Tag: Wisconsin
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Miscellaneous Bayfield Locations
Apostle Islands & Bayfield Peninsula, Wisconsin (August 2007) Stunningly clear views of the Apostle Islands and the mainland led the way to the Mawikwe Sea Caves. Now on our return trip, passengers jostled railings for viewing space as we sailed away from the northwestern tip of the peninsula towards the Bayfield marina. We completed our…
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Sand Island and Eagle Island
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Bayfield County, Wisconsin (August 2007) We cruised past Sand Island and spied its famous lighthouse in the distance, a tan notch along a forested cliff. The Sand Island Lighthouse first shined in 1881 as a companion to the nearby Raspberry Island light. Ships heading east to Ashland couldn’t see Raspberry Island…
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Raspberry Island
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; Bayfield County, Wisconsin (August 2007) Mariners navigated through the Apostle Islands with the Raspberry Island Light as their companion since its 1863 activation. This “Showplace of the Apostles” took its present form in 1906 when the U.S. Lighthouse Service expanded the keeper’s quarters to accommodate additional workers to operate a new…
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Milwaukee Breakwater Light
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA (2008) A four mile concrete breakwater protects Milwaukee harbor and the mouth of its river from cruel and punishing storms that form on Lake Michigan and slam against the shoreline. Ships accessing the protective waters of the harbor sail through a small aperture. The Milwaukee Breakwater Light marks the approach (map). The…
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Cana Island Lighthouse
Door County, Wisconsin (September 2000) Door County, Wisconsin attracts large numbers of visitors because of its natural beauty and its ease of access from large population centers such as Green Bay, Milwaukee and Chicago. One of the loveliest spots was Cana Island with its impressive lighthouse (map). One can reach Cana Island by walking across…
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Fort St. Antoine
South of Stockholm, Wisconsin (June 2009) We noticed an unusual roadside historical marker (map) on our journey down Wisconsin’s portion of the Great River Road just south of the small town of Stockholm. We pulled over to check it out. It read: Wisconsin Official Marker. Site of Fort St. Antoine 1686. Nicholas Perrot was a…
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Washington Island and Ferry
Door County, Wisconsin (September 2000) Washington Island sits within Lake Michigan off the northernmost point of the Door Peninsula. It is a continuation of the ridge that forms the peninsula except that a portion of it is submerged, so an island forms where the ridge returns to the surface. No bridge connects this island to…
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Madeline Island – Bayfield Ferry
Crossing to Lake Superior’s Madeline Island, Wisconsin (August 2007) We drove north up the peninsula from Ashland but we still had to find a way across the Chequamegon Bay to Madeline Island. No road connected Bayfield (map) to La Pointe (map). With only 200 year-round residents, it simply wasn’t practical to build a towering suspension…
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Lake Michigan Car Ferry
Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Ludington, Michigan (September 2000) The S.S. Badger crossed Lake Michigan between Manitowoc, Wisconsin (map) and Ludington, Michigan (map). The total trip took about four hours and saved significant time versus driving around the lake, although we actually took the ferry more to enjoy the ride. The huge boat held perhaps a hundred…
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Cassville Car Ferry
Crossing the Mississippi River between Wisconsin & Iowa (June 2009) The Cassville Car Ferry (map) crosses the Mississippi River between Cassville, Wisconsin and Turkey River, Iowa. Bridges across the Upper Mississippi are scarce. The river is wide and in these rural areas making it difficult to justify the cost of construction and maintenance of bridge…