The Door to Charming

Credit: Mike Tittel

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms…”

-Henry David Thoreau

As an immigrant who settled in Los Angeles in the 1990s, I often ponder how life would have been if my destiny landed me in a different part of the States. What inspires a person to leave one state to the other? There is no one answer to this question but one thing I know for sure is that you want to establish roots that are familiar in nature to your homeland. A place to call a new home, a place that connects you to the land and people that you fall in love with.

This is exactly what I found on my recent discovery trip into the Midwest. Fueled by my curiosity to explore, I discovered a place that I never imagined. It changed my entire perspective about Wisconsin, and particularly Door County, a place where a simpler way of life thrives along its idyllic shores. Sprinkled with apple and cherry orchards, wineries, beaches, supper clubs, Nordic villages, and lighthouses, northeastern Wisconsin offers a bountiful visual feast sandwiched between 300 miles of shoreline.

Highway 42’s breathtaking display of golds and oranges. Credit: Michael Lloyd

Ah, the local color is breathtaking and sublime all at once and there is no better nature day than taking in Peninsula State Park. Rain, shine, or snow—it was raining the day I went—the picturesque 3,776-acre treasure is guaranteed to live up to its hype with either biking or hiking.

Opt for the 10-mile Sunset Trail and you’ll find yourself biking through Weborg Marsh with its cedar and maple trees and cliff communities. Or stroll the Sentinel Trail where an easy forest ecology hike awaits. Either way, you have the chance to experience the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, nestled 76 feet high on a bluff above the glimmering waters of Green Bay, which has proudly helped navigate the tight and perfidious channels since 1868.

Established in 1909, Peninsula State Park has rocky bluffs that climb to heights exceeding 150 feet. For those who love the outdoors, the recreation opportunities are extensive. Besides biking and hiking, there’s boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, hunting, golf, swimming, picnicking, full production shows at the Northern Sky Theater (summer and fall only) and even camping. In the winter, you can pick from cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, sledding, and tubing…as I mentioned, extensive.

Whatever you choose the must-see event centers on the newly rebuilt Eagle Tower. Closed in 2019 due to safety concerns, the iconic view station gives sightseers a complete view from Eagle Bluff, more than 250 feet above the bay. Climb the 100 steps to ascend to the top of the tower, or relish the 850-foot, fully accessible canopy walk that winds above the tree line to reach the top. The canopy walk was my choice with plenty of picture stations to soak in the wonderment of the heavenly nature that surrounds you.

The 850-foot Canopy walk to Eagle Tower. Credit: Michael Lloyd 

The Sanctuary—a wonderful visit at its modest five-dollar trail fee—features a series of 30 swales and ridges formed by Lake Michigan’s movement over the past thousand or so years. Here, over 60 species of breeding birds (including a dozen endangered or threatened) live amongst approximately 500 different plant species of plants and native orchids, in an eclectic variety of environmental conditions, from open beaches to heavily shaded conifer forests.

Because of this partnership, Wisconsin’s oldest not-for-profit nature preserve has continued to evolve naturally and looks strikingly similar to when its first trails and paths were first cleared by their founding members in 1938.

“Lake Michigan sailors had to be particularly sensitive to the whims of the weather because they navigated a body of water just large enough to develop dangerous heavy seas, yet, confined enough to allow little in the way of room to run before the storm. Together with the heavy volume of commerce on the lake and the scarcity of safe harbors, made the risk of mishap on Lake Michigan very great.”

– Theodore J. Karamanski from the “Schooner Passage:
Sailing Ships and the Lake Michigan Frontier”.

The 89-foot-tall Cana lighthouse is particularly exceptional due to the rare fact that it is one of the few that sits all alone on an island. It has been home, almost unremittingly, by keepers and their families since it first lit the way in 1870.

The highlight of the Cana Island visit was the 97 steps of the lighthouse’s spiral staircase that lands you at the gallery deck. There you get an all-encompassing 360-degree panoramic view of Lake Michigan and the peninsula. I imagined the fortitude it took for the keeper to haul huge metal drums filled with kerosene in the freezing winter temperatures all the way to the lantern room to fuel the Fresnel lens. My walk was much simpler compared to what the keeper went through. At the top, from a small glass window just inside from the observation deck, you can capture one of the most memorable photos you will ever have with a rare view of the lake.

The Cana Island causeway splits Lake Michigan on your way to the lighthouse. Credit: Michael Lloyd

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

– Pablo Picasso

Even the buildings teem with nature (pictured: Woodwalk Gallery). Credit: Michael Lloyd

One enchanted stop was at the Woodwalk Gallery. But it was magical before I even arrived, the drive there was fairy-tale. I noticed immediately the charm, the romantic pathway, and I envisioned in my head that perfect wedding spot, a place for bonding, a sanctuary of retreat, a portrait captured in time that would carve your special day into your heart forever. Sure enough, my vision materialized as I walked toward the gallery.

Dreams can come true at the Woodwalk Gallery. Credit: Jon Jarosh

Upon entering the gallery, home to nearly 100 budding and recognized artists (the art is amazing, to say the least), I was greeted by owner and operator Joslyn Villalpando with hot apple cider and immense hospitality. You could smell culture as she poured the drink with the modernized barn invigorating a new era of arts and reflection.

I must have felt the aura of love’s spell somehow because Joslyn shared her story of how she chose this exact spot to say yes to Matt, an original Door County resident and the love of her life. She was a Chicago resident whose life was touched forever by the serenity and beauty of the surroundings around Highway 42. She wound up getting married at the Woodwalk Gallery, this former dairy barn built in 1908 and then renovated into the art gallery it is today. So taken by its majesty, Joslyn and Matt convinced the owner to sell them the gallery. To me, this is something you only see in movies or read in books, or like me, might even dream of. A place that gets your heart pumping as you breathe the pristine air.

I was most impressed with the owner who knew from her wedding day that this place one day would be hers. You can see her passion, written all over her face as she re-told how her dreams were realized in Door County.

After my immersion into this special spot in Wisconsin, it was all too evident that the charm of Door County is where dreams come true.

EAT.

STAY.