Door County Trip, Day #3
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Day #3 started with a hike at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary and Nature Center in Green Bay, WI. Although this was a very nice hike in the woods, if we had to do it over again this is probably one we would skip in favor of getting to the Door County peninsula a little sooner. It was a pleasant walk nonetheless.
A significant portion of the trail was bounded on both sides by these very tall grasses. It resembled the Chinese silver grass people plant in their yards as a decorative item; however, these were much taller and more substantial. We looked it up, and this is the Common Reed; neither of us had ever seen it before.
The Nature Sanctuary had a number of ducks, geese, and turkeys walking around. At first, we tried to quietly approach a bunch of turkeys in hopes of getting a photo before they saw us. However, once they saw us, instead of running away they ran TOWARDS us!! Apparently, they have no natural predators in the sanctuary setting and are instead used to being fed by the people who visit. So, we were identified as easy marks and they came running up to get some handouts. When they discovered we didn’t have anything to share, they headed off looking for their next victim.
The sanctuary has some other animals in enclosed habitats, including a big cat, a coyote, a wolf, and some deer.
It was still a bit early in the season for most of the foliage, but there were a few notable bright spots to be had. This pond was filled with geese and ducks, and much like the turkeys, they all came rushing over looking for food. We discovered the nature center sells bird food and that would explain why the birds here are particularly interested in humans.
Our next stop was the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay, WI. They had what must have been hundreds of these absolutely intricate handmade models of ships that have sailed the Great Lakes over the years. Sturgeon Bay was a very important shipbuilding, repair, and salvage area on the Great Lakes.
This was a fantastic museum, but to do it justice it really would require almost an entire day just to fully appreciate all the exhibits.
One whole room of the museum was dedicated to the lighthouses of the Door County Peninsula and how integral they were to local shipping over the years. They have a great interactive wall exhibit showing on a map where each of the lighthouses are located and when you push the button for each lighthouse it shows the area of the lake or bay in which that lighthouse is visible. You can see how important these lighthouses were for navigation.
The engine room shows a number of engines used on the lakes, all the way from little outboard Evinrude engines to these large diesel powerplants.
An early decompression/recompression chamber used by divers to slowly return to sea-level atmospheric pressure and prevent the bends. Not for the claustrophobic!
Parked immediately behind the museum they have a restored old tug and we took the tour of the John Purves. Our guide, Dick, what a font of knowledge and a lot of fun as well. This was a really nicely done tour and well worth the time.
This is the 4-inch braided steel cable and coupling they would use as a tow line. In the next photo, we can see the winch used to play out the line.
The guides show how much line they would extend in each of the different bodies of water. They painted color marks on the cable to indicate how much had been extended.
This was the Chief Engineers station in the engine room. This particular tug was originally a coal-burning tug, but when purchased by the subsequent owner he had it retrofitted to use two large diesel burning engines with twin screws for propulsion.
This electrical panel and fuses were completely open without any covering. On a rocking boat, one wrong step could prove to be a shocking experience!
The two diesel engines used to power the tug.
Looking out a starboard side porthole toward the historic Surgeon Bay Bridge.
The sleeping accommodations for some of the higher ranking officers. The rank-and-file slept in much less attractive bunkhouses below deck.
Everything in the galley was specially made to accommodate a ship on rolling seas. Notice that each pot has attached side arms keeping it in place over the burner and the entire stovetop has guardrails to keep the pots from sliding off and onto the floor.
The pilot house.
These dials were used to notify the Chief Engineer in the engine room how much power to apply to each of the engines.
An unobstructed view of the Historic Sturgeon Bay Bridge from the bow of the John Purves.
Part of the museum is the 10-story observation tower which here gives a good view of the ship-building complex in the center of the image. Some of the large freighters that work the Great Lakes were originally built here and several others return here each winter and undergo repairs while the lakes are frozen and shipping is shut down for the year.
The creation of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal allowed these large ships to reach the Green Bay side of the peninsula directly from Lake Michigan without having to go all the way around the tip of the peninsula which is a navigational challenge due to the rocky shore and unpredictable weather. In some of the upcoming photos, we will see the headlight and lighthouse at the entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal.
Some of the early signaling beacons used on the Great Lakes.
The Sturgeon Bay Canal Light is located at the entrance to the canal on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula.
The public is allowed to walk the breakwater out to the headlight at the entrance to the canal. The upper walkway would be for the workers to reach the headlight building itself.
Looking back at the entrance to the canal from the breakwater. It is amazing to think of those huge cargo ships threading the needle down this narrow canal. We were told the canal was constructed to a depth of 50 feet. Driving along side the canal we noticed they also built a berm/levee along the side, as I am sure the water level must really rise due to the amount of displacement when these ships pass through. That really would be fascinating to witness someday.
Another look at the lighthouse and Coastguard station.
This series of images used a 10-stop ND filter and long exposure shutter timing to create some interesting effects on the water and sky. I will include all the images and some in color as well.
