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Hook and bullet club

A photo we ran last week of a moose that had much of its fur rubbed off sparked the interest of Travis Raida. He saw the picture as well and thought it looked very familiar. Here’s his story:“Word has been passed to me that a moose photograph appeared in Monday’s edition of the Ely Echo. Having seen a moose north of Virginia on Sunday, April 11 at approximately 4:45 p.m., I wondered if my eyes gazed upon the same mighty beast. I quickly fired up the computer and logged onto elyecho.com.“I scanned the website looking for a link to this ‘ghost moose.’ Clicking on the link, I was whirled across cyberspace to a picture that looked strangely familiar. It was mine. “I had snapped the photograph along the side of Highway 169 about a mile and a half north of the division from Highway 53.“Luck had fallen upon me as I was traveling back to the Twin Cities. Having grown up about five miles north of the sighting, I had traveled the road countless times. Never before had I witnessed such a marvelous creature. He seemed carefree and oblivious to the steady stream of traffic less than 15 feet away. “I watched and enjoyed the rare moment, not sure if I would ever view a moose as close as this one again. I hastily grabbed the camera out of the back seat and snapped the shutter. Seconds later he paused and looked at me and slowly turned from the busy road. “As I watched him amble toward the tamarack swamp I thought about leaving the vehicle and getting just a little bit closer. But the thought of a charging animal several times my size did not appeal to me and I watched him disappear into the forest. My first up-close moose viewing deemed a success, I continued on my way.“Having said that, I feel you should know the author of the picture you have in your possession. Since my father works for the U.S. Forest Service and was unsuccessful on a moose hunt this past fall, I thought he would get a kick out of the photograph. He passed it on to a few co-workers and in turn it ended up at the DNR. My only request is that you put credit where credit is due. ”Our thanks to Travis Raida for taking the photo and sharing the story with our readers. Stumpjumpers Club back in actionThere are signs of life for the Stumpjumpers ATV Club here in the Ely area. After a meeting a few weeks ago, those present decided to get the club back on its feet again. The Stumpjumpers were active a few years ago but due to one reason or another stopped meeting on a regular basis.A group of Ely Igloo Snowmobile Club members wanted to get the ATV club back up and running again, so a Stumpjumpers meeting was held prior to the snowmobile club meeting on April 7.That will again be the case on May 5, with the Stumpjumpers meeting at 6 p.m. and the Igloos at 7 p.m.There was a consensus that the two clubs should remain separate, even though many snowmobile club members have ATVs. The next meeting will feature a visit from the vice president of ATVAM, the state association for ATV clubs in Minnesota. If you’ve got a wheeler, you should be at the next meeting and at the very least should become a member of the club and ATVAM. There are plenty of issues surrounding ATVs but if the owners/operators aren’t at the table, the only voice that’s heard are those who oppose them.

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