Mosey on over to Monterey, California, this weekend for the Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, range the icy expanse at the Sandstone Ice Festival in frigid Minnesota, or slip down to the Mississippi River Delta for a weekend of swamp touring and gumbo.

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Monterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, December 11-13
Monterey, California

Grab a saddle and hitch up a pony to join the Monterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival this weekend. This shindig will give you three days of western tunes by Lacy J. Dalton, Mike Lopez, the Gillette Brothers, and more. Listen to live poetry performances given by artists such as Doris Daley, Jess Howard, and Pat Richardson, then window shop and bid on some cowboy art and gear through the silent auction. Don’t miss the chance to ride the open ranges like a real cowboy at the Holman Ranch.

Finally, relax for a few minutes of quiet conversation at Sunday morning’s bonfire with hot coffee provided. Tickets can be purchased here.

While you’re in Monterey, you can also catch a glimpse of over 6,500 underwater critters and almost 200 exhibits at the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium ($30). Or if you want to sample some of the best flavors to come out of California, stop by the Baywood Cellars’ Tasting Room owned by a family-run winery. Visit here for contact information for tickets.

Travel and Accommodation
Fly into scenic Monterey Peninsula Airport, then check into one of the hotels that have agreed to offer special rates for festival participants.

Sandstone Ice Festival, December 11-13
Sandstone, Minnesota

This weekend, hit up the Sandstone Ice Festival in the frigid temperatures of Sandstone, Minnesota. Once there, show off your skills at ice climbing clinics while checking out the latest gear with other avid climbers at Robinson Quarry ice park, which boasts both indoor and outdoor climbing facilities and training sessions. Refresh your winter camping skills at one of the two clinics led by Ed Bouffard where you can learn about “hot tents,” dressing properly, feeding yourself, and the latest in Ski Pulks. Remember to bring any personal gear that you’re interested in switching out at the Great “SWAP & SWING” where you can swap or cash in your stuff for equipment deals. The gear demos will also provide an opportunity to see the latest and greatest in ice climbing gear designs. In addition, super-star ice climber, Dawn Glanc, will be there as this year’s guest speaker.

Finally, be prepared to share your best vegetarian or non-vegetarian chili at the Frozen Kettle Chili Cook-off, or at least volunteer to be a judge. On Sunday afternoon, the American Chili Foundation will be moderating the contest. The list of entry rules is found here.

Travel and Accommodation
The St. Paul International Airport is only an hour from your destination. The festival has paired up with certain hotels to offer discounted rates.

Mississippi River Delta Weekend, December 11-14

New Orleans, LA

There are times for decadent NOLA, for a night of reveling along Bourbon Street followed by a morning of nursing a chicory-blend coffee at Café Du Monde. Then there are times, such as this weekend, to skirt the French Quarter and explore the ecological wonderland that is the Mississippi River Delta’s coastal wetlands and salt marshes.

But you can’t come to the Big Easy without a taste of the local melting-pot culture, so stop by the Tremé Creole Gumbo Festival, presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and being held this Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There will be plenty of great jazz to go with the gumbo, including performances by Kermit Ruffins, Shamarr Allen, and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews.

Once fed, escape the city for a trek into the Louisiana swamps. A number of outfits, including the Louisiana Tour Company, offer excursions into alligator-land. Keep an eye out for fowl — the bald eagles, pelicans, gulls and herons — as well, since on Monday begins the Audubon Society’s 110th Annual Christmas Bird Count, the longest running citizen science survey in the world in which tens of thousands of volunteers track bird populations from Alaska to Antarctica.

On Saturday night, a short drive east on I-10 will take you to Gulfport, Miss., where you can see a flotilla of nearly seventy boats decked out bow to stern with Holidays lights at the Christmas on the Bayou parade.

Travel and Accommodation

Fly into the Louis Armstrong International Airport, then book a room.