MINOT – After a bitterly cold week, the outdoors are finally warming up. With the warmth comes more people venturing outside.
Many of those outdoor winter activities include tubing, sledding, ice skating, cross country and downhill skiing, or even just strolling downtown.
Kayden Hudson, Minot, likes to ice skate in his free time.
“Normally I go to the Maysa, but it’s warm out so we decided to come out here,” said Hudson, at Minot’s new ice rink downtown.
Hudson, an electrician, said he doesn’t necessarily play hockey and just skates for fun every now and then.
“I hated the cold last week; I had to work in it,” said Hudson. “I was thinking of going ice fishing now that it’s warmer.”
The Pearson family with three kids, ages two, four, and six, also enjoyed the ice rink Tuesday, a day which reached almost 40 degrees.
“They’ve been cooped up for the last week or so,” said Devanni Pearson, mom of the kids. “We think anytime it’s above zero we better get out and enjoy it.”
Pearson said her family checked out the ice rink before the first big snow and had a lot of fun. They also enjoy heading next door to Prairie Sky Breads to get something to eat.
Pearson and her husband are chiropractors at Pearson Chiropractic by Dakota Square Mall.
“We’re going to hopefully go sledding,” said Pearson. “My parents are visiting from Seattle. We want to go up to Bottineau and go tubing. We’re packing this weekend. Glad the weather’s nice.”
Tracy and Sharon Emrich, Minot, like to stroll downtown where they usually buy items at some of the stores almost every week.
“We get out of the house,” said Tracy Emrich, “We do not stay inside. When we can go out, we go out, even if it’s bad.”
The Emrichs said they still went outside last week in the bitter cold.
“We went out. We didn’t like it, but we did go out,” said Tracy Emrich. “We’re not going to let it stop us unless it’s like four feet of snow in the street. We love downtown.”
Gerald Brown, special events coordinator for the Minot Park District, said there has been an increase in people using the park’s outdoor winter services, especially with winter break and kids having more free time.
“Over the Christmas weekend, people tend to stay inside with their families,” said Brown.
Brown said people of all ages like to go to ice rinks, some of which are tailored for hockey and some for leisure. Young kids and older adults typically enjoy the leisure rinks, says Brown, and older kids and young adults enjoy hockey.
Special holiday hours can be found here, and regular hours can be found on the Minot Park District’s website.
