Signs from an Island

I did no research before my recent, brief visit to Madeline Island, which explains why I didn't know about Tom's Burned Down Cafe. Best I can tell, it's a combination restaurant, bar, and outsider artist installation.

For those who don't know, Madeline is the largest and only inhabited one of the Apostle Islands, which are located in Lake Superior near the Wisconsin shoreline. You can reach the island by ferry or boat; it was long the summer home of native people (as described in Louise Erdrich's book The Birchbark House).

Unfortunately, I had already eaten lunch and was not in the mood for a drink when I came across Tom's last Saturday. So I just took a few photos and made a mental note to return some other day.










One sign I didn't take a photo of reads, "Sorry, We're Open."