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Other stories in "Spring"

• A new trail and two state parks
  A variety of scenery makes for a great day in southeast Minnesota.
• Miles to ride
  Chances are, there's a great new bicycle trail near you.
• Work for food (and lodgings)
  In spring, do chores or clear a trail and get a free or cheap trip.
• The season's first ship
  For a free trip to Duluth, guess when the first saltie will arrive.
• Without reservation
  If there's a big festival in your future, stake out space as soon as possible.
• Finally, the Bunyan is done
  Last stretch of paving creates a 106-mile trail between Bemidji and Brainerd.
• Good deals
  Grab a Deals in the Dells card at Culver's.
• Blazing a trail
  Like to hike? Then help out your favorite places.
• Gotta have a twist cone
  When the mom-and-pop ice-cream stands open, happy days are here again.
• Planning ahead
  Tour a tall ship, reserve a campsite, find the mother lode.
• Road Trip/Wildflowers in bluff country
  On two sides of the Mississippi, see thousands of lovely blooms in one day.
• Culinary getaways
  On artisan farms, help pick your own dinner, then dine alfresco.
• Snap up copy of new biking guide
  In Wisconsin, new trails await bicycle tourists.
• Friend us on Facebook
  Watch for cool events and new picture galleries.
• A room in the Zona Romantica
  In a Puerto Vallarta neighborhood, a B&B fosters friendships.
• Guest List/Andrew Slade's Top 5 North Shore campgrounds
  Guest list.

The mushrooms are coming

The search is on for the wily morel.

This year, nothing is normal about the advance of morel mushrooms.

Usually, they appear in Iowa in late April and peak on Mother's Day in southeast Minnesota, southwest Wisconsin and southern Michigan.

But this spring, nearly all of the Upper Midwest was cool, then freakishly warm. Parts have been soaked, and other parts are dry. So morels have popped up in patches, grays and blacks first, depending on which areas have had rain.

It's tough to know where to hunt, but you'll find clues at the Morels.com message boards and on Facebook pages for  Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota.

The season lasts three to four weeks. Since most people go out on weekends, Thursdays and Fridays are good days to look because new mushrooms have had a chance to pop out since the previous weekend.

Last updated on May 12, 2011