Apostle Islands National Lakeshore 2008

In September of 2008 we took the Laredo up to the Apostle Island National Lakeshore for a week. We had a reservation at the Buffalo Bay Campground & Marina but took one look at their junkyard motif and voted for finding somewhere else to stay. We stayed the night at the rustic Dalrymple Campground which is owned by the city of Bayfield which also had a view of Lake Superior, but a much nicer one. It had electric hookup, but no flush toilets or showers. When we went out exploring the next day we stumbled upon the Apostle Islands Area Campground and moved there. They had large sites in a wooded area, but also some in an open grassy area near their playground. The facility was very well kept, peaceful, and the owners were very pleasant and helpful with information about the area.

We walked around the downtown/marina area of Bayfield a few times while in the area, just enjoying the beautiful fall weather and the gorgeous lake views, and also visited a few of the local orchards. I brought home 5 different jars of jam! I highly recommend the Bayfield Apple Company's apple raspberry jam, but all of the local fruits, ciders, and jams we picked up were delicious. We also bought a couple of pies at Judy's Gourmet Garage which were out of this world - I swear I can still taste that rhubarb pie!

While we were there the town was getting geared up for their annual Apple Festival so there were a lot of decorations around without the crowds. A hidden gem in the area is the Old Iron Bridge Trail tucked away in the heart of Bayfield. It winds its way through plants along the creek underneath the bridge. The bridge itself is currently closed to even pedestrian traffic, but is on the National Register of Historic Places and we enjoyed our little stroll beneath it.

We took the ferry over to Madeline Island and rented mopeds. While we were on our way out to Big Bay State Park a black bear ran across the road not too far in front of us. We waited a few minutes, hearts pounding, before heading on to the park.

 We did some hiking, went through the museum and had lunch before heading back to Bayfield on the ferry. I would definitely go to Madeline Island again, I felt like there was much more to see.

We  also took the Morning Grand Tour on the Island Princess, which is a 55 mile narrated tour of the Apostle Islands. It was a good tour, but a little long to be stuck on the boat. I wished they had stopped and let us out at one of the islands to walk around for a little bit. We saw picturesque standing rocks, lighthouses, and an abandoned fish camp from the vessel. We learned about the brownstone quarries and the legendary hermit of Hermit Island. Devil's Island is the the northernmost island in the chain and its lighthouse was built in 1894. It's also the site of wave eroded sea caves where the waves thunder and boom in the openings. Local residents claim that the Ojibwe thought this was the sound of evil spirits and that is how the island got its name.

 
We  stopped at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center between Ashland and Bayfield and were surprised by how nice it was. They have a great little museum inside, and you can climb to the top of the tower and look out at the wetlands. There are signs that explain about the changes that have come about due to human settlement of the land, and they also have a boardwalk trail you can walk that gives information about the different habitats in the area. While on the boardwalk grasshoppers were so plentiful they bounced off our legs.

If you get an opportunity to make a side trip into Ashland, make sure to seek out the murals throughout town. They were painted between 1998 and 2005 and depict historical scenes. Locals dressed in period clothing posed for the storefront mural that took 2 years to complete. My favorite was the Bus Stop Waitresses mural which were modeled from a photo.



We really enjoyed our little getaway and want to go back again and rent kayaks to explore the sea caves along the lakeshore...and to get more of Judy's pie!