How Normal Will “Normal” Be? As we start to see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel, will outdoor attractions close down as we progress towards a more homebody living style? By: Shannon Brault

I think we have become homebodies over the last year, at least to some extent. The pandemic, for the awfulness of the virus and the lives it has taken, has also reminded us that sometimes we need to take a pause from our go-go-go lifestyles. But will outdoor attractions close down as we progress towards a more homebody living style? I have mixed feelings. 

I feel like outdoor attractions are going to be the future of what people are doing. When the pandemic hit, it seemed like everybody and their mother had suddenly become outdoor people. I saw more beginning skiers out on the trail this winter than I have ever seen before, and I have constantly seen people out running, hiking, biking, or walking with their families.

Outdoor sport and activity equipment has also been flying off the shelves. It is still difficult to find bikes, hiking boots, skis, and other things that people have bought to try out during the pandemic. Additionally, campsites are getting booked at the fastest rate that I have ever seen. Camping is a nice outdoor activity for homebodies since you set up a tent as your home for the week and you don’t have to interact with anyone you don’t want to. It’s great!

While it is great that people are getting outside, my hope is that people start, and continue to, respect the trails and the environment that they are in. The Boundary Waters saw an unprecedented number of people this year, but they also saw an unprecedented amount of trash. People would litter, leave their belongings, tear down live trees, and leave their fires unattended to. They did not show respect for the protected wildlife area.

While I sometimes became crabby with the overpopulated trails when I was trying to do my thing, I do hope people stick with the new activities that they have tried. 

On the other hand, some of the things we used to do outside prior to the pandemic are highly unsanitary and I don’t know if I will ever be comfortable enough to do some of the things that I used to do. 

Even the summer before the pandemic, I thought amusement parks were germ-infested cesspools. The roller coaster seats have so many butts touching them every day (the worst is when the seat is wet from a preteen who went to the waterpark prior to getting on the ride), and they aren’t cleaned throughout the day. People are touching the gates and the lap bars, and you can’t always trust people to wash their hands. 

Or the Minnesota State Fair. I am not a crowd person at all, and I have never been. There are hundreds of thousands of people packed into the fairgrounds like sardines. Let’s not forget that prior to the pandemic, people would still go out if they didn’t feel well or were sick, and I really hope that changes. Again, there isn’t much sanitation of rides, general seating areas, etc. 

I won’t touch on large music events, but I do hope they come back for the sake of live music. 

COVID could become something that we live with for a long time, like the flu, and it’s not going to disappear with the vaccine. I wonder if we are going to get to a place where people are as comfortable as they were prior to the pandemic and act like it never happened at all. Or will we move forward to get back to a better and more ethical normal?

Maybe indoor attractions will make people more nervous because of the pandemic, and maybe outdoor attractions will become our new normal. The thing that seems certain to me is that we need to take better care of our environments, whether that’s nature trails or amusement parks. There is a more ethical and safe way for us to enjoy outdoor attractions, and we need to do it.