In addition to the berry farm trail and beauty of Bayfield Peninsula itself, the big draw to the northern region of Wisconsin was the opportunity to see and photograph the Apostle Islands, a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior.  Our favorite light for photography is the golden hue cast by the sun just before sunset, so we opted to take the 3-1/4 hour, 55-mile narrated Grand Tour sunset cruise offered by Apostle Island Cruises.

As we headed out to the furthermost islands we cruised by Manitou Fish Camp, which was built in the 1930’s and used by local fisherman.  Since then, it has been restored and depicts the fishing industry in the area from the 1930’s through the 1950’s.

The most photogenic highlight of this cruise was located at the most northern point of the islands at Devils Island.  We arrived during the prettiest golden light, so the photography was fantastic.  Between “sea stack” rock formations and extensive sea caves, I shot more photos per minute than I could remember shooting in a long time!  (Thanks to digital, it didn’t cost any more to do so like it had back during the film-shooting days.)

As we cruised back to Bayfield we saw the Raspberry Island Lighthouse that marks the entrance to the West Channel.  Built in 1863, it served as home to several lighthouse keepers through the years until 1947 when the light was converted to automatic operation.

Throughout the cruise, we enjoyed the informative and entertaining narration while we took in the views from the open-air deck.  Once the sun set, though, it got too cold to stay up on top.  I did manage to brave the cold out on the aft deck for a few final pictures:

Next up:  AMAZING AMNICON FALLS & DELIGHTFUL DULUTH