Residents breeze past onlookers in their UTVs that they decorated to celebrate the holidays as part of the first annual Christmas Caravan of Lights Saturday, Dec. 19.
A blow up Santa dressed in camo catches a ride in the back of a pickup during the Caravan.
Attendees gather around the bonfire at the Chicken Coop parking lot following the first annual Christmas Caravan of Lights.
This UTV and its occupants were all lit up for the event.
The Tamaracks Resort staff had a campfire on their lit float that they enjoyed sitting around during the ride through Seeley Lake.
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake residents literally lit up the pavement on Saturday, Dec. 19 when they participated in the first ever Christmas Caravan of Lights. Attendees gathered their vehicles, trailers, UTVs and ATVs and left from the Seeley Lake Chicken Coop and Lounge at dusk.
Mike Williams, Mike Weigel, Trevor Crofutt and Chicken Coop owner Mike Layman coordinated the event. Weigel said they did not want to be overly formal with the set up so they just went for it.
"We sat down once and said, 'We're just gonna do it. There are no organizers. Let's just do it,'" he said.
Weigel was surprised at how many people joined the line. He estimates that the caravan had 15 rigs with around 30 cars following the entire trip.
Despite not having a formalized route, the caravan still managed to attract attention from residents who came out to watch the parade of lights drive past.
Crofutt said the event hopefully helped keep locals busier during the down season.
"I think it's just something that'll open up the community and give us more to do lately because it's [been a depressing year]," he said.
Participant Misty Jepsen said the caravan acted as a great substitute for traditional large indoor gatherings.
"Going by other people's houses, [people] waving in the windows, it was amazing," she said. "It almost brought me to tears, and I don't even do Christmas. I don't think they should ever stop. It was perfect, especially in a place like Seeley where not everyone can be out all the time."
Participant Ashley Stout was happy with how the event turned out and hopes it will make a return next year.
"We had a lot of fun and we're really impressed with how many people turned out to do it," she said. "Seeley used to be really involved in Winterfest. It used to be a big thing and it's kind of falling apart. So it's nice to see everybody out [and] part of it. They should keep doing it.
Weigel said future iterations of the caravan will be "bigger and better" and that he would try to make it an official parade next year.
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