Iowa Deer Classic

As many of you know, this past weekend we had a booth at the Iowa Deer Classic in Des Moines. This is a big show where you can find anything and everything related to hunting giant whitetails. Everything except for guns and traditional bows. I assumed that guns weren't allowed in the Event Center but was kinda disappointed that I didn't see a single recurve or longbow. The archery class didn't even have a class for traditional archers. Other than that everything was great!

We were excited because this was the first big show that we were ever a part of. Our end goal isn't to go to lots of shows, but we know that it's something that we need to do to get our name out there. We picked the Iowa Deer Classic because we would stop and see Jenelle's family along the way and I've always wanted to see the Iowa Deer Classic.

We really didn't know what to expect. Getting a booth pretty much costs an arm and a leg. We decided that even if we didn't sell a thing it was worth being there and we would just make a mini vacation out of it. Of course our hope was to get rich and enjoy the fat and happy life. Well, as you probably guessed, neither of those two options happened, but we did leave feeling positive and upbeat!

The show was a little bit like the first day of trout season in Pennsylvania. You sit shoulder to shoulder with tons of other fishermen, hoping to snag the hundreds of stocked fish that are swimming up and down the river. The difference was that the other fishermen were vendors and the fish were people. Tons of little fish nibbling at the bait, telling us how great it was. Every once in a while a keeper would come along and Jenelle would set the hook. And like most of my fishing days, we pulled in enough for a meal or two but not enough to fill the freezer.

 I was like the kid that gets bored and starts skipping rocks and exploring down the river. I did a little of that and man, those Iowa deer are huge! 

For the most part, I stayed in our booth and talked to lots of people. We met so many nice people! It was fun to talk with them about hunting and glass, especially the kids the came by.

It was also good that our booth was in between Cuddeback Trail Cameras and Action Track Chairs. Being able to talk to these guys was insightful and encouraging. They purposely don't have anything at the show that you can buy. They just come to the show and promote their products. Talking and laughing and sharing stories. There is no pressure to buy. It gives them an opportunity to connect and give potential customers a great experience. Later down the road those same people will be in the market for a trail cam or chair, remember their experience, and buy that brand based on that experience.

I did take time to wander around a bit. It's always funny how when you are away from home, somehow you bump into people from your neck of the woods. Maybe it's the fact that we have commonality in the similar obstacles and circumstances that we face in life. Maybe it's just fate. Or maybe it's the fact that you don't remember anyone else that you met and so it seems that the only people that you met were from your neck of the woods.

This trip was no different. Other than our neighboring vendors, the only other vendors that I met were from my neck of the woods. One was working for Bone Clone, selling scent to train your dog to teach them to find shed antlers. He was from West Virginia and his grandmother was from our little Garrett County here in MD. The other was selling eye glasses that help you find antlers in the woods. He was a mushroom hunter and born in Cumberland, Maryland and grew up across the river in West Virginia. He invented Fungeyes to aid in finding morels. Turns out the glasses work really well for finding shed antlers as well. The bad thing is that I love hunting for both. You guessed it right.

Trout fishing is a big thing in our area and produces lots of good fishermen. As I swam by, both of these guys from the mountains were able to set the hook. I'm not so sure about training our dog, but I'm really excited about the glasses. We love our dog and it will be fun trying to train him even if he doesn't learn anything. I'll try to keep you all in the loop and share my findings this spring.

And so we're calling this show a success! We sold enough to get us there and back, but maybe not enough to get fat and happy. We came away with some fresh ideas. Mostly we're really excited about the new friends and connections that we've made! It always feels good to see our family growing!

And honestly, when it comes down to getting fat, I hope that I get really fat on mushrooms this spring!