Tuesday, 6/24/2014

Campground at Sandy Bay

Rained and stormed last night and it is very foggy this morning.  We called the  excursion company and ask whether they will still go and get an affirmative.  They do say that if the fog doesn’t lift in the first hour, they will return to port and refund the fares.   So we head back to Bayfield.

We arrive a bit early, so we find a nice parking place and make coffee and tea, warm those donuts and enjoy breakfast in the Trek as it is pretty chilly outside – 45!  Quite a few people are arriving, so we go ahead and get tickets and hope for the best!

Town of Bayfield

Bayfield Harbor

Our ride for the day

We board the Island Princess, operated by Apostle Island Cruises, at 9:30 or so and leave the harbor at 10:00 for a three hour cruise,  a three hour cruise!  (Shades of Gilligan’s Island!).   No tropical islands here, though, and we have read that you have about 10 minutes to save yourself or be saved in this water, after which hypothermia sets in and you are dead within an hour!  Yikes!  The captain announces that the water temp today is 48 degrees.

Island Princess is a pretty big boat and the captain and narrator is very experienced.  He starts out by saying we are heading first to Basswood Island “You can’t see it, but I know it’s out there!" As he starts the safety instructions he says," and for those on the top deck….oh nevermind, there is no one on the top deck today.”  There were about 80 of us on the lower deck.

We pass by Basswood, Hermit, Stockton and Manitou Island, each of which has its associated stories.  By the time we reach Manitou the fog has lifted enough that we can see the old fish camp there with the net reels. 

Several of the islands were logged and several had quarries.  Now all but Madeleine Island are part of the National Lakeshore Park.

When we head for Devil’s Island, the furtherest one,  we get into a bit of Lake Superior and the ride is definitely more rough, with occasional big waves which we rode up and then dropped into the trough!  

After about 20 minutes of that we get into the lee of the island and it calmed down so that we could enjoy the lighthouse there and the many sea caves. 

The island is made mostly of sandstone and the waves have carved many caves and arches.  Hard to capture with a camera, but most impressive when you are there!

We head back toward Bayfield, going by Bear Island and then the lighthouse on Raspberry Island. 

Now that the fog has lifted a good bit, you can see many of the islands and realize how close together they are.  This fishing boat doubles as a cruise ship for sea gulls!

Back on dry land again, we climb in the trek, turn on the heat and warm up while I make some hot soup for  a late lunch.  This concludes our circle tour of Lake Superior, as we decide to skip the final 50 miles to Superior and Duluth, where we began.  Close enough for us!

We spend most of the afternoon driving south and a little east toward Wausau.  Passed by the Wisconsin Concrete Park – another of those “folk art” things, this one done by a retired lumberjack.

We gradually get back a bit more to farmland and dairies, some very large. See a beautiful but camera-shy bald eagle.  Beth enjoys a break with a root beer float at a tiny A&W!  Yum!  (The temperature is almost 70 by then!)  The barn quilts are back.

Our friends in Wausau are still on the road, (They are Roadtrekkers returning from Cape Cod) unfortunately, so we visit our local WallyWorld and had a good night there.