ST. ANTHONY — Merlin Skuse isn't your ordinary senior citizen.
The 91-year-old Michigan native walks the Henry's Fork Greenway almost every day as a way to stay fit and take his dog Skipper out for exercise. He can be often seen with his walker and Skipper enjoying the scenery along the Greenway.
"I really enjoy getting out to walk," he said. "My dog is responsible for it."
When snow fell last week, most people would stay indoors and find another way to exercise.
However, the snow didn't stop Skuse.
"I had a welder take a pair of cross-country skis put on where the wheels used to be," Skuse said, referring to his walker. Already he says he loves being able to be out in the snow instead of watching it fall from inside his house.
"I’ve been walking the greenway for 10 years, though this is the first year I’ve been able to walk in the wintertime," he said.
Skuse said the problem of walking in the winter weather hit him soon after his wife died last fall.
"My wife passed away in October, and I realized I’d have to walk him (Skipper) when winter comes," he said. "I can’t push the wheeled walker in the snow."
Skuse realized that if he could get ahold of skis, maybe he could find someone who could turn his idea into a reality.
"I got some cross-country skis from Deseret Industries, and my friend Roy Parker welded them onto the wheels," he said. "They work perfectly."
In addition to having a ski-walker, Skuse uses a pair of ice grips on his shoes to maintain his balance on the slippery path.
"There’s a little hill on the Greenway, and I wouldn’t try to walk it without my ice grips, downhill or uphill," he said.
Being able to walk the Greenway path is very important to Skuse. He said walking with his dog on the path next to Henry's Fork is a way for him to reconnect with the world around him.
"I just love to get out there and smell the fresh air," he said. "On the Greenway you can see eagles and moose and other wildlife."
Skuse praised the city of St. Anthony for all the work they've put into the Greenway over the years.
"The west side of the Greenway, it looks really nice with the work they’ve done on it," he said. "They’ve got some adequate parking over there. They’ve got an indicator out there that tells you how maintained the trail is."
Though Skuse doesn't walk the entire length of the Greenway these days, he encourages those who haven't explored it to check it out for themselves.
