East Troy Electric Railroad

While camping at Kettle Moraine I decided to head over to East Troy for a look around for something to do on a drizzly morning.  I hadn't been through town since we took the kids to the Electric Railroad Museum there for a train ride years ago.  I find now that the kids are grown it's fun to go back to places we took them and see it differently through adult eyes.

The building that houses the museum was a substation and was part of the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company.  The line dates back to 1907 and much of the track is original.

Cutie on the left is a 1920 streetcar.

They also had a lovely garden out front to admire while waiting for your train to arrive. Too bad the light was so flat and gloomy, but you get what you get while traveling.

The train departs East Troy and heads down the line to The Elegant Farmer at the Phantom Woods stop, home of the famous apple pie baked in a paper bag.  Great apple pie, great cherry pie, come hungry!  I actually drove from The Elegant Farmer to the railroad museum in order to watch the train since I've ridden it before. The workers had no problem letting me onto the trains just to take photos.  Smart business to let me help spread the word.

#4453 was built in 1924 and was a Rapid Transit Chicago Elevated car (CTA)

Pullman car from the 1940's becomes a dinner train

I even got to board one of the dinner trains.  Some people were being shown around before their event and I was allowed to tag along.  Someone was getting married and having their dinner on board.

I mentioned the pie right?  They also sell a multitude of other food items.  I picked up a turkey and munster sandwich with a slice of cherry pie.  They also have every other bakery item you can imagine, plus a large selection of applesauce flavors. I had a sample of the rhubarb applesauce. Yum!

Pineapple pie? Might have to try it next time!

The conductor smiled and waved when he saw I had raced ahead to a bridge to catch them coming down the line.  Next post I'll tell you about what I did before I got to East Troy.  It's a very wet story that includes hungry plants instead of hungry train passengers.

Barn Country

While driving from East Troy to Eagle on a county road on my recent camping trip I spied this beautiful barn.

I took a page from John's book and turned up the driveway and introduced myself to the owners.  John likes to talk to the locals and his blog has lots of colorful characters he runs into during his travels. The barn owners own an antique business in the area and were willing to share a few details about the property and let me wander a teeny bit for a closer look.  The barn is German made like many in this region and they weren't sure when it was built, but the house dates back to the 1850's I believe they said.  They've done a wonderful job restoring that, but I didn't take any pics to respect their privacy.

We talked about local and statewide architecture a bit, and it was fun to chat with someone who shares your enthusiasm for history.  Restoration for the barn would be extensive and expensive and they have no current plans to tackle the job.  The owner expressed his feelings that this is a shame, but unfortunately you can't save them all.  The stone foundation on this barn is like the leaning tower of Pisa these days.

Can you believe how thick those walls are?  The animals were probably pretty comfy during the long cold winters in Wisconsin.  Tomorrow I leave for my next camping trip, but I'll try to remember to post about the East Troy Electric Railroad before I go.

Pinewoods Campground, Kettle Moraine Southern Unit

I'm two weeks behind in my posting, how did that happen?  Two weeks ago I braved the rainy forecast to camp at Kettle Moraine's Pinewoods Campground.  This was my first visit to the campground which is right behind the Scuppernong Trails that I have hiked a few times.

I camped in Loop 3, in one of the around 10 sites that has direct access to the trails.  Just a few steps and a five mile hike is all yours!

Rain brings out the slugs

Pinewoods is all non-electric and not for big rigs, but does have a nice shower building and everything a tent camper needs.  It's just a short drive back in to the town of Eagle, where more areas of Kettle Moraine can be easily accessed.  Across the street from Paradise Springs is the Gotten Cabin which was built by a German immigrant.  A stormy sky added a little something to the otherwise tranquil scene.

Back in Eagle there isn't much to see, but I did admire St. Theresa's clock tower.

If you go camping at Pinewoods or Long Lake make sure to pack your groceries as there isn't a grocery store close by.

Another thing I love about Kettle Moraine is the access to The Ice Age Trail.  I'm going camping again in a few more days and hitting a new Wisconsin State Park that has access to the trail.   Keep  a lookout for details on my upcoming trip to Hartman Creek State Park and then onward to Pattison State Park way up in the northwest corner of the state.

Tonight I captured a blue damselfly in the garden outside my front door while watering.  Hope I get a lot of opportunities for shots like these on my upcoming trip, even if it means lugging around more equipment!  I'm taking the DSLR and the tripod with me...just in case.

Milwaukee's City Hall

Seen from almost everywhere as I zigzagged back and forth across the river in Milwaukee is City Hall.  It was built in 1895 and became a National Historical Landmark in 2005.  It is 393 feet tall and the Flemish Rennaisance structure required 8 million bricks.

City Hall is currently being restored, and while a Sunday visit meant I got this great shot of the empty entrance, it also meant I couldn't go inside to see more.

The bell tower has a bell in it that is ten times the weight of the Liberty Bell and about the same size as London's Big Ben.  It was made in Milwaukee in 1896 and is composed of 77% Lake Superior copper and 23% East India tin.  It was loaded on a wagon and pulled by six horses to its new home at City Hall.  To learn more about the history of the bell in the tower, click here.

