Steven Helmer Publications

  My wife and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary this weekend and decided to change things up a bit by having an overnight trip out of town. As luck would have it, there was a Michael Jackson tribute concert at Ho-Chunk Gaming and Resort in Baraboo, WI so we decided to go there. We've been here before, but the last time was when they were still going through a major remodel. Unfortunately, our most recent stay wasn't as enjoyable as we were hoping. To start, for the record, yes, we did gamble at the casino and did not do very well on the slot machines. However, we also went to the casino fully expecting that as a possibility and because of that, kept to a very strict limit on what we were willing to lose. So, as far as that is concerned, it wasn't a positive nor a negative as far as my overall opinion is concerned. I'll start out with the good. The concert, which featured tribute artist Barry Dean, was better than expected. The sound quality probably could have b...

My wife and I decided to give each other birthday experiences this year instead of birthday presents. This is why I took her to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum last month and, for my birthday this week, she took me to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, WI. This is a museum I've wanted to visit for some time now but never seemed to find a free weekend to do so. Now that I was finally able to do just that, I can say it didn't disappoint. The museum isn't overly large and only took us about an hour or so to go through it. However, there were quite a few items on display, and we learned a lot about ships and the Manitowoc community, especially during World War II, when dozens of freshwater submarines were constructed there. Sadly, the USS Cobia submarine is currently in dry dock and wasn't available for us to tour. However, there were quite a few other things in the museum we found entertaining. My personal favorite (and my wife's) was the submarine simulator...

It's been a couple years since we went to Circus World in Baraboo, WI so I decided to put it on the calendar and take the family before school starts up. I was a little worried it wouldn't be as entertaining without the elephants (they retired after the last show we saw) but it was still a fun event with the Big Top Show featuring everything from jugglers to trapeze artists (the latter provided a warmup show outside about an hour before). We all had favorites and left with smiles on our faces. The multi-building museum was a nice way to kill time before the shows, full of educational exhibits and fun-looking wagons and train cars. Our daughters, one a teenager and one who is now 21, went on the $1 carousel twice (easily the oldest ones on it). It was a bit pricey at $23 each (the teenager category is the same price as adult), $92 total. I do think we got our money's worth though. My only real complaint was the concession stand was a bit more expensive than I would have pref...

  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 ...

My wife and youngest daughter had a photoshoot in Milwaukee yesterday and since I didn't follow them around for another behind-the-scenes spread (someone needed to guard their bags), I used my phone to snap some photos of some of the buildings near the park.  

  While on vacation in Long Beach, Mississippi this past week, we decided to take a break from the ocean and go up the road to Gulfport and visit the Mississippi Aquarium. Overall, it ended up being a good choice. A couple pieces of advice to start, make sure to dress for the weather because a good chunk of it is outdoors. Also, make sure to buy your tickets in advance on their website to save money. You'll also want to have a little extra for parking ($5 for two hours). Our favorite section of the aquarium had to be the petting zoo area on the top floor. It was a great opportunity to touch as well as see a variety of sea creatures and we even got a kick out of how some of them seemed to actively try to be petted, almost as though they were puppies.  Another cool feature is the tunnel that lets you emerge yourself and be surrounded by the sea creatures. There's very little that is cooler than a shark or ray swimming above your head while still being safe.  In addition to ...

  I'm not a huge fan of staying at hotels but have been doing so more frequently now that my oldest daughter is in college. We first stayed at the Radisson Hotel, located at 100 Spring Street in River Falls, WI, a few months ago, when she toured the college campus there. We've been staying at a different hotel each time since but decided to switch things up on our last visit. It will be our first choice from now on. Cost-wise, this is slightly more expensive than the other hotels in the area, but not by a whole lot. This last visit, for example, it was about $5 more. It's worth the extra money. For one, the location couldn't be better. It's right across the street from the college campus and within easy walking distance of one of the grocery stores and most of the downtown businesses. The hotel also has a parking garage, something that is very handy when it's cold outside. The rooms are much larger than the other hotel we've been staying at. A room with two ...

 Some photos from our regular summer trip to Mackenzie Environmental Center in Poynette, WI.

My daughters had a school outing at Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bend, WI today. Here are some of the photos I was able to take:

My wife is helping the Henry Vilas Zoo with a fundraiser (sewing stuffed giraffes), and we needed to make a trip down there yesterday to pick up the kits. Since we were already there, and the weather was halfway decent (though a bit overcast), we checked out the zoo with the kids. Here are some of the photos.