Editorial Archives Page -
Wisconsin Northwoods Living

March 9, 2005
Pets Are Family Too

In December 2003, one day prior to my birthday, I lost
my best friend Trevor. My wife, Kristine, and I had
been keeping our two dogs in at night when it got very
cold, so they were both inside that particular night.

At about two in the morning, when Kristine got up to let
the dogs outside, Trevor couldn't get up. His belly
was terribly bloated. Kristine shouted
to me, so I came downstairs quickly. Trevor managed to
stand up before I got down there, but he just about
collapsed next to me and couldn't get up again.

Kristine called the veterinarian and arranged for us to meet her immediately at the vet's office. Then I carried Trevor out to the truck and held him while Kristine drove us to the vet's office. The vet, who said Trevor's stomach had probably become twisted, feverishly worked on him, but he died in my arms.

I never thought Trevor had an aggressive bone in his body until one night when a Rottweiler strayed into our yard. We awoke to all kinds of barking, and looked out the window to see this big Rott. As soon as I walked outside, Trevor charged that Rott with as much ferocity as a German Shepherd! Thank goodness that stray turned and ran!

Hardly a day goes by that I don't think about that loving Yellow Lab mix (oh, he was no purebred). Trevor, my best buddy, just lived to have the ball thrown for him. You couldn't walk outside without him dropping the ball next to you. If you walked away, well, there he was again - dropping the ball and looking at you as if to say, "Throw the ball, throw the ball, come on already JUST THROW IT!"

One day, back around 1998, he made me realize just how much he cared for me. I was in the middle of a long, drawn-out divorce, and I'd gone outside and sat on the steps in despair and frustration. Up walks Trevor - but not with his ball. He just sat down and put his head on my knee and looked up at me as if to say, "It's okay, Daddy, things will get better." I will never forget those loving eyes.

Even today as I type this article, it is very difficult, for I am looking through tear-filled eyes.

Folks, please enjoy, appreciate, and love your friends and family - pets too - as much and as often as you can. You just never know when they'll be gone.

February 16, 2005
Snowmobile Trails - Private Land
This editorial is directed at the idiots who cannot seem to stay on the trail. Those who ride responsibly, kudos to you!

I am quite confident that most of you reading this page can read, so:

• What part of NO TRESPASSING don't you understand?
• What part of STAY ON THE TRAIL don't you understand?

Don't you comprehend why you must stay on the trail? Or do you just feel entitled to ride where you please? You do? Oh, please tell me where you live. I want to come over and do what I please on your land.

Who am I pointing my finger at? The blithering moronic idiots who leave the trail to climb hills or horse around in that beautiful powder in some field along a trail.

Snowmobile trails here in Wisconsin's Northwoods consist of varying types of terrain. On any given day, you could ride on a:

• forest trail
• closed road trail
• roadside of a road open to vehicles (known as a route)
• lake trail (never cross a lake until it's marked)

No matter what type of trail you are riding - please treat them with the UTMOST amount of RESPECT! It's for your safety, the safety of others, and the preservation of the trail itself.

Now, let's talk about trails across private land. Private land trails are a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT! Every year we lose more and more private land trails because more and more riders have no respect for private property and they leave the trail.

When private land trails are shut down, it cripples trail systems, and it degrades the overall reputation of snowmobiling. If the numbers of irresponsible riders continues to increase, we will one day have no private land trails at all. It will be much more difficult - if not impossible - to find routes.

We may end up with trails on only public land. But if the tree huggers have their way, we won't have those either.

We must all do our part in preserving our trail systems and the overall reputation of our great sport of snowmobiling!

January 11, 2005 - Snowmobile Trail Funding

Here in Wisconsin's beautiful Northwoods, snowmobiling is one of the biggest parts of our economy - maybe even THE biggest. In order for snowmobiling to take place, snowmobile trail systems must exist. Unfortunately, not very many snowmobilers have any idea of how trail funding operates. Many believe that because they spent lots of money getting equipped to snowmobile, getting here, and staying here, that the funding for the trail system is somehow all taken care of.

Well, guess what? None of the $1000 you spend for a week's lodging in a condo automatically goes for trail maintenance. None of the $150 some people spend daily in bars and restaurants automatically goes for trail maintenance. Out of all the dollars snowmobilers spend, only a small percentage of gas tax ends up supporting trail systems.

Printed somewhere on your trail map are the words, "Please support these businesses that support us." It may even say, "They make the trail system possible." These are misleading statements! The advertisements on the trail map serve to pay for the printing of the map - they do NOT help pay for the trail system. By the way, you did pay the $1 for the trail map, didn't you?

"But I paid for my snowmobile registration," you say. Out of that money, not very much ends up funding a trail system. Just think of the amounts of money snowmobilers are willing to spend on equipment - yet they refuse to throw a $20 in a fund jar.

Example:
Average cost of a brand-name snowmobile suit - $800
Average cost of a snowmobile - $9,000
Average cost of a trailer to haul the sleds - $7,000
Average cost of a new truck to pull the trailer - $45,000
Average snowmobiler spends hundreds during the trip, which is needed and appreciated by the Northwoods economy but still does nothing to help with trail costs. When you consider all of this, why is it asking too much to ask a snowmobiler to join a club or donate a bit of money? Twenty dollars is less than one percent of what an average snowmobiler spends to get here and ride.

If you think a trail is poorly marked or rough, then please be generous with your donations, or join a club (or 2 or 3) where you ride most. Every individual can make a difference: Every $20 donated gets that club $20 closer to paying their diesel fuel bills or buying signs.