Click here to learn more about touring City Hall, including a video tour.  I know I'm going back to see more!  The restoration means she'll be around another hundred years, but I don't think I'll wait that long.

Milwaukee RiverWalk Architecture

Milwaukee's RiverWalk is a great way to see a variety of architecture in a short amount of time while in Milwaukee.  You may remember that when I was in the Third Ward recently I was sorry I didn't have time to take a stroll along the Milwaukee River.  I picked a Sunday to drop in to town to see some more buildings and as a bonus the street parking was free and the traffic was light.  I didn't walk the whole 3 miles of the RiverWalk, the buildings kept luring me off the path and I zigzagged back and forth across the river.  There are 16 bridges along the river in town, each one different, and even the lift style isn't the same.  One of these days I'll come back for the bridges alone.

But we're supposed to be talking about architecture, not bridges, right?  Let's start with The Steinmeyer Building which was constructed as a grocery store and warehouse in 1883 and is one of the many examples of Romanesque architecture in Milwaukee, evoking that medieval European feeling.  Loved the lamp!

Another Romanesque beauty is Turner Hall, which I chose to shoot as a reflection in the building across the street.  Sweet shot!

The Milwaukee County Historical Society is also on the river, but closed on Sunday so I didn't get to peek inside.  The outside was still fun to look at, especially the old jeweler's clock. Sidewalk clocks were used at the Turn of the Century to help pedestrians and businesses sync their time pieces during the course of a day.  These large clocks came under attack by one of Milwaukee’s youngest mayors, Sherman Becker, when he issued an ordinance declaring them an obstruction to sidewalk traffic.  When the new law was ignored by the public, Becker and a group of firemen destroyed all of the sidewalk clocks on Grand Avenue by knocking them over.  This blatant destruction, along with most non-functional clocks being removed by the 1950′s made sidewalk clocks a rare gem of Milwaukee.  I always wondered what the story was with the big clocks, now I know and you do too!

On the other side of the river stands the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Building, whose Art Moderne style emphasizes flat surfaces.  Nothing flat about it, in my opinion, raised detail and curves abound!

 The limestone used is quarried in the Mankato, Minnesota area and is especially weather resistant as it is of a higher density.  I noticed it had a different hue to it than the creamy limestone you usually see around here.

Just to show I can mix things up a little, here's the building at 1000 North Water Street, also along the RiverWalk.

Think that's fun? Check out The Milwaukee Building.  It's a cool place to "hang".

One more and I'll let you walk it for yourself when you come to town.  The Milwaukee Repertory Theater ("The Rep") is in a power plant-converted location and houses the 720-seat Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, the 218-seat Stiemke Theater, and the 118-seat Stackner Cabaret. I thought it was cool because the plaque on the building said it was the location where pulverized coal was first burned continuously successfully. Power plant trivia kind of interests us, ya know, being a ComEd family.

What's that tower looming behind The Rep?? City Hall, we'll talk about it another day, I promise!

Third Ward Sidewalk Koi Pond

I was so busy looking at the stuff in the windows while strolling through the Third Ward in Milwaukee that I almost stepped on these poor fish who were just minding their own business.

Is it a mural? May be small and on a sidewalk and not a wall,  but is that all it takes to disqualify it?  They brought a smile to my face, hope they bring a smile to yours today.  For more grandiose artwork check out my friends on Monday Mural.

Chalk it Up - This too Shall Pass

While shooting the Herons of La Crosse I turned around and found these chalked pieces of artwork on the sidewalk behind me.

Wish I knew someone artistic to convince to chalk up a quick mural, Lake Geneva would be perfect for something like that in the summer.  This weekend it's a madhouse, took me 10 minutes to clear a four-way stop to park in the lot for work on Friday due to the 4th of July weekend madness. Maybe not a good time for sidewalk art with all that foot traffic.

While reading Mark's post at Box Canyon Blog I got to contemplating the balance I struggle to find between "bragging" and "whining" when writing my blog.  For me the travel, the photography, and then writing about my adventures on my blog are like mental therapy.  I get to remind myself how lucky I am to be able to see and do these things and then experience the joy of trying to share it with others. This, however, does not mean that I don't have boring days and even days that are just flat out bad.  I've been having a particularly bad week around here...and writing my blog and reading others' blogs helps keep me grounded and looking forward to sunnier things.  This bad week too shall pass.

I'm sure you all realize that even if I don't write about it often, troubles accompany me in my daily life as well as in my travels, some troubles major and some minor.  Last weekend's camping trip to Kettle Moraine involved some minor troubles like noisy neighbors, sometimes the GPS makes things crazier instead of easier, bugs bite, ticks find me, and most of all I am a terrible klutz who is prone to dropping her camera and tripping over her own feet.

But, like going to the movies, I find blogland to be "escape" and I come here for the beautiful things in my life and in others' lives.  It's good to remind ourselves that happiness is out there in a variety of forms and that life's traumas and dramas are just a part of it all and not the main event.