Jim & Jeanette's Travels: Day 12 – Saturday, May 24, 2014

Madeline Island, Wisconsin

This was our day of rest. We veg’d in bed until about 7:30, then had a light breakfast of yogurt and fruit, with a large bran muffin. Then it was off for a 5-1/2 mile hike along a narrow sand spit that separates Big Bay, a large cove on the southeastern side of Madeline Island, from a backwater lagoon on the inland side of the spit. The shore side of the spit is a narrow, sandy beach which slopes up to a strip of pine and birch woods about a hundred yards wide and extending for the full length of the spit. This whole area is a wildlife preserve, and a wonderful boardwalk winds through the middle of this wooded strip, with numerous interpretive signs along the way explaining the various plants and wildlife that inhabit the area. There are wooden benches at strategic spots, and short spurs off the main boardwalk for beach access every quarter mile or so, plus three or four spurs that lead to viewpoints overlooking the marsh at the edge of the lagoon on the inland side. At the far end of the spit is a municipal park and campground situated on the main shore, and a set of wooden steps lead down from there to cross a footbridge over the narrow channel that feed the lagoon from the bay. The state park boardwalk stops about a third of a mile from this point, then a short stretch of natural trail connects from there to another boardwalk extending a quarter mile or so from the footbridge to tie the two parks together. It was a very pleasant and peaceful walk through the woods, hearing the waterfowl cries on the lagoon on one side of the trail and catching glimpses of the bay and the lake beyond on the other.

After returning to our campsite in the state park, we had lunch and then sat out in the sun for a couple of hours, just reading and taking it easy. We then took a long drive around the entire perimeter of the island before going into the small town that’s the center of activity here. We strolled through a couple of small galleries and had an ice cream cone before going to the 6:15 Mass at the local church. The church is what I guess you’d call a mission, served by the larger church in Bayfield, the town on the mainland across from Madeline Island, and Masses are held here only during the summer. It turned out that this was the first Mass of the season, so our timing was right again.

Tomorrow we’ll be up bright and early to catch the ferry back across, and from there we’ll be on our way again, heading eastward into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and then back into Canada.