Riding Rawley Point Trail to the Mariners Trail

When we left the forest on the Rawley Point trail we crossed the road and it continues out in the open into Two Rivers.  It gradually transitions from gravel to paved as you get closer to town.

That heavy camera pack messes with my balance while riding

We saw a variety of plants and trees as we looped behind the residential area on the outskirts of town, including a small patch of Lupine by a pond.

We stopped and talked to two little girls and their grandmother who were out with butterfly nets.  They had caught a few in a jar to take home and mount in their collection.  Wish I had thought to ask if I could take a picture of them with their nets and jars!

Hoary Alyssum

It took me two weeks to identify the flower above, which was everywhere along the trail in Two Rivers.  It is considered invasive, is non-native, and in Michigan is considered a noxious weed but doesn't appear to be listed as such yet in Wisconsin.  I saw it again in the parking lot at Bald Bluff with Barbara and Ron and finally identified it after that.  It was very attractive alongside the trail and since it was so plentiful I thought it was a native wildflower which is what took me so long to find a way to identify it.

Rudder art

Once the trail gets into Two Rivers it ends and there are small brown signs that point the way through town to connect you to the Mariners Trail.  It's a nice ride through the residential part of town and along the beach.

Rogers Street Fishing Village exhibit

You finally pick up the Mariners Trail at the Lighthouse Inn.  It runs alongside Lake Michigan from Two Rivers to Manitowoc and has lovely landscaping along its paved surface.

If you're up for a long ride you could take both trails and go from a lighthouse to the submarine museum in Manitowoc.  We can't ride that far, so we settled for stopping at the Hamilton Wood Type Museum which wasn't far past the Lighthouse Inn.

I hate to give bad press about a museum, but unless you're really into this type of thing skip this one.  We paid $5 each for a 5 minute tour and we tried to stretch it out, but the exhibits are just laid out on a warehouse floor without much effort to make it interesting or engaging. The equipment was cool to look at, but not worth the admission price or worth a special trip.

Mentioning the submarine museum was a teaser, we'll get to that visit next!