.jpg)
Snowbirds is a common term for people who go south for the winter to warmer climates only to return when the ice is off the lakes and the snow in the woods has melted.
For those of us who stay, we find joy in the winter and keep busy to avoid cabin fever. When last winter was a bust, we looked forward to having snow on the ground, good ice on the lakes and a return to busier times.
But oh how things can change in a hurry. We went from temperatures of 30 degrees below zero to sunny days and temps in the plus-40 zone. What snow we did have seemed to melt in a minute and we wondered if winter was leaving so soon after it had arrived.
Seeing people in town for events and enjoying the area is a refreshing site. The past couple of weekends have been a bonanza for our local business community. Restaurants and watering holes, lodging establishments and gas stations were often filled with snowmobilers who had arrived off the Taconite or Tomahawk trails. Or maybe they trailered here to base out of Ely on their Iron Range riding experience.
There are other ways to enjoy the area in the winter as well from dog sledding to cross-country skiing to snowshoeing. But the king of the winter for economic impact is the snowmobiler. They ring cash registers at a high level and provide a much-needed boost to businesses that often lose money from December to May.
This needs to be a focus of our marketing and behind the scenes work to make Ely a great place to live and visit. There’s the big picture of the multitude of things to do here in the winter months and there’s the prime mover as well.
Keeping our trails open and groomed is a monumental task. For snowmobiling that’s the responsibility of the DNR for the Taconite and the Ely Igloo Club for the Tomahawk and local trails.
For most winter activities there’s work to make them happen. But that’s also another reason to keep busy in the winter months. We need all options on the table. Mother Nature, take note.
