Northern Wisconsin

Wisconsin - Bayfield, the Apostle Islands and Ashland

(Sightseeing)

July 30, 2017 - August 3, 2017

We left our friends just outside of Green Bay as they headed west to the Winnebago factory in Iowa and we headed northwest to the Apostle Islands.  We stopped and stayed several nights in Arbor Vitae, WI so we could do the mundane things that have to be done whether you are at home or traveling - laundry, bills, checkbook, haircuts, etc.  We found a nice campground situated on Big Arbor Vitae Lake.

Big Arbor Vitae Lake

This lovely stream ran through the campground.  It was very popular with the kids.

We located a laundromat in the town of Minocqua so we headed there to get this always fun chore over and done with.  We couldn't believe our eyes when we found that the laundromat was situated right next door to an ice cream shop.  What a perfect combination - a captive audience doing drudge work and ice cream.  Who's gonna pass that up?

As you can see - this was no ordinary ice cream!  Wisconsin is, after all, the dairy state!

 As we were wandering about the town doing some errands we spotted these fanciful bovine statues in front of a paint store and just had to laugh.  Would love to have these standing out in a field on Whidbey.  Someplace where you could see it from the highway.

With laundry and errands done we headed up to Bayfield for a look at the Apostle Islands which our friend Sandy (from "Dosh") told us about.

Bayfield is a scenic little harbor town with some wonderful old buildings and a nice deep water port.

Looking down the main street toward the harbor.

A bit blurry but this is the harbor taken from the pier as it was getting dark.

Nice boats docked in their harbor.  Some of them advertise day sailing trips. 

This little Scandinavian troll decorated the outside of a Swedish shop.
Took this is for Harriet because her great aunt looked remarkably like this! (the face, not the body)

These two beautiful buildings are both hotels.  Aren't they wonderful!

Bayfield is the gateway to the "Apostle Islands National Lakeshore".  For the most part these islands are visited only by hikers, backpackers, kayakers, fishermen, etc.  The largest island, called Madeline, is inhabited by some permanent and some semi-permanent residents and has ferry service to it on a regular basis. You have to get to other islands on your own (kayak, boat, etc.) or via water taxi or charter boat.  One of the big tourist draws is a trip around part of the area on a cruise boat.  You get a narrated look at some of the more interesting parts of the islands. They also have a sunken ship cruise where you can look at the remains of several ships that have gone down in the area.  This is possible because the waters of Lake Superior are very clear (and they use a glass bottom boat).

It was initially a bit choppy but the did finally come out and the wind died down.

One of the many lighthouses in the Islands.

This is an old fishing camp on one of the islands.  It's been preserved for historical purposes.

Another lighthouse.

Laura taking pictures!

I look like I'm holding on for dear life.

During storms the waves crash in with tremendous force and gradually wear away the softer pieces of sandstone.

Dramatic sculpturing wouldn't you say?

From Bayfield we drove east towards the upper peninsula of Michigan, stopping in Ashland, WI to see another attraction recommended by our friend Sandy from "Dosh".  Not unlike Toppenish, Washington, they have lots of murals painted around their business area, all the work of two women from the local area.  Here is a small sample of their work.

These three murals are all on the side of one building.

Three waitresses at a local cafe.

Panorama of the old Ashland Ore Dock which is now gone.
It looks as if this building and mural is curved but that is due to the camera.

Close up of part of the Ore Dock.  On top you can see the railroad cars which carried the ore from the mines to the dock.

Railroad track and cars on top of the Ore Dock.

Great Lakes freighter picking up a load of iron ore.

The famous Edmund Fitzgerald which went down in Lake Superior in November 1975.  All 29 crew members were lost.
She was launched in 1958 and at that time was the biggest ship on the Great Lakes.
She is still the largest ship to have sunk in the great lakes.
Some of you may remember Gordon Lightfoot's song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"
which made the sinking even more famous than it already was.

Railroad workers on the "Soo" line (short for Sault Ste. Marie).  One of 2 railroad murals.

Remembering the logging industry (about 1/2 of the full mural)

A small portion of the "Storefront" mural.

About 1/3 of the Veterans mural.  Every person was taken from family pictures of
locals who served in the Armed Services.

This mural celebrates the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Dhooge's Store in Ashland, circa 1910.

A tribute to the many lighthouses in the area and the men and women who maintained them.

The 1950's in Ashland.

Celebrating Oredocker high school football.

There were other murals but it seems redundant to try to show them all.  The two women who did all these murals have also done some for other towns.  We really enjoyed seeing them and having the opportunity to look back into Ashland's past.