26 June 2014 - T'rivers, Wisconsin - It's worth the trip

While attending the Wayzgoose in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, the first thing I learned from the locals is that it is correctly pronounced T'rivers.  

It is a charming, sleepy little town at the point where the Twin Rivers meet before emptying into Lake Michigan. 

Since my class started bright and early Thursday morning, I flew in on Wednesday, hoping for an afternoon to explore the area. The four days of the 'goose were foggy and rainy. 

Covered bridge and painted signs-- hard to see through the fog. 

Despite the weather, I did get to the Woodland Dunes, which is supposed to be wonderful for birdwatching.  I certainly can see how it should be, but in the rain and mist, not to mention hoards of biting insects, the sightings were dismal. After walking several of the boardwalks, decided this was not working. Just as I turned the ignition on in my car, the sun broke through. Sheesh. 

The boardwalks were lovely. This little pond had quite a few red-eared sliders. 

 These birdwatching blinds were great. Camera or binocular slots at levels comfortable for tall and short people. 
 

Another part of the boardwalk disappearing into the field.

A pair of ospreys were using a nesting platform. This is the male. he had just flown in with a fish and was busy tearing it up and feeding the three hatchlings.  Mom sat off to the side and watched for a while. She finally snatched the remains of the fish and flew to the top of a nearby telephone pole and snarfed up the last bit. 

I did see several great blue herons. It is disconcerting when you can't see them for the reeds, and then they come thumping up as you get close. Whew! 

There were many goldfinches, chickadees, cliff swallows and red-winged blackbirds. The new-to-me bird for the day was a gray catbird. That certainly made the foggy, misty, mosquito-y day worthwhile. 

I have to talk about breakfast. There is a little dinner that overlooks the West Twin River. It has a fabulous view of a hand-cranked railroad trestle. When the train was expected, men would take a boat out to the trestle, crank a monstrous gear which would turn the trestle to connect with the tracks on both sides of the river.  What an amazing feat of engineering. There is a channel on both sides for boats. On top of the cement pillar is the massive gear that swivels it around. 

 I have to admit that most of the time it looked pretty ghostly in the fog. 

But I digress, back to breakfast.  For $6.50 I had a breakfast too big to eat. Okay, so I misunderstood just what was coming. The plate had two eggs, two sausages, three pieces of bacon, toast,  hash browns and two large pancakes. And all the coffee I wanted. Whew.  I looked around at what some of the locals were being served, and decided that my plate was Farmer Lite. Some of those old boys were eating from  plates with twice as much as I was served. Good though!

Another wonderful feature of Two Rivers is the Mariner's Trail. It is a 6 mile paved trail along the lakeshore from Two Rivers south to Manitowoc. It is wide enough to accommodate walkers, joggers, bicyclists and rollerbladers without anyone having to move to the side. There are beautiful views of the lake and the trailside gardens are maintained by local businesses or individuals. It is lovely.  These heron sculptures are in one of the little gardens. They are about 8 feet tall.

 In addition, this trail connects north of Two Rivers and runs another 6 miles up to Neshota Park. Our motel rented bikes--a wonderful idea. 


Ever noticed how towns near lakes or oceans are so different than landlocked towns? 

 

 This is a pier-head lighthouse built in 1886. It presides over the historic fishing village where you can climb into a fishing tug, walk through fish sheds and visit the Great Lakes Coast Guard exhibit on shipwrecks. 

The back of the motel was about 30 feet from Lake Michigan. The beach was covered with thousands of gulls and even more alewives that had committed suicide on the shore. The gulls were looking for live ones. 

Love the flotsom you find on beaches. Bones, water plants and clam shells. Normally I'd call this kelp, but not on a fresh water lake.

Can't forget some of the alewives. 

And of course, it is mighty picturesque. Bridge over East Twin River.

Obligatory small town church. 

The second and more important thing, in my mind, is that Two Rivers is where the ice cream sundae was invented. Naturally I had to eat a sundae.  Marjorie was happy to have a sundae for dinner so we went off to the historic Washington House.  What fun!

One of the ladies who works in the ice cream parlor makes fresh rhubarb sauce. I had a sundae with praline pecan ice cream, rhubarb sauce and caramel sauce. Thought I'd died and gone to heaven. 

Once an inn, the Washington House is now a museum in addition to hosting the ice cream parlor.  Built in the mid-1800s, it also has a visitor center, an original 1890s saloon, a ballroom, plus ten rooms are devoted to historic displays including a doctor's office, dentist's office, barbershop and more. Upstairs the ceilings and walls were beautifully painted and stenciled. 

Two Rivers. A great place for a vacation!  Just as the sign says: