Bayfield Wisconsin: Gateway to the Apostle Islands

It was 65 degrees Fahrenheit when we pulled into Bayfield Wisconsin after traveling from the upper peninsula of Michigan. While 65 degrees probably sounds pretty great, the humidity was up around 88% which while not totally uncomfortable, made things feel just a little bit sticky. After getting our trailer and campsite all set up, we decided to just sit for a bit and take a break. Thankfully, as the time passed into later in the afternoon/evening, the humidity finally broke and it became an absolutely beautiful day.

Instead of just sitting and staring at the forest on our campsite, we decided to head into the small town of Bayfield which sits on the western shore of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. It's also the gateway to the Apostle Islands as I mentioned in the title as most ferries and boats to the islands leave from this port.

The town of Bayfield boasts a population of about 600 people, though I would guess that number multiples by two or three times in the summer when all of the tourists (like us) come rolling in. We were pretty lucky that our first few days in the town were in the middle of the week. There were still a lot of people, but by the time the weekend rolled around, the whole town was virtually packed.

As we walked around town, we found a cute little bar called Morty's Pub. Bayfield is your typical tourist town with every other store front either being a restaurant, souvenir store, coffee shop, or candy store. While many of the eating establishments in Bayfield are geared towards "foodies" with fancy menu items @mrsbozz and I would probably never eat, Morty's felt more like a hometown pub, so we decided to step inside.

They had this funny little sign outside their doors as well, so you better believe I was all in on checking it out. Lucky me, my wife isn't much of a shopper, so she stepped inside with me. Oddly enough, I didn't get the deluxe package. As you can see, the pub was established in 1935 which over in the US is decently old, especially in a tourist town like this where stuff comes and goes all the time.

If you have never been to Wisconsin before, there is this wonderful little brewery called New Glarus. It's the pride of the badger state, and people in Wisconsin guard their brewery like a prized possession. They don't ship any of their beer outside the state lines, and I have even heard of businesses refusing to sell cases of beer to people with out of state licenses.

One of their flagship beers is an unfiltered ale called Spotted Cow. That's what I ordered for @mrsbozz and it was a joy watching her enjoy her first sip of draft Spotted Cow. Whenever I visit Wisconsin, I usually pick up a twelve pack and bring it home, but there's just something special about one right from the tap.

As for me, I went with a South Shore Brewery Nut Brown Ale. It was good, but not the best brown ale I have ever had. That honor goes to Bellaire Brown from Short's Brewery in Bellaire, MI. Despite that, it was still good and it paired quite well with the black bean nachos we shared which I didn't get a photo of.

We took our time enjoying our beers, chatting, and watching whatever sport was on TV (probably soccer since it was still early in the World Cup then). We ordered a second round, and instead of getting the same thing, I switched to a Spotted Cow as well. It was delicious!

I actually ended up drinking a lot more beer on this trip than I had originally planned, but it is Wisconsin after all. I've seen several studies that indicate the state of Wisconsin drinks the most beer per year of any state in the US. It seems like there is a commercial or craft brewery on pretty much every corner. Which is awesome if you like beer and for that reason although this took place on a Wednesday, I am including it as a #beersaturday post sponsored by @detlev.

After enjoying our nachos and beers, it was time to get back to our campsite to cook a proper dinner. However, before we did that, we made a quick stop at one of the local ice cream shops in town to get a chocolate malt. This little shack was run by two old ladies who were just as sweet as can be. They mixed up my chocolate malt the proper way (vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup), and it was absolutely delicious.

After just a few hours, Bayfield was already impressing us and we had just barely begun our adventures!

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