by Jane
I found the variety in beaches astounding in just one little stretch of Door County. Take a short tour with me, and you'll see what I mean.
The southernmost dot on this map marks the beautiful white-sand beach at Whitefish Dunes State Park—one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon. (The state of Wisconsin fondly imagines that the small rises of sand along here constitute dunes. People from Michigan know better.)
Turn the pine-covered corner pictured above, though, and instead of sand you have the rocky bluffs of Cave Point. I mean, seriously, just turn the corner—which is why the dots on the map are practically overlapping.
A few yards up the shoreline (another overlapping dot on the map), and you have a rocky beach, in this case dotted with cairns. (We went back a few days later, after a day with high waves, and all the cairns were gone. Not waves I would have liked to encounter!)
Continuing our northernward tour of the shoreline, we come to Toft Point, where the "beach" is neither sand nor bluff but consists of giant slabs of rock; if you look carefully, you can see them under the water as well as above it.
Continuing north, we wade over to Cana Island, where the main attraction is a lighthouse, but where I was stupefied by this beach, which looks, at a distance, to be white sand, but is actually the broken shells of the villainous zebra mussel. Inches and inches deep! (Foot provided for perspective.)
The northernmost stop on our tour is Schoolhouse Beach on Washington Island, famous (if you move in certain circles) for its smooth stones. We had been told that the stones were spherical, which is not the case, but they are still pretty cool, and I lined up some of the more spherical specimans for your delectation.
I have to say, I am astounded* by the creativity in creation. I hope you enjoyed the tour!
I found the variety in beaches astounding in just one little stretch of Door County. Take a short tour with me, and you'll see what I mean.
Turn the pine-covered corner pictured above, though, and instead of sand you have the rocky bluffs of Cave Point. I mean, seriously, just turn the corner—which is why the dots on the map are practically overlapping.
A few yards up the shoreline (another overlapping dot on the map), and you have a rocky beach, in this case dotted with cairns. (We went back a few days later, after a day with high waves, and all the cairns were gone. Not waves I would have liked to encounter!)
Follow the shoreline a few more miles north, and you can enjoy another sandy (albeit small) beach at the county park just north of Baileys Harbor, with that gorgeously clear water that are the only benefit of our enemies the zebra mussels. (If you're not from the Great Lakes region, you may not know about these invaders. If you're interested, you can read about them—and weep—here.)
I have to say, I am astounded* by the creativity in creation. I hope you enjoyed the tour!
* From Middle English astoned; pun intended. Naturally.
