Riding the Lake Michigan Shoreline

The end of the riding season in Wisconsin is near and I thought a ride up to the tip of Door County was in order. The weather on Sunday was forecast to be sunny and in the mid-70's, so I made plans to spend the afternoon on the peninsula. Those plans changed on Saturday morning when my wife met a friend at the local farmer's market who said she was going to some sort of pumpkin fest in Egg Harbor on Sunday.

Not wishing to compete for highway space with a multitude of minivans, crossovers and sport utility vehicles, I decide to ride only as far north as Sturgeon Bay. As I cruised north of Green Bay on Highway 57 I noticed the sign for Wequiock Falls County Park. I had not stopped there for years and wanted to take a look. The falls are just as I remembered and the county has moved the Jean Nicolet statue to the park. He is said to be the first European to set foot in northeast Wisconsin.

Jean Nicolet 

The traffic was not too heavy on the four lane heading up into the Door Peninsula. I was thankful for the fairing on my Lowrider S as the air temperature dropped nearer to Lake Michigan. Highways 42 and 57 meet just south of Sturgeon Bay and that's where I turned back to the south. Highway 42 follows the Lake Michigan shoreline pretty closely and there are many great views.

My next stop was the Ahnapee River dam at Forestville. There is a small park and boat landing there. There were no boat trailers there on Sunday but there was a family fishing off of the dock. Below the dam were quite a few people fly fishing for trout and salmon. I had brought along a snack and enjoyed it before mounting the big Harley Davidson and  continuing south.

Ahnapee River in Kewaunee County

The wind was out of the south and I was glad I had dressed warmly. The shoreline in Kewaunee County is marked by two cities that are about ten miles apart. Algoma is the northernmost and is known for, among other things, the Von Stiehl Winery. Von Stiehl has been in Algoma since 1967 and advertises itself as "Wisconsin's Oldest Licensed Winery". Bearcat's fresh fish is also pretty well known and hearkens back to the days when Algoma was a commercial fishing community. There is still a fishing industrty in the town, but it is now mostly sport fishing charters. There is a picturesque wayside south of Algoma and I stopped there to enjoy the lake view.

Lake Michigan south of Algoma

Back on the bike I was soon riding past the recently shuttered nuclear plant. The plant's owners could not justify keeping it open and it was an economic blow to the county when they announced the closing several years ago. There is still a skeleton crew employed maintaining the facility and doing what is necessary to safeguard the nuclear materials left there. The place does not have a welcoming appearance, but I stopped to take a couple of pictures.

The small town of Kewaunee is also a fishing community. The big pier is known for salmon and trout fishing in season and there are also charters available. The little community has a pretty good restaurant named Uncorked. I was there for dinner a few weeks ago. The prices are higher than I expected, but the menu is one you won't find anywhere else in the area.

The highway south of Kewaunee veers away from the Lake as it goes toward Two Rivers and Manitowoc. A detour led me a little farther west before taking me back into "Trivers", as it is called by the locals. Fortunately for me there was a Kwik Trip right on my route and I filled up the tank. The triple chocolate doughnut was calling me, but I was planning on a McDonald's stop soon.

Boats for sale in Two Rivers

I cruised through Two Rivers and down into the city of Manitowoc. It was time to start for home, so I followed the signs for Interstate 43. Once on the slab I set the cruise control at 70 and rode north. There is a McDonald's restaurant at the Denmark exit, so I stopped there for a late lunch.

Not knowing if this would be my last ride for the season or not, I enjoyed the last few miles home. It is a long winter here so I tried to capture the sights, smells and sounds that make motorcycling such an enjoyable experience.

As it turned out, I got out for one more ride before I decided to put the bike away for the winter. Yesterday I put the Sta Bil in the tank, attached the Battery Tender and put the cover on the bike.