Root River: Snowmobiler's raceway for a while

The Root River is well into its winter season. The canoes are put away, the fishermen are home watching the Outdoors channel on TV, or perhaps freezing their butts off for a few hours of ice fishing in the harbor.

Good thing, because the snowmobilers are out in force, as this picture shows. Taken Saturday afternoon about a half-mile south of Four Mile Road, it shows a trio of snowmobiles following what looks like a well-worn track. There is a thin ice spot on the Root downstream, so the presence of these guys means they have found a way around it. Or was it just dumb luck? Let's hope not.

Warm temperatures this weekend -- it actually hit 37 degrees -- are once again just a memory, according to the National Weather Service forecast. Monday's high isn't expected to top 29 degrees, and Tuesday will drop again between 3 degrees and 17. That should make life a little safer for the river snowmobilers ... but it won't last. Thursday's high will be 35.