Ellison Bay

This post is a little bit of a throwback in terms of what I have posted and will be posting in the next week or so. Though not much of an adventure, I found some killer pictures from the trip I wanted to share. Mid-June after my Senior year of high school I helped my dad install some cabinets for a client of his at their summer home in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin. Leaving a day after him, I made the 5 hour trek to nearly the tip of Door County, WI with a last minute door and cabinet shelving units in tow. 

Growing up so close to the Wisconsin border, this sign was always... well, a sign, of good things to come. From mountain biking to the cottage to the Walworth County Fair, this sign meant freedom.

After 5 hours and a necessary Hardy's pitstop, where I fueled up on anything and everything they would deep fry and put bacon and cheese on, I found my self at my final destination, Ellison Bay. Knowing I still had a little bit of a drive to the cottage, I stopped at the first small park I could see the water from.

After driving for 5 hours there was no better sight to see than the water. 

Even though it was Mid-July, Ellison Bay was freezing, being one of the most northern bays in the greater Green Bay and Lake Michigan as a whole. Either way, there is no better feeling than getting your feet wet after a long drive.

Finishing the drive after my short detour, I arrived at the cottage just around sunset, just in time to snap a few pictures from the pier and beach just out the back door.

Having grown up going to southern Wisconsin lakes for water skiing and fishing, my mind was blown seeing how flat and clear the water was here. With the water as flat as glass, you could see out easily 50 feet in front of you, and from that, it was crystal clear straight to the bottom of the lake, each stone as clear as it would be holding it in front of your face.

The other amazing part about the "beach" outside the cottage was that it was made entirely of smooth stone, as was the entire bay floor. Every step you took you would find the most perfect skipping stone you'd ever found in your life, only to have that one trumped by one you found 15 seconds later. In what seemed like a dream, the stones would skip for ages across the flat water, finally sinking just as they became blurry in your line of vision. What else were the flat rocks good for? Stacking of course. The 'high score' for the weekend was 16, captured in this photo.

The second coolest shot I captured all trip, seeing the blue water meet the horizon in the seemingly endless distance across the bay was stunning, with the pier seemingly perching on top of the glassy pane of water.

No matter how corny it sounds, sunsets are beautiful, end of story

By far the most beautiful shot I took all trip. The last day we were there the winds kicked up a little bit, causing the water to break for the first time all trip and creating some crazy cloud formations as well.

Happening before I had even arrived on campus here at Denver, looking back on this trip I realized it doesn't take a certain place to have an adventure, but rather a state of mind. I'll quote the movie Up for this one, "Adventure is out there!" it's just up to you to get out there and find it for yourself.

Until next adventure, 

-jf