Officials from the Allegheny National Forest chapter of the North Country Trail Association got to meet Joe LaFont from the History Channel show “Swamp People” during the Erie Sport & Travel Expo March 2 at the Bayfront Convention Center.
Contributed photo
From left are Keith Klos, chapter president; LaFont; and Karen Klos, chapter communications liaison, PR & fundraising coordinator and organizer.
The nation’s longest hiking trail is just miles from Erie, but I wonder how many Erie County residents ever have stepped foot on it.
The North Country Trail enters Pennsylvania at State Game Lands 285 in Beaver County and arcs northeast, as the crow flies, until it reaches the New York state line near Willow Bay in the Allegheny National Forest. I wrote this about the trail in 2011:
“The NCT stretches 4,600 miles — more than twice the length of the more celebrated Georgia-to-Maine Appalachian Trail — through seven states, from Lake Sakakawea in western North Dakota to Lake Champlain in New York. That includes 300 miles through Pennsylvania in an arc roughly describing the northwestern corner of the state. Step into McConnell’s Mill State Park, Moraine State Park, Cook Forest State Park or the Allegheny National Forest, among other public lands, and you’re never far from the trail.”
The Allegheny National Forest Chapter of the North Country Trail Association is particularly active in helping hikers discover and utilize the trail. If you’re in the market for an introduction to opportunities on the ANF chapter’s stretch of the NCT, visit them at the Erie Sport & Travel Expo March 1-3 at the Bayfront Convention Center.
Chapter officials Keith and Karen Klos also will give a presentation, “All about the North Country Trail,” March 1 at 4:30 p.m., March 2 at noon and March 3 at 1 p.m. Stop in and say hi to them.
“Trapper” Joe LaFont and “Trigger” Tommy Chauvin of the History Channel show “Swamp People” will be featured guests during the Erie Sport & Travel Expo March 1-3 at the Bayfront Convention Center.
LaFont and Chauvin will attend the show March 1 and 2, according to Erie Promotions & Expos Inc.
Daily admission is $7. Children 10 and under will be admitted free of charge
Pete Alex, captain at Vision Quest Sport Fishing and president of the Erie PA Sport Fishing Association, will present seminars this weekend at the Erie Sport & Travel Expo about how to become a better walleye angler and Lake Ontario salmon and trout.
Keith DiLuzio, of North East, is launching Bassin' on the Bay Charters in 2012. Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News photo
Keith DiLuzio isn’t done with pro tournaments, but he’s ready to expand his bass fishing obsession with the launch of Bassin’ on the Bay Charters.
DiLuzio, a North East resident who has regularly fished B.A.S.S. Bassmaster Weekend Series and other events with his wife, Rebecca, went back to school in January and earned his six-pack, towing and master’s captain’s licenses. He says his will be the only strictly bass charter out of Erie and Lake Erie’s Central Basin.
DiLuzio is scheduled to appear as an exhibitor at the Erie Sport & Travel Expo March 2-4 at the Bayfront Convention Center, where he’ll present seminars on fishing the city limits of Erie without a boat — or, as he said, “getting out of your car along the city side and catching fish instead of sitting on a bucket and staring at your bobber.”
As for his own fishing endeavors, DiLuzio said he’ll be a boater this year, not a co-angler. He’s entered the $50,000-to-win Bassmaster Southern Open April 18-20 at Santee Cooper, S.C. He’s coming off a season in which he was the co-angler points champion in the B.A.S.S. Northern Opens and the Weekend Series points champ.
The Erie Sport & Travel Expo wants to make you a winner in its Monster Buck Contest March 2-4 at the Bayfront Convention Center.
Enter your legally shot buck in one of three divisions: Open, for deer shot anywhere in the world; tristate, for whitetails shot in Pennsylvania, New York or Ohio; or junior, for deer taken by hunters 16 and under.
The public will vote for their favorite racks in each division. Votes will be tallied at the end of the Expo and winners will be announced March 10 in the Erie Times-News.
To enter, take your buck to the Bayfront Convention Center for check-in March 1 between noon and 8 p.m. The mount will remain on display throughout the Expo It must be picked up March 4 between 5-9 p.m. Security will be provided.
Get a look at some of the deer that theoretically could be entered in this year’s contest.
The second in a series of posts previewing attractions at the the annual Erie Sport & Travel Expo March 2-4 at the Bayfront Convention Center:
Jim Beverly, retriever trainer …
The first in a series of posts previewing attractions at the the annual Erie Sport & Travel Expo March 2-4 at the Bayfront Convention Center:
Super longbow archer Byron Ferguson …
Did you miss out on this past weekend’s Erie Sport & Travel Expo, or do you want to take another look at the event? Here’s a story from the Erie Times-News, as well as not one but two galleries of photos.
If you’re willing to drive a bit, you can take in many of the expo’s offerings at another event, the Western New York Sport & Travel Expo, March 10-13 in Hamburg, N.Y.
Here’s a quick look at some of the things you can expect to see March 4-6 at the Erie Sport & Travel Expo at the Bayfront Convention Center.
The March 2 Daily Deal also gives you a chance to buy cut-rate passes for the show.
