YOUR AD HERE »

Snow doubt about it: Craig family creates their own winter fun with tiny snowmobile course

Joshua Kawchack, 9, catches some air while practicing his snowmobile skills at a lot on Steele Street. He and his sister, Sarah, and their father, Rick, have spent may hours using the space as a small track.
Andy Bockelman

CRAIG — Regardless of how much snow falls, avid snowmobilers will always tell you it’s not enough. Still, with an empty field and a shovel, one Craig family has made the white stuff the right stuff made to last.

Rick Kawchack and his children have spent the past month hitting the snowmobile track.

No, its’ not a professional snocross site, nor is it the hilly terrain to be found throughout Northwest Colorado.

Their little patch of powder can be found along Steele Street and Industrial Avenue, south of Craig Christian Church and next to the loading docks of the former Kmart, a makeshift, after-school racecourse right across the street from their home, where the Kawchack children have tested out their new crafts.

Joshua, 9, and Sarah, 7, received their miniature, 120cc snowmobiles just before Christmas and have been using them constantly.

Joshua rides a green Arctic Cat and Sarah a red Polaris, and though they’re only a few feet off the ground, they’ve already gotten confident on the small vehicles.

For Joshua, his favorite part comes down to one word.

“Jumping,” he said with a smile, just after catching some air from a mound of snow piled up by his dad.

Rick has created numerous small ramps on the site, though his daughter isn’t much for the incline.

“I like standing and doing tricks,” Sarah said, proving her daredevil nature lap after lap, either by staying upright or lying flat on her belly as her Polaris zipped along at a whirlwind 20 miles per hour.

The limited amount of snow Moffat County has seen this season has led the family to be creative in their use of the space — owned by the adjacent church — but the maintenance isn’t too complicated for a parent who loves to see his children having winter fun and getting a handle on the machinery they’ll likely want to ride well into adulthood.

“My dad got me a snowmobile when I was a kid, so that was something I really wanted to do for my kids,” he said.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Craig and Moffat County make the Craig Press’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.