Monster Invasion: Mitchell Park Domes Garden Railroad Show

Every year, Milwaukee's Mitchell Park Domes presents its garden railroad show, and each has a specific theme.  This year's theme is "Monsters" as in movie monsters. 

The main set is always the same with bridges, a desert area, a monorail, and a colorful residential area.  But this year, they added a cityscape (where a giant gorilla hung from a skyscraper), a drive-in theatre (where, strangely, Elsa from "Frozen" was on an adventure with the pair from "Monters, Inc.") and fake movie posters featuring the monsters, as well as Thomas the Tank, around the perimeter.

I loved both the cityscape with its Town Square and soldiers on the rooftop.  I also enjoyed the colorful town.

There's still plenty of time to visit this year's garden railroad show.  The Mitchell Park Domes is open seven days a week and the show runs until March 6.

**Update: The Mitchell Park Domes is closed indefinitely due to "falling concrete".  I never experienced this problem, but it is serious enough for the county to close one of its most famous tourist attractions until further notice.  Such a shame, but I hope they can fix the problem quickly and safely.

 

Art, Nature & Progress: O'Donnell Park & the Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee is continuing to grow.  Recently, a first-class hotel was built by the Potawatomi tribe as part of their casino, drawings were just unveiled yesterday for our new arena for the Bucks basketball team, and, in my own area, Wauwatosa, the Mayfair Collection has added Osgood's, an upscale casual dining and ice cream treat restaurant.

I went down to the Milwaukee Art Museum this past Thursday, and finally got to see the construction being done on what will be the tallest building in Milwaukee, the remodeled Northwestern Mutual building.  You can see the skeleton of the building above.

Here is an even better photo of the progress being made.

I also took some time, in the sunny, 70 degree weather, to walk around O'Donnell Park, which is located just west of the Milwaukee Art Museum, and considered to be the divide between downtown and the east side.  We still have some gorgeous autumn color to see.

I also took a photo of "The Calling" a sculpture famous in downtown Milwaukee, designed by artist Mark di Suvero in 1982.  The Art Museum sits to the bottom right.

I couldn't leave without taking some more photos of the Art Museum itself.  The museum is closed for remodeling and expansion, except for its temporary exhibit, gift shop, and café.  It will re-open on November 24.

 

Finally Fall: My Visit to the Mequon Nature Preserve

I don't know about you, but it seemed like it took forever for fall to officially come to Southeastern Wisconsin.  Usually, by early October, our trees are completely painted in fall color.  But it took until the third weekend of this month to be able to get photos of the gorgeous red, yellow and orange leaves.  To do this, I decided to venture out to the Mequon Nature Preserve, a 400-acre park north of Milwaukee that has six nature trails, an observation tower, an education center, and ecologically-friendly wetlands.

Not only do they have large parcels of forest, but they also have a nursery for the cultivation of new trees.

I was pleasantly surprised by all of the autumn color in the trees, especially the vibrant orange leaves.

The Preserve hosts educational field trips where schools can come in and learn about the environment including hikes through the trails.  And there is no fee for the visit.

I decided to try something new with the forest photographs, mostly because I had seen other photographers doing it.  I raised by camera and shot up into the trees wherever I saw color.

I love how some of these came out with the contrast between the blue sky, the autumn colors and the remaining green trees. 

I also like how the trees look almost like watercolor paintings (at least I hope they do)!

The Mequon Nature Preserve is a really nice place to take a quiet, leisurely, relaxing hike in the middle of Milwaukee, and a great place for children to learn about the environment.  I will definitely go back!

 

Not Quite Fall in Wauwatosa

Normally at this time in October, we residents of Southeastern Wisconsin, are enjoying the palette of golds, reds and yellows that fall presents.  But this year, autumn is a little shy, and we still have many areas, including my city of Wauwatosa, mostly in the green.  However, I've been stuck at home for the last three days with a head (and now) chest cold, and was desperate to get out today and take some photos now that I'm feeling better.  So, I went to one of our local parks, Hoyt Park, home of the city pool, to try and get some shots of any fall color I could find.

The most popular place to take photos in Hoyt Park is its bridge across the Menomonee River.  In fact, while I was trying to get a good photo of the bridge (which was difficult so late in the day), I witnessed a wedding party, complete with Pomeranians, and two high school seniors getting their photos taken on the bridge.

There was at least some color to break up the green trees on the long walking path that borders the Menomonee River Parkway.

I had to try to get one last good photo of Hoyt Park's bridge before I left.  But, I think I'll try to go back early in the day next weekend for a better photo.  Hopefully, there will be more colors on the trees!

Into The Woods: Retzer Nature Center

Last Sunday, I joined a group of friends for a walk through Retzer Nature Center, a state trail located in Waukesha.  I have been there a few times in the past to take photos, but it was great to see the park through the eyes of some friends who hadn't been there yet. 

One of our favorite places in the park was the path into the woods shown below.

This part of the park had a great old tree with different angled branches that looked like something from a stage set.

Another first for me was seeing the vistas you can only get to by climbing hills in the trail that I had always avoided.  But the scenery was beautiful.

My main goal was to get different compositions than I had shot before.  Using this approach made me see things on the trails I had never seen before.

I kind of liked walking Retzer's trails in late summer since the last time I was there was mid-fall and most of the leaves had turned.  This has given me a great set of photos from this region from throughout the year.

Celebrate Oktoberfest In The Park

In Autumn, citizens of Germany and the U.S. celebrate beer (and, really, why shouldn't we?) with the annual Oktoberfest.  In Germany, this 16-day event lasts from late September to early October in Munich, and originally celebrated the marital union of Germany's King Ludwig I to Bavaria's Princess Therese.  The original festivities included annual horse races, an agricultural show, and a parade.

The festivities now constist of consuming large amounts of German beer and food, and here in Milwaukee, we know how to do that well.  Milwaukee's official Oktoberfest is held at the former Bavarian Inn, but there are many (MANY) places around the city to celebrate our German heritage and partake of what made our city famous.

One of these places is the new Biergarten at Estabrook Park, which just opened in June.  The park is located on the north side of the city, off of Hampton Avenue and Port Washington Road.  What makes this beer garden so special is that it is the only one held in a county park in the U.S., and the first to do so since the beginning of Prohibition.  I took a drive over to the beer garden yesterday afternoon to check it out.

Estabrook Park itself is a very large, narrow park that runs along the Milwaukee River, and has many places for running, biking, and playing with your dog.  As you can see above, many bicyclists stop here on their ride to have a quick drink in the sun or spend the afternoon catching up with friends.

The photo above shows the concession stand where I saw that they serve 4 types of German Lager, some domestic offerings, as well as bratwursts and hot dogs.  If you buy one of their Lagers, you get a lot for your money.  A 1/2 litre is $5 and a full litre is $7, but there is also a refundable $5 glass deposit (I saw them - they are nice glass mugs).  But, you can also bring in your own mug, and in fact, it's encouraged.  Since it was only 3:00 and I had to drive back west, I didn't partake of the beer offered, but they did look good.

The scenery at this beer garden is gorgeous, and there are a lot of tables around the concession stand to take it all in.  After your drink, you can walk along the river path (above) or look out at the river itself (below).

The Biergarten at Estabrook Park is open weekends through November 24.  Milwaukee's Oktoberfest is held weekends through September 29.

For more information on the Estabrook Park Biergarten, click here.  Auf Wiedersehen!