of people headed that way, so plenty of room.  $17 per person + $45 for the truck so $79 total. 

Green dot is our campground.  Yellow is the ferry route

The rules require you exit your vehicle during the trip, but Liberty caught a short nap in the truck on the way over.  

The passenger area on the second level

Other passengers enjoying the view

The pilot house - off limits

The channel between the mainland and Madeline Island is fairly deep!

Once on Madeline Island we departed the ferry and drove through the town of La Pointe to the other end of the island.  Most of the houses on the island are hidden from the road by the trees.  It wasn't until we passed the State Park that we got a good look of the southern shoreline.

On the return to La Pointe we stopped at the Big Bay Town Park which borders the state park to the east.  We hiked down a trail to a staircase with an overlook of the Big Bay Lagoon and then out on a wooden walkway along the sandy shore of Big Bay.  There we a few tent campers, hikers, kayakers and picnickers there.  Kayaks are very popular as they transport easily,  and provide a convenient way to navigate around the islands and explore the shoreline.  

Big Bay Logoon

Wooden walkway across Big Bay Lagoon

We made our way down the stairway, across the walkway and onto Big Bay shore.  The nice wooden walkway along the beach provides a convenient way to make your way down the beach without disturbing the vegetation which they are trying to bring back.  

Liberty enjoying her walk

Doreen coming back from rock hunting along the shore.  The water was very cold!

Beautiful sand beach all along Big Bay

We walked to the end of the Big Bay Town Park which is where Big Bay State Park started.  It is also where the wooden walkway ended and from there on pets were prohibited.  

We decided to head back towards town and walk around there.  Things were starting to get busier as it is Saturday morning and the ferry runs every hour on the hour until 0900 hrs and then it is every 30 minutes until late afternoon.  Parking was no issue, just one block off the main road.

A sign at the museum which was not yet open

Not sure what this was all about...

Bell St tavern and events/lodging

The Pub Restaurant and Wine Bar with a Lighthouse - closed.

  

We walked all around La Pointe and then stopped for a rest at one of the local establishments. It was time to head back towards the ferry.  Not too many were headed back to Bayfield yet, so no huge line to get the truck back onboard.

We had a great time exploring Madeline Island today and Liberty seemed to enjoy the trip as well.  Back at the campground Doreen did some laundry and we settled in to watch the Cubs play the San Francisco Giants.

Tomorrow we may drive to the north shore and check out another campground for future trips.

29 Jul 2022 - Arrived at Bayfield WI and the Apostle Islands Area Campground

 29 Jul

Phase II of our 2022 adventures is well underway as we departed Antigo WI this morning at 0923 hrs and headed west and north to Bayfield WI. 

The drive up this morning was great.  Traffic was light and there was minimal construction.  Our route brought us through Minoqua WI where we camped in 2015 and attended their famous roast beef festival! 

We ate here with Diane and Greg in 2015

A future shopping target for Doreen in Minoqua

The driving scenery reminded us of Maine.  We were watchful of wildlife but none were spotted.

We arrived at the Apostle Islands Area Campground at 1322 hrs after driving 195 miles, 3 hrs 59 minutes with just one potty stop and no fuel stops.  Bayfield is on the northern edge of Wisconsin right on Lake Superior.  Our campground is just minutes from town.  This is stop# 21 out of 37 this year.  We will be here until Wednesday 3 Aug.  

The Apostle Islands Area Campground has recently expanded, opening a whole new area around the first of the year.  We made our reservations last fall so we were assigned one of the older spot.  When we discovered this a few days ago I called them to find out if we could move to the newer area and it was completely booked.  It turns out that was ok as the spot we got, site #50, is just fine.  It is a back-in site rather than a preferred pull-through, but it is not as level as we normally prefer.  We do have some shade, no neighbors on three sides and we can see the satellite!  

After setting up we stopped by the office to check in.  Friendly folks here and a very nice office set-up complete with a gift shop and ice cream!!  

Old doors used as outside decorations.

Inside the office looks like a vintage camper!

Ice cream shop - of course we had to try it!

From there we strolled through the newer area.  They have a swimming pond that everyone can use, a bath house with laundry facilities and 35 new pull-through sites.  Around the swimming pond there are a couple cabins now with slabs poured for a total of 12.  

The modern Conestoga wagon you can rent, complete with bathroom and shower facilities!

The newly developed campground swimming pond with two cabins 

The new pull-through area.

Later we took a drive into Bayfield and it looked very familiar since we visited here in 2017 when we were camping east of Duluth.  Tomorrow we plan to take the ferry to Madeline Island for the day and take Liberty with us.  Monday and Tuesday we have already bought tickets on two different island cruises, both will have viewing of different lighthouses.  The Raspberry Island Cruise actually stops on the island, we believe.  Tomorrow we will confirm this.

The ferry we will take tomorrow to Madeline Island

Where our island cruise ships will depart

Bayfield harbor and a park in the foreground

We walked around the downtown Bayfield area and got the details for tomorrow's ferry ride.  Then we visited Morty's Pub for dinner. 

Friday night features fish in most of the restaurants here so I had whitefish and chips and Doreen opted for a burger.

Closing for tonight.  As mentioned, tomorrow is Madeline Island via the ferry.