Changes at the Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show

We all make mistakes and last week’s column contained some of mine. First, I remembered seeing somewhere what the daily times were for this past weekend’s Outdoorsman’s Show. After I had submitted the column to the paper, I realized I was wrong about the times I had listed. Luckily, Andy Couch mentioned the correct times in his column.

Second, I commented about picking up the new sport fish regulations at the Fish and Game booth. As it turned out, Fish and Game didn’t have a booth at the show. I picked up my copy of the new sport fish regulations from the Department of Public Safety table. And finally, while there were some guns involved in raffles and drawings, there was no significant sales of firearms at the show.

Prior to the show, I kept looking for a short write-up in the Frontiersman newspaper where vendors were listed along with their booth location in a diagram of the building’s floor layout. This brochure had always been included in one of the paper’s editions during the week before the show. The write-up also usually contained the times and locations of each seminar along with a brief summary of the topic and who was presenting it. As things turned out, this show brochure was available only at the front door when you entered.

I guess that’s what happens when one assumes things stay the same over time, especially when ownership also changes. When Tony Russ owned the outdoors show business, there were always a few vendors with firearms for sale, and Fish and Game always had a booth where the new fishing regulations were available. The goof on times listed was mine alone. Things have obviously changed with the new ownership of the business.

I attended the show on Sunday morning. Admission was free between 10 am and noon. Saving $10 is important when you’re on a fixed income. Besides, I figured the show wouldn’t be as crowded as it normally would be later in the day. That was another assumption that proved to be erroneous.

After arriving at the Menard Center a little before 11 am, I drove around the parking areas looking for a handicapped parking spot. Not only could I not find handicapped parking, but I also couldn’t even find a regular parking spot. I ended up parking about as far away from the front door as was possible and still be in the parking lot.

While I was walking down the road toward the entrance, a pickup with a couple was driving by, also looking for a parking space. The driver stopped the truck and rolled his window down. I commented that finding a parking space would be difficult. He replied that, “I didn’t think this many people even lived in Wasilla!” I told him there were a few folks from Big Lake here as well. I wished him luck on finding a parking spot and headed back toward the front entrance.

One of the things I like to collect at the outdoors show are the various visitor’s guides different areas put out listing activities, restaurants, places to stay, places to visit, and other attractions available in the area. I might have missed a booth or two, but this year I only got visitor guides from the Mat-Su Valley, Seward, and Fairbanks. I’ll keep the old ones from elsewhere and add the new ones and make sure they’re in our RV, along with the latest version of The Milepost, for road trips this coming summer.

There were a lot of various models and styles of motorhomes, trailers, and boats on display at the show. One all-terrain vehicle which caught my eye was the Sherp Pro XT by Argo. According to Argo, this vehicle is what is called a Utility Task Vehicle (UTV). Imagine a fancy moose buggy and you’ll have a general idea of what it looks like. The wheelbase is 86 inches. It is 101 inches wide and 118 inches tall. It’s huge!

The Sherp has a payload capacity of 2200 pounds, can carry up to nine passengers, and has a dry weight of 5,180 pounds. It can climb over three-foot-high obstacles and has a 26-inch ground clearance. It can climb or descend a 35-degree slope and run on a 30-degree side slope. It travels at 25 mph on land with its 55 hp diesel engine and, being an Argo, 4 mph in the water. The tires are massive!

I don’t know what it cost, but it sure would be fun!