Steven Helmer Publications

  My wife's birthday was yesterday and since she loves trains, I decided to surprise her with a trip to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, WI. It wasn't the first time we've been there, but it was the first time in several years. Overall, it turned out to be a great birthday choice. Located in a region that used to have heavy railway traffic because of iron mines, the museum now owns the local rails and makes full use of them, whether it's restoring old cars and locomotives or giving train rides to museum guests. The museum admission is just $5, and you get quite a bit to look at, both outside on the train tracks and in two large warehouses. There's also quite a bit of history to be learned, both about trains and train travel and the local region. It took us about 45 minutes to walk through, though, if it weren't for it being a hot/humid day, we probably could have taken a bit longer and looked in more detail. The train rides do cost extra, $24 ...

Re-sharing a photo I took a couple years ago. I can't wait until spring gets here so I can start going outdoors with my camera again.

The park I frequently walk in has an observation tower located on top of a hill. I don't climb it very often (the steps kill my knees) but, when I heard the train coming today, I hurried up to the top as fast as I could so I could grab a video of it as it passed by. I was really hoping the train would have more cars than it did, but I was able to get it at least.