Cana Island Lighthouse

Our Saturday in Door County was filled with an incredible amount of activity. Despite sleeping on slightly uneven terrain in the tent, I had a relatively restful night (but will definitely be adding a Thermarest to my Christmas list). Karen and I awoke to a quick burst of rain, which luckily only lasted for approximately 10 minutes. Afterwards, the overcast skies immediately cleared out and the sun poured in. At that point, we headed out on a 5 mile run on the Sunset Trail. It was one of those amazing fall runs that I look forward to and remember all year.

After our run, we cleaned up and headed to Bailey’s Harbor for their Autumnfest celebration. We perused the arts and craft vendors, and I purchased a small beautifully crafted wooden bud vase. We then walked around town, and ultimately decided Bailey’s Harbor was not all that exciting. Moving on, we drove to the nearby Cana Island Lighthouse, which is Door County’s most recognizable lighthouse. It was one of my favorite activities of the day, as I really enjoyed learning about the significance of the lighthouse in maritime history, and also about the day-to-day life of the lighthouse keepers and their families. I also liked touring the inside of the lighthouse and climbing up to the top for the incredible views. Actually, climbing to the top was not all that easy for me. I’m really shaky when it comes to heights, so I definitely struggled with the never ending twisting staircase. Amazingly, although the lighthouse was built in 1869, a guardrail was not installed until the early 1900’s!