Afton Strawberry Festival in Afton, Minn. This St. Croix River village revives an old tradition with a European-style flea market, art fair, music and children's activities. June 22–23.

Swedish Days Festival in Geneva, Ill. On the Fox River, enjoy music, a zipline, a carnival, a Swedish cottage walk and a big parade at 1 p.m. Sunday. June 18–23.

Bridgefest in Houghton/Hancock, Mich. These twin cities plan helicopter rides, a water-ski show, a Friday parade and Saturday fireworks. June 21–23.

For more festivals, see our Events Calendar.

Outdoors and paddle clubs are happy to show the ropes to new members.

Outdoors stores offer boat demos and free classes on trip planning. Rangers at federal wildlife reserves offer guided trips.

Paddling guides offer lots of ideas, and many water trails are being developed, some right in cities.

More and more tourists are discovering that the best way to get to know a town is through its stomach.

On a trip to Chicago, my husband and I took one of the Chicago Food Planet tours. We started on the Gold Coast, assembling our own reuben with pastrami from the local Vienna Beef, and walked to Lincoln Park, sampling tea, fudge, artisan oils, kolaches, pierogies and, of course, deep-dish pizza.

That was so much fun that when we vacationed in Boston, we took a Bites of Boston tour, sampling fried clams, meat-loaf sandwiches, cookies, cheese, pizza and Venezuelan bacon-wrapped dates.

The early resort owners loved entertainment and built opera houses, dance halls and theaters. Then they put in casinos, and gambling became so commonplace that placing a bet was like buying an ice-cream cone; everybody did it.

The town was a little bit Catskills, a little bit Vegas and a lot of Chicago.

Elkhart Lake is quieter these days. The biggest gamble likely will be whether the foie-gras agnolotti or chipotle-braised pork cheeks is the better choice at the village's bistros.

It's still a fast place, though— especially during the Concours d'Elegance in July, when vintage race cars roar into the village from Road America.

They're great and powerful and definitely eye-filling. And they're coming to a festival near you.

See balloon launches and, at night, a "glow'' as the balloons are lighted. At many festivals, the public can go on tethered-balloon rides, and at some, private companies offer flights over the countryside.

So I've slowed down and started touring by the seat of my pants — on a bicycle.

Michigan makes that easy with 2,653 miles of rail trails, more than any other state. You can catch a trail all along the Lake Michigan shore, from Traverse City to South Haven.

So when I found myself in Petoskey on a gorgeous spring day, I rented a bike to ride the Little Traverse Wheelway. And sure enough, I saw a whole lot more than I ever did in a car.

They're wet, spongy and seething with life that's often too small to see unless you look closely. Lean over the boardwalk, and you'll get a better view of sparkly goldthread or the lacy needles of baby tamarack.

But looks can be deceiving in a bog. Flowers that seem delicate are relentless predators, attracting flies to patterned red leaves that resemble engorged arteries, then drowning and digesting them.

The daintiest of the orchids have oddly menacing names: dragon's mouth, adder's mouth.

The most crooked river in North America is in southwest Wisconsin, amid the dramatic landscape of the Driftless Area. The Kickapoo is one of the region's best-loved canoeing rivers.

Canoeing: On the six-mile section from Ontario to Wildcat Mountain State Park, paddlers go in all four directions of the compass.

What else to do: Hike, bike and bird-watch at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Tour Amish farms around Cashton and Ontario. Bicycle on the Elroy-Sparta State Trail.

See the round barns of Vernon County. Drive Rustic Road 56 from Ontario. Hike at Wildcat Mountain State Park.

Details: For more, see Chasing the Kickapoo.