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Welcome to MidwestWeekends! I'm Beth Gauper, and for 15 years, I've written about vacation travel in the Upper Midwest.

I'll tell you where to find the best places to stay and eat and the festivals you should be sure to catch. I'll tell you where to shop and where to take the kids. If you like to hike and bike and paddle, I know the best places to go.

You can read stories about your favorite destinations or skip to the Trip Tips, where I give you a choice of the best places to stay and things to do.

If you don't know where you want to go, visit the Plan a Trip page to get ideas. Our home page is where you'll find the most timely stories. If you want to run out the door right now, take a look at the FastPlans, quick itineraries with links to longer stories. Watch the Do It Now feature for alerts: when to make reservations for the most popular places to stay, where to find the biggest festivals, how to get the best deals. And every week, I round up the best events for This Weekend.

I'll also tell you What's New. And if you know of a new event, attraction or service, or an inn or restaurant that's opening (or closing), I'd be happy to hear about it.

We're adding and updating every day so you can have the best and most up-to-date information about travel in the Upper Midwest.

You should know that this is not an ordinary travel publication. We have no ties to any tourism bureau or business. When I point you toward a place, it's because I think you'll like it, not because someone gave me a free trip or is paying me to plug it. And I don't just rewrite information gleaned from brochures or the Internet: When I describe a place, it's because I've been there and seen it myself.

I've stayed at hundreds of inns and hotels in this region and toured nearly all the attractions. My first travel columns and stories — more than 800 of them — were for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Now I'm exploring on my own, and as always, I'll give you unvarnished opinions about what I find.

It took another kind of expert to build this site. The man behind the screen is Torsten Müller, my husband and frequent travel companion. He also contributes photos he takes on our trips. We live in Minneapolis.

Thanks for stopping by Midwest Weekends. Check back weekly, or sign up for our free newsletter and have the week's tips and stories delivered to you.

If you like what you see here, please tell a friend about us. And we're always happy to receive ideas and comments. Please use the contact form to write us.