June 9, 2025
West End, WI to Milwaukee, WI, then Onwards
Day 12 - Monday
Today we set the alarm for 6 a.m. as we wanted to get back to Milwaukee by at least 12 noon. We were a little slow getting up, but once we had the hotel breakfast and checked out we were on the road by 7:15 a.m.
The weather was a little cold again so I started in leggings, t shirts (long and short sleaves) plus a jacket, a few miles down the road after a couple of rollers I shed the jacket.
We had one busy road early with some commuter traffic but soon we were on quiet farm roads.
We passed another bar/restaurant quite literally in the middle of nowhere. Wondering where all the patronage comes from but aware that Wisconsinites are the heaviest beer drinkers in the country.
Just outside Cedarburg we stopped at the Covered Bridge Park to ride through the covered bridge.
After Cedarburg, things were familiar from our first day as we back tracked first on the Interurban Trail, then the Oak Leaf Trail back towards Milwaukee.
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By 11:30 a.m. we were back inside the Milwaukee city limits and took a detour off the Oak Leaf Trail and arrived at the North Point Lighthouse which is unfortunately only open on Sundays.
After a walk around and taking some photos, we headed back to the trail to continue our ride into Milwaukee.
North Point Lighthouse
On March 3, 1837, Congress appropriated $5,000 for building a lighthouse at the mouth of the Milwaukee River. It was recommended to be built at the mouth of the river, but the lighthouse was erected about a mile to the north. The lighthouse commenced operation in 1839,
To correct the mistake, a new lighthouse was erected in 1855 on North Point, a headland at the northern end of Milwaukee Bay. and the structure was completed in 1855. The original lighthouse at Milwaukee was put up for auction.
By 1885, the lighthouse was in danger due to the cliff face eroding. A new tower was constructed and went into operation on January 10, 1888.
North Point Lighthouse was automated in 1943, but Coast Guard personnel continued to live at the station until 1994, when the fourth-order lens was removed from the tower and the station was discontinued.
The Fresnel lens removed from the tower in 1994 was returned to the station on May 20, 2009 and now revolves in a display case in the keeper’s dwelling. Also in the display case is a sixth-order Fresnel lens that served in the 1866 North Cut Beacon at the entrance to Milwaukee Harbor.
Once we reached downtown, we found a park bench and made a sandwich for lunch. As we packed up, it started to rain so we pulled out our rain jackets. Only for the rain to stop as soon as we got them on. So it goes.
Another 5 miles back to the Ferry parking lot and right on 1 p.m. our trip was over.
But there is more. Remember that spare day I told you about? Cameron has an elaborate plan to drive some freeways we haven't taken before.
But first we drove into downtown Milwaukee as I wanted to show him the old Pabst Brewery site.
The history of the brewery was printed on the sidewalk. Note the window boxes of artifacts.
From Milwaukee we drove north on the I-43, passing the exits for Port Washington, Sheboygan and Manitowoc, remembering these towns from our first couple of days on the trip. After Manitowoc, I-43 cuts north west to Green Bay.
From Green Bay we kept going north until I-43 terminated and we were on US Hwy 41. We took the first exist and headed towards the lake as I wanted to see if there was a view of Long Tail Point Lighthouse.
Only accessible by boat, I managed to get some photos with my telephoto lens from Cat Island Chain Park.
Long Tail Point Lighthouse
Work begun on the first lighthouse in 1847 with stone from the eastern shore of Green Bay moved to the site.
The tower was fifty-one-and-a-half feet tall with a birdcage lantern room. A stone keepers house was built nearby.
Peter White, the first keeper, activated the station in 1848.
A second lighthouse.
By 1859, the stone tower and house were surrounded by water as the lake level had risen.
A new wooden lighthouse was built on higher ground. The lantern room and lens from the old lighthouse were transferred to the new tower.
A third lighthouse was built on a crib with work starting in April of 1899. This was another wooden building, and the light was activated on August 1, 1899.
When this light was automated in 1936, the 1859 keepers house was sold and moved. During the move over the winter, the trailer broke through the ice so the house was dismantled.
On April 9, 1973, the 1899 lighthouse was destroyed by a powerful storm.
We re-joined US Hwy 41 and drove further north until we reached Marinette, WI where we decided to stay the night. After checking into our hotel, I looked online for restaurants and found a pastie shop just over the border in Menominee, MI. So we hopped over there crossing the Menominee River which forms the border between Wisconsin and Michigan.
Cameron didn't want a pastie, but as luck would have it he found a Culvers driving back through Marinette. We ate back at the hotel.
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In the morning we will drive back over and visit the Menominee Lighthouse.
Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 554 miles (892 km)
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