Snow has never been my friend. In fact, I’ve lived a remarkably snow-avoidant life. So when I got the opportunity to visit Door County, Wisconsin in the freezing winter, my first thought was, that’s crazy. But I’d heard it was a beautiful place – at least in summer – and I found myself considering. Maybe it was finally time to befriend snow. Or at least make its acquaintance.
Gear
I had two deathly fears of spending time in snowy Wisconsin: one, I’d die of frostbite (or at least lose several digits); or two, my comrades would do me in because of my incessant whining about the cold. So I took full advantage of a massive sale at the Columbia Sportswear Outlet Store before leaving Portland. I got several pieces of their thermal reflective omni-heat gear, which is supposed to reflect your own body heat back to you, thus retaining it. The hat and long-sleeved top worked pretty well. But the gloves were useless for somebody like me with Raynaud’s Syndrome, a circulatory problem in the fingers and toes. However, I did find the most awesome concept in boots: heated by a rechargeable battery! You can recharge them via wall socket or computer through a USB. I chose the wall socket as these boots would probably make my laptop explode. With 200 grams of insulation, I hardly needed to turn my heated boots on at all. I borrowed a long, padded North Face coat from my cousin. That coat was a lifesaver!
Once I got to Wisconsin, I learned the secret to keeping my hands warm was pairing those weird chemical hand warmers with mittens. But they don’t work so well with gloves. The mittens allow the warmth to spread up to your fingers.
Snowshoeing
Door County is a 75-mile peninsula that sticks out into frigid Lake Michigan. I managed to get up and down the peninsula quite a bit in my long weekend. Here are a few highlights.
I stayed three nights at the Country House Resort. It was mostly deserted in winter. Check out the cold lakeshore!
But they had the perfect set-up for me: A warming tank right beside the bed. And a super comfortable pillow-top mattress.
When I’m in a cold place – or anywhere else – I always crave coffee. Door County Coffee & Tea provides the region with some of its finest caffeine. I visited twice during my stay. It was the only place in Door County that I dared to ask, “Do you have soymilk?” And the answer? Yes!
I took a tour of the coffee operation. It was very educational. I learned about decaf processes, saw how flavored coffee is made and witnessed the machine that bags the coffee. But I also stumbled upon an intriguing secret: Toucans and parrots deliver the coffee beans to Wisconsin, as pictured in this back-room delivery diagram. I hope Customs doesn’t read my blog!
I went snowshoeing in two places, both very beautiful, the Ridges Sanctuary and Whitefish Dunes State Park. It was my first snowshoeing experience. Since I managed to retain all my digits and even stay upright, it was a raging success. But was that wind off Lake Michigan ever cold! I heard all too much of those three dirty words: wind chill factor.
Ridges Sanctuary with frozen Lake Michigan in the background
My snowshoeing expedition at Ridges. Photo by Tamra Bolton.
The second day I learned to snowshoe up and down hills at Whitefish Dunes State Park.
Here I show off my winter gear beside a recreation of a wigwam. Nomadic people lived in similar structures about 700 years ago.
Snowmobiles
I also went for a snowmobile ride. John Zettel, owner of Zettel’s Sales and Service, has been renting, fixing and selling snowmobiles for about three decades. One things his years of experience have taught him is that when somebody comes in and asks for the fastest snowmobile, he’d better give that guy the slowest. He was full of good cautionary tales about wipeouts and expensive damage to snowmobiles. Moral of the story? Stay on the trail and obey the speed limit, which is 55 on most trails. Slower in places where snowmobilers share trails with cross-country skiers and snowshoers.
John Zettel, a font of snowmobile stories and wisdom. His snowmobile club is responsible for the upkeep on 31 miles of trails.
Snowmobile suits are not sexy, not matter how I try. Photo by Rob Klepper
Will I Starve?
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably wondering if there is vegetarian food in Door County. I was immensely relieved to learn that yes, most restaurants have a vegetarian dish or two. And some even feed vegans.
Vegan black bean chili at the Inn at Cedar Crossing in downtown Sturgeon Bay.
House-made veggie burger at Shipwrecked Brew Pub. With sweet potato fries, you get your Vitamin A and grease quota at the same time!
Bread pudding made with Butterfingers at Shipwrecked. I only thought about eating this. Took a photo instead. Still wondering if I made the right choice.
Wild Tomato has tons of choices for veg folks. Even vegan cheese and sausage for pizza toppings. This is the wood-fired vegetable Cobb salad.
Bruschetta with eggplant from Neighborhood Pub and Grill in Sturgeon Bay. Open till 2 am.
Door County Art
Much as I enjoyed snowshoeing, temperatures were falling. Going inside started to seem like a good idea. So I spent an artsy afternoon. First I visited the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek, a nonprofit art center that offers classes to adults and students. Winter is pretty quiet at the school. About the only thing that was going on was a watercolor miniatures class. But in warmer months they bring in teachers from around the country. Peninsula has a gorgeous round main building plus outbuildings. Every summer they host a plein air painting festival. Now in its eighth year, 40 artists will come from the US and beyond beginning July 20 to paint Door County landscapes.
This dragon was part of a kids’ art show at Peninsula School of Art.
Next came the really fun part of the art afternoon, a visit to the Hands On Art Studio. Artists Cy and Karon Turnbladh own this amazing complex of drop-in art studios. Even with no training or special aptitude, anybody can show up and make a metal sculpture, jewelry, pottery, mosaic or fused glass piece.
Cy bought the abandoned farm about 17 years ago. The 100 year-old farmhouse lacked electricity and plumbing. The couple has done wonders with this place. It appeals to kids and adults of all ages. “Even the sullen teenagers get into it,” Cy said. He loves walking into a room full of families working on art and finding it pin-drop quiet with concentration. He thinks most adults haven’t done art for so long, they’re scared of it. Hands On gives them a friendly atmosphere, access to tools, materials and guidance, and lots of encouragement.
You can choose projects of varying sizes and prices, from a piece of jewelry for a few bucks all the way up to big sculptures that will set you back a few hundred.
This is the fused glass studio, where I spent a fun part of my day.
A glass artist at work on a bowl.
Hands On makes things really easy. You assemble your piece, they stick it in the kiln. If you’re local or going to be in the area for a while, you can pick up your work. Or if you’re a tourist like me, they’ll ship your work when it’s ready. I made the piece below, which should be showing up any day now via UPS. After firing in the kiln they’ll put it in a metal stand. I plan to use it as yard art. If it comes out good enough, perhaps I’ll be inspired to weed!
A good place to make pottery or get your cat fix. I saw three of them. Cats, that is. I saw about 300 pieces of pottery.
But these cats have ambition. So they might not be sticking around the pottery studio for long.
This beautiful silo covered with art tiles is a tribute to Cy’s late mother.
So, are you convinced yet? Door County is well worth a visit.
Snow and I will probably never be BFFs. But despite my curiosity to see Door County in the spring with its dragonflies and dwarf irises, or to take a summer dip in Lake Michigan, I really enjoyed the quiet of the quiet season. I suspect it’s a pretty nice place to visit any time of year.
