Outdoor fun prescribed to beat cabin fever in Charles City

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

By noon on Saturday, one 15-inch bass and a handful of bluegill had been pulled through the ice on Bill Fluhrer Pond, located across from the Floyd County Fairgrounds off of Packard Avenue.

In addition, several holes were drilled, snowballs were thrown, snow-angels were made, and plenty of cookies and cups of hot chocolate were consumed.

The Kids Ice Fishing Derby was a good cure for a case of cabin fever.

Randy Wiltse, who helped organize the fishing event, was happy to see the kids participating.

“The last couple years, the weather hasn’t cooperated,” Wiltse said. He said that several prizes had been donated and “every one of the kids would be getting something.”

The fishing derby was just one of many outdoor fun events in the area that were set up for annual Cabin Fever Weekend, coordinated by the Charles City Area Chamber of Commerce as a way to break up the “winter blahs.” The idea was to offer people a chance to get out of the house and enjoy the better parts of winter.

On Saturday morning, the Charles City Public Library hosted appearances from the characters Elephant and Piggie during a special drive-thru “Snap a Selfie” in the library’s back parking lot.

Cross country skiing and snowshoeing was offered at discounted rates at Wildwood Park and Tosanak Recreation Area near Marble Rock. The Lion’s Field Sledding Hill off of Gilbert Street was available throughout the weekend.

Guided Fat Tire Bike Rides were offered by Floyd County Conservation at the Tosanak, which also hosted an Owl Prowl Night Hike Saturday evening.

Trap shooting was offered in Nashua on Sunday and Comet Bowl in Charles City offered specials all weekend, encouraging people to come in and warm up after their outdoor fun.