On my recent trip to the Midwest, I focused on three diverse attractions. The first attraction often overlooked by groups headed towards the nearby Ho-Chunk Casino and Wisconsin Dells to the north, or to the House on the Rock to the southwest, is the site of the one-time winter quarters of the storied Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Today, on the banks of the Baraboo River, the Circus World Museum preserves the history and traditions of the circus in America. The Museum, all buildings and exhibits are open annually from mid-April until late October, while live shows featuring a wide variety of circus performers are offered from the week before Memorial Day through the Labor Day weekend. I didn’t make my visit until late November, when they Museum itself was open, but the staff was also kind enough to allow me to wander the grounds by myself on a cold but sunny day. 

Within the complex are historic elephant, horse and animal barns, the Hippodrome (venue for the live performances), classic circus train cars, a carousel, sideshow facilities, and both the W.W Deppe Circus Wagon Pavilion and the C.P. Fox Wagon Restoration Center. The Museum building itself houses what is billed, in typical circus fashion, as “the largest collection of restored parade wagons, antique advertising posters and big top memorabilia in the world.” 

Here also is a theatre for regular showings of a circus movie, and displays that I found particularly interesting which tell the story of the Ringling Brothers themselves, as well as their extensive schedules of annual circus tours, performance and amusement innovations, plus the promotional efforts that they perfected. Groups with an interest in exploring a widespread form of public entertainment that was extremely popular before the days of movies, television and “virtual reality” are sure to enjoy their visits.

In East Troy, a preserved electic railroad gives visitors a passage into some of the area's hidden treasures.

A short drive from Lake Geneva, East Troy is a small southeast Wisconsin town that has a 100-year railroad history. In 1907, the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company brought the first electric railway through town, connecting the area to Milwaukee for freight and passenger shipping. Though rail is no longer the primary means of transportation, and much of the electric railroad in the area no longer exists, a stretch of electified rail extending from East Troy makes for great group excursions.

We began with a visit to the depot, which is now a museum detailing the history of the electric railroad. After a short introduction, our hosts helped us board a 1927 trolley car, restored to its original look and outfitted with vintage advertising. The car started on the ten mile journey, and our hosts told us more about their family history on the railroad as we passed through forests, corn fields and small villages along the way.

We stepped off at The Elegant Farmer, an orchard and bakery operation that sits right on the train tracks. This group of farmers has created an outlet store that sells area favorites such as Door County cherry products, cider-cured ham and traditional Wisconsin cheese curds. The Elegant Farmer's most famous product, though, is an apple pie baked in a brown paper bag. Owner Keith Schimdit walked my group through the store, and up to the production facility, where we saw workers kneading pie dough, coating carmel apples and preparing other fall products.

We had a great lunch at the Elegant Farmer, tasting a number of their products. The cider-cured ham was delicious, along with the bottle of fresh apple cider that came with lunch. A generous portion of fresh apple pie made the perfect end to a morning spent exploring these travel treasures of southeast Wisconsin.

Inside the historic electric train car

The Elegant Farmer's famous apple pie in a bag

A batch of freshly dipped carmel apples

After spending a day on Wisconsin's Geneva Lake (in the town of Lake Genvea), it's easy to understand what made this area such a popular getaway for wealthy Chicagoans of the 19th century. With crystal clear water and beautiful foliage on 20 miles of shoreline, this lake is one of the natural treasures of the Midwest.

Throughout the late 19th and eary 20th centuries, wealthy residents of Chicago bought land along the lake and built "summer cottages" of varying sizes. The most modest are the size of typical American homes; the most oppulent are extraordinary mansions that showcase brilliant architecture and uncommon wealth. Unlike most houses, these homes don't face the road, which can be a quarter mile or more away. Instead, they face out onto the water.

Today, private owners still use most of these mansions as their summer homes. Many of them take advantage of the mail boat service that began in 1916. Each morning in the summer, a private boat contracted by the Postal Service carries mail to the houses along the lakefront. The large boats pull up to each pier along the way, slowing down just enough for young "mail jumpers" to leap onto the dock, deliver the mail, retrieve outgoing pieces, and jump back onto the boat, clinging to its exterior railing. Since the boat never stops moving (for fear of colliding with the pier), the mail run is an impressive display of bravery and athleticism on the part of its delivery crew.

The mail boat has become such a beloved tradition in the area that it is among the most popular Lake Geneva activities for visitors. Groups can come aboard the mail boat for morning runs, where they'll get an up-close view of the impressive dock jumping, as well as great narration about the history of some of the magnificent homes that they pass along the way.

In October, official mail boat delivery has ended for the season, but the sightseeing cruises continue. The jumpers did a few demonstration deliviers so that the group of journalists I was traveling with could see how it worked. The bursts of excitement perfectly punctuated a day spent reveling in clear skies, sunshine and the splashes of autumn color in the trees around Geneva Lake.

A modest lakefront mansion

Jumping onto pier to deliver the mail

Return jump onto the side of the mail boat