May 2023
At some point this post will be updated as I still intend to visit Door County and the Dells. With all the traveling I was not up for driving up and down another state so decided to pick one area and since I was already as far north as Pictured Rocks, the choice was Bayfield to tour the Apostle Islands. I can say that Wisconsin, like Minnesota, has a lot of flying bugs. I stopped twice on my four hour drive to wash my car and windshield as I could not see where I was going. On the plus side, the people I did meet were nice (which is also my experience with my friends from Wisconsin). I finally tried a famous UP pastie (though that could have been in Michigan as I was close to the border; it all blends after a while).
BAYFIELD. Cute town once you get there. The towns along the way have yet to be redeveloped and some appear a bit rough though they do have city campgrounds where there appeared to be plenty of spots. I came here to get out on the water to see the Apostle Islands. I had hoped to kayak but everything that morning was booked so I settled for a boat tour. See below. On the plus side, I avoided getting into a used wetsuit which is a requirement to do the kayak tours due the very cold water found in Lake Superior. While I waited for the tour I spent my morning at the local coffee shop, Wonderstate Coffee, which had very good coffee and a cool vibe.
APOSTLE ISLANDS. The four hour Apostle Islands boat tour was just too long and after about an hour of moving on a ferry at 17mph, I started to feel like I was back on the Sausalito ferry heading to work but without my ferry friends to keep me company. Most of my fellow passengers were ready for the trip to end after a couple of hours. The islands look similar from the water and most of the tour was spent listening to the personal stories of the captain blasting through speakers and hearing him complain when those he could see were talking instead of hanging onto his words. If I could go back int time, I would be sure to book ahead and get on the fast boat (the one that books up) and sit on the left side of the boat so I saw more of the islands versus water. The one positive of the small slow boat was that it could pull in close to the famous rocks at Devils Island and when all the flies and mosquitos came on board as we neared the shore I was grateful that I was unable to land a sea cave kayak tour.
LOWER WISCONSIN STATE RIVER / SAINT CROIX. I came to this area after Apostle hoping to kayak but realized in arriving that night that the flying bugs would be just too overwhelming which I verified in my search on All Trails. I arrived a bit too late to find decent lodging so ended up continuing my drive into Minnesota where the prices were far lower for the same quality of motel (a fancy Super 8). The area was pretty and would be good to visit after the bugs calm down.
DOOR COUNTY and THE DELLS. Coming at a future date.