One of the most popular places to visit in our area on Wednesday was all the way at the tip of Door County.
Amazing pictures of Simply Scandinavian Gift Shop coated in a thick layer of ice had thousands of views on our website, likely influencing some of the many people who decided to check out the scene for themselves.
The wild winds from Christmas Eve helped turn the building into something that looks like it belongs in the Ice Age.
“The wind was 50 miles per hour out here, with that and freezing lake water, this is what you get,” said Steve Cox of Ellison Bay.
What Gills Rock also received as a result of the frozen fortress was a potentially record winter day for visitors.
“Saw some pictures on Facebook and we thought it was pretty cool, so we decided to come up and take a look,” said Julie Paske of West Jacksonport.
“It’s been a traffic jam,” said Charlie Voight, owner of Charlie’s Smokehouse. “There’s been cars going by just steady and kind of bought us out of smoked fish with all the people coming to Gills Rock.”
If anyone knows whether this is unprecedented, it’s Voight.
“We’ve been around here 80 years, and it’s the first time it’s been that heavy on there,” said Voight. “Sometimes you get some ice buildup, but nothing like this.”
The owner of the gift shop was out of town on Wednesday. we spoke with her briefly, and she says her phone has been ringing off the hook ever since pictures of the gift shop hit the internet.
“I would say it’s about a foot thick on the side of that house,” said James Murphy of West Jacksonport, referring to the gift shop.
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