This is a tale of taking my friend Melinda, to Washington Island from Illinois for the weekend. What is unusual about this story as it occurred in the dead of winter when the car ferry only ran once a day and only with a reservation you must place in advance of the date of travel.. I was excited to show her how beautiful Lake Michigan was in winter- crossing the frozen lake in a boat equipped to break the ice as we went and then the serene quiet of the island in winter when few weekend travelers can be seen, rather just hearty wintering island residents .It is a tale of mishap and friendship to be sure!
Well we were on our way and charged up for the journey. I had made this winter trip many times before with my girls but it was Melinda's first time in winter. Now when you actually say it out loud..."i am going across lake Michigan in a boat in winter" ...well it sounds crazy and dangerous! And yet this car ferry which has been running for generations knows exactly how to navigate the icy waters with its ice breaker design , small capacity, experienced captains and yet heavy weight to plow through the ice. Sometimes the ice is not fully frozen all the way, as the daily boat crossings maintain an open water channel from cutting its daily path to the island by the once a day trips in January, February, March and April. Actually the worst times are not the coldest days, as the ice just stays frozen and there is predictability of ice depths , but rather it is the days when things warm up a bit in winter, and winter ice sheets on the lake begin to break up and flow into the bays, stacking them up like dominos depending on the winds and steadiness of the temps. This creates a multi layer of ice that then freezes when the temps drop back down at night or in following days when the temps return to normal or below normal. It is then the ice breaker ferries have hard times cutting through the thick uneven ice.
We have been on the ferry multiple times when we had to wait for the large coast guard boat to come from Sturgeon Bay( an hour away) to cut us out of the ice so we could again begin to move along on our journey. Once we were on the ferry for 6 hours when the journey usually took one hour! But there is a small warming cabin on board and of course your car for shelter from the wind as well (but if you can brave the cold of it as they do not let you run your car motor for the heater to work as the fumes are a hazard for the rest of the passengers and crew and of course a bit dangerous if you are on the main deck in your car as accessible to the fumes as well). Anyway there have been many adventures by islanders on this "winter ferry", tales that tell of being rescued by snowmobiles when stuck in the ice or having to wait for hours for the coast guard boat. Most of the islanders come prepared, dressed warmly, with a cooler of food and a deck of cards to pass the time. Once we saw a Snowy Owl perched out on the ice that our ferry captain pointed out to us, as we watited patiently for the caost guard boat to come to cut the ice around us so we could be on our way for the rest of the journey to the island. But most of the time the winter ferry just runs like clockwork -just don't miss your once a day ferry!!
Yup you guessed it!
Well after a long ride up the coast of Wisconsin on our way to the ferry (5 hours) and with an overnight say at a hotel in Sturgeon Bay( as the ferry only ran at 10 am each day in winter- too far to get to from home that morning), and a bit of breakfast on the way the next morning-well we got to the ferry dock... just as the boat was pulling out!
WHAT?? OH NO ,WE MISSED OUR FERRY! WHAT?! RATS!!
I was feeling pretty stupid now as the hostess of this trip- i misjudged our breakfast and travel time to the ferry dock from Sturgeon Bay and we just missed our ferry!! Now what??????
Well i knew my friend had to be home on Sunday (as she was involved in local politics and was on a village board that met on Monday) soooooooooooo being that it was already Saturday and we had planned to just stay one night on the island well... i guess i had to come up with another plan.
Hmmmmmmmmm what to do?? Well there was a lovely coastal state park a short distance away that had cross country ski trails... so off we went. Luckily i had the skis in the car not on the island ,so we were all equipped to have a fun day in the snow any way. We enjoyed a lovely ski along the lake and then headed back to town and another hotel for the night. We had a nice girlfriend supper out and swim time in the hotel pool and then the next morning(Sunday)
home again, home again jiggity jog!!
No winter island this trip this time but still a beautiful Wisconsin winter weekend just the same. Heck- fun is fun!! We just laughed about it on our way home to Illinois!!Ahhhh human error can certainly trip us up... Melinda would just have to come again another time to ride that winter ferry on Lake Michigan to get the full island experience in winter..
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