June 3, 2025
Aqualand Campground, WI to Washington Island, WI
Day 6 - Tuesday
I woke at 5:30 a.m. but managed to sleep again till 6:30 a.m. It was warmer this morning, 62 degrees, sunny, but rain predicted by late afternoon.
I got up and took my camera battery down to the shower block to charge and started working on my journal while Cameron slept.
With not many miles ahead of us, we didn't leave until 8:45 a.m.
A few miles down the road we stopped at the Piggly Wiggly in Sister Bay for groceries. But not before finding ourselves at the bottom of the hill where the town sits on the bay and the grocery store at the top of the hill.
When we rolled up we found chairs and tables outside so while shopping decided to get donuts and coffee to enjoy outside. This was the first real warm day and we wanted to enjoy it.
Back on the back roads, we rode on through Ellison Bay but didn’t stop.
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Having climbed again as we left Sister Bay only to roll back down into Ellison Bay and now we had another climb out. Our last descent got us into Gills Rock.
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We checked out the waterfront and found the boat we would have gone out on for our trip to Pilot Island and Plum Island. It looked small and while the sea looked calm here at Gills Rock, when we reached Northpoint on the other side of the peninsula, and took the Washington Island ferry which passed Pilot and Plum Island, it was fairly choppy.
I also decided to call and book a cabin for tonight on Washington Island, rain was forecast for most of the night with low temperatures and tenting didn't sound like fun.
We also visited the souvenir store where Cameron picked up some postcards.
Just around the corner was the Deaths Door Maritime Museum which had an interesting collection of artifacts from the area. I obtained two stamps, one for Plum Island Lighthouse and another for Pilot Island Lighthouse.
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By this time it was 11:45 a.m. and we knew we would miss the noon ferry so decided to eat lunch and catch the 1 p.m. ferry.
We went back down to waterfront and sat in some chairs enjoying our lunch.
On the two mile stretch to the ferry is the famous curvy road and we pulled over to take some photos, but right then a car pulled up right in front of us so we had to wait until they diddled around before we finally got our photos.
Arriving at Northpoint we bought two return ferry tickets and as the ferry looked like is was leaving, we rode on and secured the bikes.
The ferry for what ever reason left 15 minutes early.
The ride over was fairly bumpy with a heavy swell, further confirming today was not the day to be out in a small boat visiting island lighthouses.
However we had a good view of Plum Island on the way over.
Plum Island Rear Range Lighthouse
Plum Island is among a collection of Islands at the tip of Door Peninsula.
In 1837 a lighthouse, the first on Lake Michigan, was built on Rock Island to guide vessels through Rock Island Passage.
In 1849 a stone tower was built on the southern end of Plum Island to mark the Porte de Morts passage, and a light was put in operation.
In 1858 a light was added on Pilot Island as mariners were still finding it difficult to navigate the passage. The lighthouse on Plum Island was abandoned.
To further aid navigation, a pair of range lights were built on Plum Island and first lit on May 1, 1897.
A telephone cable was laid from Northport across Death’s Door to Plum Island in 1904.
After World War II, the Coast Guard moved into the lifesaving station on the other side of the island and automated the lighthouse.
The original front range tower was replaced in 1964 with a steel tower.
In 1991, the Coast Guard moved operations to Washington island.
The Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge was enlarged to include Plum and Pilot Islands in 2007.
The Fresnel lens from the Rear Range Lighthouse has been restored and is on display at Door County Maritime Museum’s northern museum site in Gills Rock.
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In the distance I could see Pilot Island but not clear enough to make out a lighthouse. Hopefully on tomorrow's return trip it will be clearer.
Pilot Island Lighthouse
Like Plum Island, Pilot Island is among a collection of Islands at the tip of Door Peninsula.
In 1858, a two-and-a-half-story keeper’s residence with a gable end square tower was erected.
In 1864, a wooden fog signal building was built south of the lighthouse to house
In 1901, the keepers residence was enlarged to provide separate quarters for the keeper and first assistant.
In 1948, the light was electrified and its characteristic changed to occulting white.
Pilot Island Lighthouse was automated in 1962, when the Coast Guard installed an automatic light and discontinued the fog signal.
We landed on Washington Island at 2:15 p.m. and as we were getting ready to take photos a lady offered to take one of us both.
Picking up the envelope with our key to our cabin that was taped to the office door, we then rode over to our cabin arriving about 2:45 p.m.
We had early showers knowing the rain was coming and by 4 p.m. we were settled into our cabin listening to the rain outside. I managed to work on the journal but had to use my hotspot.
It did start to get cold so I plugged in the little fan heater but it didn't work. I found another unlocked cabin and tried that heater and it too didn't work. After the 3rd heater I gave up and piled on more clothes.
After dinner I continued with the journal among other things while it continued to rain outside. There were very few people on the campground, there may have been one other group in another cabin. It was pretty dark in the woods and there was only vault toilets.
Today's ride: 24 miles (39 km)
Total: 256 miles (412 km)
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