http://www.derbytrack.com/history.cfm

My source is the website to the World Championship Snowmobile Derby web page. It talks about how Carl Eliason made the very first design of the snowmobile. It was a more of a toboggan, but it had two skis in the front that could control which direction you go, and a track that helps it move through the snow. Then it explains that John Alward and his wife wanted to make winter better. So they invented wanted to race these snowmobiles to make the winter a better time! Then on February 9, 1964 the first Derby began. They’ve been racing every year and this year (2014) will be the 51^st annual Derby. I started with this source because Eagle River is known for its snowmobiling. After all, it is the Snowmobile Capital of the World!

This website has a lot of ethos. It is the official website of the World Championship Snowmobile Derby, so I can believe that all of the information is real and not made up. It also talks about every Derby that they have had in the past, until now. This website has many parts to it, it is promotional, so they are trying to sell us tickets to come watch the Derby. It also has a lot of other information on it. However, I just focused on the history part. In this, they talked a little bit about every single derby from 1964, until now. It also talks about how some years were special. For example, it says that in “2001 saw a record of racers and fans.”

This source is very good. I like it because it has a lot of information, and it is the official website of the World Championship Snowmobile Derby. That means that all of the information should be true and very credible. However, it also means that they are very prideful of the Derby, and don’t write about the negatives of the Derby. So I need to take that into account when I look at the information and write about it in my essay.

I’ve learned through this site that Eagle River is the Snowmobile Capital of the world and has been due to the Championship Derby Every year for the past 50 years. This source is very valid and useful for me. It helps me know a little bit more of what Eagle River is known for. I still am missing other information about what Eagle River known for. So I want to find out more about Eagle River and piece together this town where  I call my second home!

“History.” Amsoil Eagle River Derbytrack. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Wanting to know more about Eagle River, Wisconsin I formed my question around that. So I asked: what is Eagle River known for, and how did that become popular? This has been on my mind for a while, but I haven’t gotten around to learning more about it. The reason why this sparks my interest is because my family has owned a cottage there for thirteen years now and I don’t know a whole lot about the history of Eagle River. So I was intrigued to learn more about it.

I think that my question is important because I want to know about the history of my cottage. I want to explore more about my topic because it is interesting, and would be cool to know about what Eagle River is known for.

I currently do not have a satisfactory understanding of my question because there isn’t a ton of information in the Eau Claire Archives that give me a defined answer. So I need to dive into the books at the library and find good, credible sources online, which will help me get more information about what Eagle River is known for, and how they became popular for that.