Our 25 Best Photos of 2012
Browse our 25 favorite shots—selected by the art staff—from the 2012 issues of Midwest Living.
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North Woods getaway
Minnesota's Lake Vermilion offers scenes that feel pulled from postcards of quintessential Up North lake vacations.
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Cider-Spiked Apple and Pecan Tart
This tart made with oh-so-appley boiled cider is an edible work of art.
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Misty morning
A path in the small town of Horicon, Wisconsin, leads into Horicon Marsh State Wildlife area.
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Tulip time
Each May, the Dutch-theme Tulip Time festival blooms in Pella, Iowa.
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Cafe Latte's Turtle Cake
This creation from a Saint Paul bakery boasts a buttermilk-cocoa cake, candylike chocolate frosting and creamy caramel sauce.
See this recipe and our other picks for all-time best recipes.
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Holy Hill Basilica
View Kettle Moraine State Forest from Holy Hill Basilica along one of our 25 ultimate fall drives.
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Porch style
Vintage wicker furniture offers comfortable seating and gorgeous views on the porch of this Door County, Wisconsin, vacation home.
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Little Traverse Bay
Michigan's Little Traverse Bay draws travelers looking for classic Midwest summer vacation fun: sandy beaches, loon-spotting, window-shopping, leafy drives.
Read about summer getaways in Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Boyne City.
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Barn charm
This timber-frame home in Kenton, Ohio, blends a couple's affection for barn-style design, primitive antiques and laid-back country living.
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Native harvest
On a good day, a pair of experienced Ojibwe ricers in Minnesota will fill their canoe with as much as 400 pounds of wild rice.
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Shawnee Hills Wine Trail
Autumn colors the fields at Owl Creek Vineyard, part of Illinois' Shawnee Hills Wine Trail.
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Cat nap
Barbara Wetzel's cat Putter relaxes in Barbara's woodland garden.
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Eat, ride, repeat
On RAGBRAI—America's largest bike ride—up to 30,000 cyclists pedal 500 miles across Iowa's heartland every July. Eating is as much of the experience as pedaling.
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At bat
A getaway to Louisville, Kentucky, should include a visit to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory.
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Sparkling season
A fireplace mirror, wall sconces, coffee table and mercury glass all reflect pretty light, day or night, in this Missouri house decked out for the holidays.
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Chili challenge
In answer to our call for readers' best chili recipes, Midwest cooks submitted dozens of spicy-fine versions. The winners included this Go Whole Hog chili.
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Spring in Cincinnati
In Cincinnati's hilly Eden Park, you'll find Ohio River views and historic Krohn Conservatory, which holds a butterfly show each spring.
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Fanciful pumpkins
Fluttering butterflies alight on pumpkins in this attractive fall centerpiece.
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Cedarburg holiday magic
The amazing decor outside Floral Expressions in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, hints at what shoppers find inside.
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Hats off
Amy Hamilton of the Granville Millinery Company hosts hat-making workshops in a converted barn outside this Ohio town.
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Lighting the Serpent
On December 21, the ancient Native American Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, glows with luminarias beneath the winter sky.
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Book view
In Chicago's Hyde Park, bookshops and coffeehouses thrive, including 57th Street Books.
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Wonderland garden
This Door County, Wisconsin, garden delights with its whimsical "pot people" and artistic plantings.
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Best burgers
The burgers at Roquette Burger Bistro in Charlevoix, Michigan, were among our favorites in the Midwest.
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