LIMA — With temperatures hovering in the single digits for the past few days, many people are getting out to enjoy the wintry weather.
There’s actually more to do outdoors in the city of Lima and Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Parks District than one might realize. For example, Vince DeLuca was cross-country skiing in Faurot Park Saturday morning.
“It’s the best exercise in the world. I blew my knee out, I got a new knee. I can’t run anymore. I love being outdoors. I like the challenge of really defeating Mother Nature,” he said.
DeLuca was dressed for the occasion, and the 7 degree temperatures didn’t bother him.
“Today it’s very warm without the wind. I’m layered up. I just love it. My dad is 73, and they go with me a lot” DeLuca said.
When asked what he thought about opportunities to cross-country ski in the area, DeLuca spoke positively about what this region had to offer.
“I think they’re pretty good. Lima is pretty flat but you got hills here [at Faurot Park] I go to Shawnee Country Club a lot,” he said.
Also at Faurot Park, a few people were taking advantage of sledding on the big hill.
Nick Thomas, from Greenville, Ohio, was visiting his wife at Bluffton University and drove down to Lima with his daughter, Willow, 4, to snowboard down the hill. This was the first time they’ve tried out the hill.
Thomas took precautions to make sure they would both stay warm.
“If you dress right, it’s not bad,” he said.
Ice skating at Faurot Park is still prohibited, but that’s not the case at parks in the Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District.
“Right now we have approximately 4 to 5 inches average on the smaller ponds and then Lima Lake is somewhere between 8 to 10 inches. It’s suitable for ice skating and ice fishing,” according to Chief Ranger Richard Kimmel. “You’ve still got to be very careful, though, because it could be thinner in other spots and thicker in other places. Ice is never truly safe so you just got to be real careful when you’re out on it.”
Many of the ponds in the park district do have signs up if the ice is unsafe.
“We do take precautions where if the ice is really, really thin, we’ll post them that nobody can be on them — absolutely no fishing, no skating — but as the ice gets thicker, it’s at your own risk,” Kimmel added.
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