Many people would rather enjoy down comforters, hot toddies and a massage. Many people don't even want to look at snow and ice.

And that's possible at many inns and resorts. Some include a spa or dinner theater, others shops and restaurants, and a few offer a whole weekend's worth of entertainment under one roof.

In Duluth, the Fitger's complex includes a hotel, restaurants, Aveda day spa, shops, dinner theater, nightclub and a brewpub with live music. In Milwaukee, the InterContinental is connected to the Pabst Theater and Marcus Center, and concert and theater patrons never have to go outdoors.

Hot Air Affair in Hudson, Wis. There will be a smoosh-board contest, craft fair, Friday night parade and fireworks plus morning balloon launches and evening moon glows. Feb. 3–5.

Winter Tracks Festival on Minnesota's North Shore and Gunflint Trail. Join guided snowshoe hikes and cross-country ski tours, sleigh rides and a Family Fun Fest at Lutsen Mountains. Feb. 3–12.

For more, see our Events Calendar.

One January, the stars aligned in the heavens and I found myself in the best possible place to be during a blizzard: Maplelag.

My, do we love our bargains. We love them even when times are good. But now that they're bad, we need them, especially when cabin fever strikes in winter.

One of our favorite winter getaways is the Sports Dorm at Giants Ridge alpine ski resort on Minnesota's Iron Range. It costs less than $20 per person to stay there, but it's only yards from a chairlift.

In 2012, that's among 15 weekend trips you can take for $100 or less per person, based on at least two people.

There's no question that Germans know how to have a good time. After all, they've given the world Oktoberfest, half-gallon steins and "The Little Chicken Dance.''

And what else? Beer, of course, the enjoyment of which is a God-given right to Germans; their adage "Hopfen und Malz, Gott erhalts'' roughly translates as "Malt and hops, to God, are tops.''

We call these things Roadside Distractions, and we always take a photo. Now we're having a contest so you can see some of our favorite things, too.

Becky Beyers of New Brighton, Minn., was first to identify Rocky Taconite, who celebrates the resurrection of the iron-ore mining industry on Minnesota's Iron Range and its shipping ports along the North Shore.

Rocky stands atop a rock slab just west of Minnesota 61 on County Road 5 in Silver Bay, which was created in 1954 around a new plant built to process taconite.

Believe it or not, many of them still want to vacation here in summer. But they have a few questions about those mosquitoes and about humidity and crowds. Mostly they want to know, "When's the best time to visit?''

Here's what we tell them.

Over the Sawtooth Mountains and deep into Superior National Forest, the Flathorn-Gegoka trails gather up the snow, arrange it prettily atop boughs and wait for cross-country skiers to come ooh and aah.

The perpetually snow-flocked pines never fail to amaze people who come to stay and ski at the National Forest Lodge.

“Wow, I've been here three times, and it's always been like that,'' said my friend Debra on a January weekend. “This is my favorite place to ski – the pine trees practically touch you.''

Oh, you could buy long underwear. But doesn't it really make more sense to gobble some blueberry cobbler with freshly whipped cream?

The Restaurant Week season is starting, giving you another good —no, irresistible — excuse to eat: It's a deal!

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.

Where to ski: For alpine skiing, Lutsen Mountains. For cross-country skiing, the Sugarbush system between Tofte and Lutsen, Cascade River-Deer Yard Lake between Lutsen and Grand Marais and Pincushion near Grand Marais.

Where to snowshoe: Anywhere in the eight state parks and on the Superior Hiking Trail (pictured).

Events to catch: Feb. 3-12, Winter Tracks Festival.

Lodgings: See Where to stay on Minnesota's North Shore.

Details: See Skiing the North Shore and North Shore by snowshoe.

When Lake Superior storms send giant waves crashing against the pier light, photographers rush to the harbor. Blizzards bring in skiers, and tourists flock to see ice floes and formations.

This photogenic village at the foot of the Sawtooth range is a drama queen, a magnet for those who bask in the big lake's chill and revel in its unpredictability.