We had a little of the winter storm that hit the Midwest yesterday. The wind raged all night, and in the morning we had a half inch or more of snow, and the temperature was about 26°. It stayed cold and windy all day. They tell me that the main roads were pretty much OK, but I wasn’t able to get out. I’ve said this before this winter, but I imagine that will be the last gasp of snow. Aside from the big blizzard of March 13, 1993, I can’t remember a measurable snow this late in the winter.
The Adventure Race is scheduled for April 13, with the finish line at Mercier’s Orchards. The Benton McKaye Trail Association is having a celebration with lots of trail information and two bands at the finish line to celebrate the designation of Blue Ridge as a Trail Town.
The skating rink has been removed from the downtown park. No word yet on whether it made or lost money.
The renovation of the house on West Main that used to be Mike Birchmore’s law office is underway. An upscale restaurant is planned for this historic house.
The organizers of the Fire & Ice Festival – the ice sculpture and chili cook off in downtown Blue Ridge – reported attendance of 4,000 – 5,000. If that is true, that’s a remarkable number for a day when the temperature didn’t rise very much above the freeze. One nice thing was that the ice sculptures lasted into the week.