8-24-2023 Door County, WI

We did the Door County Experience once in the sunshine, 21 years ago.  This time, it was foggy, gloomy and cold.  I won’t be paddleboarding.  The Great Lakes, with an average water temperature of 65F, take no prisoners.  Cold?  Put on your parka!  Rob scheduled a cruise on Green Bay (the body of water).  With a t-shirt, flannel-lined long sleeved shirt and windbreaker with a hood, I was ready to roll.  The locals are loony toons.  They wear short sleeves, shorts and sandals.  Pick your poison.  I’ll take Nevada.  No snow shovels, no cold, no fog for me! 

 

Keepiing an eye on things

Our tour guide Chuck esplains:
This cave on the Niagara Escarpment
was under water during
the glacier age when the waters
were salty.  We know this because
in the cave are remnants of salt
water crustaceans.

Range light and behind it, the Plum
Island Light

Rob and Lindy freezing our
asses off!

White pelicans!  Not so common!

Our little tour boat departed from Sister Bay on the west side of the peninsula and headed north along the cliffs. The peninsula and cliffs are composed mostly of dolomite, a crusty type of rock that erodes easily but leaves behind a hard crusty layer.  The peninsula is a continuing section of the escarpment that millions of years ago created Niagara Falls, about 1,000 miles east of here.  How weird is that? 

 

We sailed along through a treacherous passage between the peninsula and the islands to the north where countless numbers of ships have foundered since the 1600s.  The Winnebago Indians, a crabby, vicious tribe who lived far south, decided to eliminate the Pottawatomie tribe, living in peace up north across the passage on what is now Washington Island.  Why they couldn’t leave the Pottawatomie alone is not clear to me.  A big war broke out between the two tribes but hundreds were lost in the treacherous waters of the boulder-infested, windy, turbulent strait before they could get to the war.  The Indians named the strait, “Death’s Door.”  When the French came along later (waving a white flag, most likely), they translated, “Death’s Door,” into French:  Porte des Morts.  Based upon the description of many a shipwreck lying at the bottom, it is an apt moniker!  Over time, Death’s Door morphed into Door County and the rest is history.

 

Our tour guide, Chuck, told us that we had lucked out on this day.  The water was smooth enough for us to sail all the way out almost to Lake Michigan.  We were able to see the range light that lines up with the light house on Plum Island which, when aligned in the captain’s line of sight, help ships navigating through the strait.  Normally, Chuck said, the water is way too turbulent for the tour boat to make it out that far.  As a bonus, a bald eagle sat on a pole posing and showing off, keeping an eye out for enemies like the cormorants.

 

The Boilmaster, Jeremy, aka
"Torch," tends the fire and the
stew pot.

At this point, the pot contains
salty water, potatoes and onions.

The boilover

Half of the whitefish that will 
go into the pot

The evening was capped off with a fish boil at The Old Post Office in Sister Bay.  This is a Scandinavian tradition that has developed a life of its own here in Door County.  When we arrived, the big black kettle was already boiling above a hot, log fire.  The 10 lb. of onions and 150 potatoes were already simmering in the salty water.  Rob obtained a wonderful bottle of Pinot Grigio from the outdoor bar and the entertainment began.  Jeremy, aka “Torch,” was our “boilmaster.”  He explained the whole procedure and was also a happy showman, joking, marching around the pot, stoking the fire and finally, carrying the strainer around to show us the slabs of 50 pounds of freshly-caught whitefish that will be added to the pot.  Into the pot the strainer went.  He eyed his watch carefully as the fish boiled.  At the right moment, he threw a can of kerosene on the fire.  There was a gigantic explosion of fire and the pot boiled over.  This is a good thing as all the foam, scum, ash and fish oils on the top of the broth boiled over into the fire below, leaving a clean, tasty fish stew that was served to the awestruck guests.  There were three kinds of bread, melted butter and seasonings on the side.  And a bonus:     A slice of homemade Door County cherry pie for dessert!

World famous Door
County cherry pie!

Rob about to dine on whitefish dinner

YUM!

Fishboil dinner