![[Lake scene drawing]](http://images.midwestweekend.com/graphics/lake_scene.gif)
By day, watch wintering eagles along the Mississippi River. In the evening, catch a concert at one of three surprising venues.
Eagle-watching: On the Minnesota side, see them from Red Wing's Colvill Park, from Reads Landing or from the National Eagle Center in Wabasha.
Concerts: Between New Year's and Valentine's Day, hear Dan Chouinard, Maria Jette, Dan Newton, George Maurer and Claudia Schmidt at Zumbrota's Crossings at Carnegie (pictured), the Bourbon Brothers, Bob Bovee, Gail Heil and Paul Mayasich at the Oak Center General Store near Lake City and the Southern Fried Chicks and Williams and Ree at the Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing. Details: Music on the Mississippi.
Where to eat: In Red Wing, The Nortons. In Lake City, Nosh. In Wabasha, Vinifera.
Where to stay: Red Wing has many good B&Bs, including the Pratt Taber Inn. In Zumbrota, the Barteau House.
Past fast plans: Finding a cozy cabin, Merry Minneapolis, A Milwaukee Christmas, Escape to the Dells, Shopping in Madison
Sleigh & Cutter Rally in
Ashland, Wis. Gathering of antique sleighs and drivers in 19th-century
costumes at Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. Jan. 10.
Winter Trails Day. At Fort Snelling State Park in the Twin Cities, there will be guided hikes, geocaching, snowshoeing demos, animal-tracking and fort-building. Jan. 10.
Ice Cold Beer Fest in Minocqua, Wis. Benefit tasting of beer from more than 20 breweries at Waters of Minocqua resort. Jan. 10.
Benjamin Franklin was a wise man, but he was way off base when he proposed the turkey as a national symbol instead of the eagle.
Why? Because bald eagles are the perfect Americans. They're large, brash, opportunistic and easy to identify. And wherever they go, money follows.
Not long after the pesticide DDT was banned in 1972, bald eagle populations began to bounce back in the lower 48 states. Eagles were hard to spot in the summer, when they spread out over the north woods of Minnesota and Wisconsin, but in the winter, they'd gather to fish in the open water beneath dams or at the mouths of large rivers.
If you do only one thing outdoors in winter, do it by candlelight.
Nothing is more magical than a forest full of flickering lights. Most of the lighted trails are in state parks, but the City of Lakes Loppet in January is on Minneapolis' Chain of Lakes, and organizers promise a luminary pyramid and an "enchanted forest'' along with the usual hot cocoa, cider and coffee — presumably good coffee, since the tour is sponsored by Caribou.
The Book Across the Bay tour between Ashland and Washburn, Wis., crosses Chequamegon Bay on a candlelit path. At the end, there are fireworks, live music, a chili chow-down and a giant bonfire.
But all the events are lovely, and all end with hot drinks and bonhomie around the bonfire. They're all put on by volunteers — a gift to anyone who wants to venture out on a cold winter’s night.
Wouldn't it be great to spend a year enjoying yourself in the 12 best possible places?
Broadcast journalist Charles Kuralt once gave himself that dream assignment: Spend one month apiece in your favorite places in the United States, "at just the right time of the year.''
He devoted July to Ely, the northern-Minnesota gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area.
I could spend all 12 months right here, in the Upper Midwest. Here are the places I'd pick.
In the Upper Midwest, travel can be competitive.
Many events are so big and so fun that everyone wants to go. If you want to go, too, you'll have to act fast to stay ahead of the crowds.
Start thinking about summer lodgings now. At Custer State Park in the Black Hills, campsite reservations for the entire season open Jan. 2. Reservations for blinds to view the sandhill-crane migration at Nebraska's Rowe Sanctuary also go up for grabs Jan. 2. And anyone who wants a certain entry point in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness during peak season should have an on-line lottery application in by Jan. 15.
Soon it will be Valentine's Day, and swains everywhere are wondering where to take their sweethearts to celebrate.
Of course, it has to be somewhere romantic. But what's romantic? To many, it's the floral Laura Ashley look, with lots of lace, patterned wallpaper and antiques.
To others, it's a rustic cabin in a state park, minus the heart-shaped whirlpool but with loads of privacy and atmosphere.
Some prefer a sleeker, more contemporary place, such as the Arts and Crafts-style Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa, or the Bernard Schwartz House in Two Rivers, a Life magazine "dream house'' designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
In a blizzard, nothing is better than holing up with an expert cook, a bottomless cookie jar, a steam room, a big hot tub and one of the best ski-trail groomers in the Midwest.
One January, the stars aligned in the heavens and I found myself in the best possible place to be during a blizzard: Maplelag. This ski resort in northwest Minnesota is renowned for many things — all-you-can-eat meals, personable owners, hundreds of stained-glass windows and signs from defunct train depots — but it’s most famous for its ability to conjure a bit of snow into world-class ski tracks when the rest of Minnesota is bare.
What’s the mark of a true Midwesterner? Is it ice-fishing? An obsession with weather? Saying “you betcha’’ and calling soda "pop''?
No, what truly binds us is our love of a bargain.
We love finding good deals even in good times. But now that they're bad, we need those deals.
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