Photos of Washington Island

and a couple neighboring areas of interest

Click on images to see full view in separate window.
Don't let your browser reduce larger images to screen-size.

While traveling to and from the third big rockabilly festival at Oneida Bingo and Casino in Green Bay (my photos of which are here), a few area attractions were found necessary to visit.
1			Photos 1-2: A Major Geographical Center in Northeast Wisconsin 1: Thanks to my favorite Madison, WI newspaper – the Simpson Street Free Press – this particular spot and its significance were made known to me, and this was my second visit. Not really a "pole" in the geographical sense, this site is half-way between the North Pole and the Equator, and also half-way between the artificially-determined meridians of Greenwich, England (0°) and the International Date Line (180°). This is an interesting idea for a rest stop – a more general view of which is here. 2: A close-up of the actual spot. No, there were no magnetic storms or portals to other dimensions opening up! (Don't you just hate when that happens?) However, a big-time thunderstorm did arise during my first visit the previous year. Photos 3-15: Washington Island 3: While anywhere near Door County, one would think that a visit to Washington Island is mandatory. At this particular time (late May), the tourist season was just about to kick into high gear. Here is the ferry landing at Northport Pier. Looks like I picked a gray, rainy and windy day for my first visit, but that can make things interesting. Crummy colors, though. 4: Two miles to the east is the very small Pilot Island and its light. 5: Looking back, one can discern three points on the north shore of the Door County mainland. 6: The lighthouse on the west shore of Plum Island. 7: Nearing the end of the ferry ride and looking south, one can see (in this telefoto view) the old Coast Guard station on the northeast corner of Plum Island and a view of Pilot Island about three miles away. 8: Approaching the dock on Washington Island at the Detroit Harbor community. 9: An avian creature devoted to fishing, garbage cleanup and the aerial bombardment of hats and windshields. Also hours of entertainment. 10 and 11: This is Little Lake in the northwest corner of Washington Island, site of the Jacobsen Museum. Note the vertical log structure of the cabin which allows easy rain runoff with minimum accumulated debris. 12: This is Schoolhouse Beach at Washington Harbor on the north shore of the island. This favorite picnic area is also a great place for seasoned swimmers. Two more views that show the unique rocks are here and here. 13: The Mountain Park is located in the north central part of the island. Looking north in this view from the lookout tower, one can see islands belonging to Michigan in the distance as in this telefoto view. 14: From the same spot one sees Rock Island and its dolomite cliffs several miles to the northeast (right side of photo). 15: A closer view of Rock Island from the pier at Jackson Harbor on the northeast tip of Washington Island. The Rock Island Ferry gets one to this State Park and is on the agenda for the next visit. Where to eat? If you enjoy a fresh fish dinner, check out the KK Fiske Restaurant which is located in the Washington Island community on the Main Road and is open year-round and all day. A featured item is the "lawyer" – perhaps better known to us mainlanders as burbot or fresh-water cod. Having finished a late lunch of a lawyer platter and soup, missing the last ferry back and staying for dinner was an appealing idea. Photos 16-17: View from the Lookout Tower at the Potawatomi State Park 16: The Potawatomi State Park is located on the northwest shore of Door County near the city of Sturgeon Bay. This is a telefoto view from the tower of the cliffs along the far shore of Sturgeon Bay near its confluence with Green Bay. 17: A panorama showing Green Bay in the background as we scan in an arc from the northwest to the northeast.
2	3	4
5	6	7
8	9	10
11	12	13
14	15	16
17