Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:
Kalkaska's Dogsled Racers Love All this Snow!-I love seeing stories about folks who embrace the winter and all it has to offer, like this one about northern Michigan dogsled racers. Mike tells of an annual race that draws 4,000 each year to this small town to watch more than 150 dogsled teams from across the country compete for three days of snowy fun. Check it out at the Traverse City True North blog.
Snowshoe Presque Isle-Amanda encourages readers of the Things to do in the U.P. to embrace the winter by snowshoeing in the beautiful Presque Isle Park near Marquette in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. You can cross country ski or hike around the park in quiet solitude with little chance of encountering vehicular traffic as they do not plow the road around the park and prohibit motor vehicle traffic on it during the snowy winter months.
Winter fun abounds in Indiana Dunes Country-Winter is a wonderful time to visit the Indiana Dunes Country in the northwestern corner of the state along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Opportunities for cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, ice skating, ice fishing, snowman building and simply enjoying the great views abound, according to KKosky at the Indiana Insider blog.
Indiana: Quilt Gardens-If you're in the mood for something warmer like a fluffy quilt, check out Terri's story about this collection of unique gardens in northern Indiana's Amish Country. We saw one of these gardens a couple of summers ago at the courthouse in Goshen, so I especially enjoyed learning more about these gardens at Terri's Travel 50 States with Kids blog.

12 Museums to Visit in Richland County-Think you need to be in a huge metropolitan area to find a dozen museums to visit? Think again! Tonya found a dozen museums worth a visit near Mansfield, Ohio (which is about 80 miles southwest of Cleveland). I've briefly visited the historic Ohio State Reformatory, where they shot much of the movie "The Shawshank Redemption", and I've wanted to visit Malabar Farm for ages. Now I'm checking out this list at The Traveling Praters blog for other ideas about where to visit the next time I'm in Richland County!
Terminal Tower by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White-I remember briefly being in this building a few years back when as we visited Cleveland one holiday season and walked around the downtown area to see the holiday lights. It comes as no surprise to me to learn that this vintage 1930 skyscraper, located atop the city's then-new rail station and modeled after a classic Beaux Arts design by the firm headed by the legendary Stanford White, also has an interesting connection to the famed Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. Check it out at the VisuaLingual blog.
Omaha's Orpheum history includes stage, movies-I love this behind-the-scenes tour of this classic late-1920s theater at Lisa and Tim's blog, The Walking Tourists. It's fun to follow the history of these classic theaters, stretching from the vaudeville and Golden Age of Hollywood eras through a heart-breaking closure in the early 1970s and an eventual rescue and re-opening in the mid-1970s and later renovations that leave this 2,500-seat theater the gem it is today.
Modern Drive-In Banking!-There are a couple of banks claiming to be the location of the first drive-in banking window by the late 1920s or very early 1930s, including a few in the Midwest. Check out this classic drive-thru banking facility in St. Paul Minnesota, brand new in 1959, at the Nokohaha blog.
Explore Historic Architecture in Hendricks County-Join Aimee as she takes readers of the Visit Hendricks County All Access blog on a tour of some of the county's historic buildings. I've visited a few of these buildings in this county near Indianapolis, Indiana like the classic county courthouse in Danville, the museum and spooky vintage jail in the late nineteen-century former sheriff's residence, Danville's Carnegie Library and the Pittsboro One-Room School. I'm thinking it would be worth a return trip to check out Danville's classic Royal Theater and learn more about the county's history!

1964: Way beyond compare-It's nearing the fiftieth anniversary of the date when a little British musical group called The Beatles set foot on American soil, so I thought including John's memories as a young boy near Kansas City, Missouri at the Paris of the Plains blog was the perfect way to end this month's list. I got a kick out of John's memory of hearing the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sweep the more sedate songs of the day right off of the turntable at his local record store (particularly "a quiet something titled "Dominique" by someone named "The Singing Nun"..."-And, no, I was not named after that song!)
That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?
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