Outdoor Enthusiasts Unite: Gateway Expo 2025 Insights

Arnold00:00:00

Missouri's premier gathering for outdoor recreation is back. The Gateway Outdoor Expo Plus Summit returns to the St. Charles Convention Center November 14th, 15th and 16th.We're going to talk to the founder on St. Louis in June.

Brad00:00:20

Close enough.

Mark00:00:27

Do we have to do disclaimers already?

Arnold00:00:31

Saint Church Carl, welcome to St. Louis in Tune. This is Arnold Stricker.Thank you for joining us for fresh perspectives on issues and events with experts, community leaders and everyday people who make a difference in shaping our society and world. We're here with co host Mark Langston.

Mark00:00:46

Howdy.

Arnold00:00:47

Were we on while we were. Yeah, we were. Oh, so you folks, you got to hear some of the outside banter there and conversation.

Mark00:00:54

Go to the YouTube channel and see that.

Arnold00:00:55

We might be on the news tonight where the. We had a hot mic. Hot mic event. Did you hear what he said? Oh, folks, we're glad that you joined us today.Want to thank our sponsor, Better Rate Mortgage for their support of the show.You can listen to previous shows@stlintune.com please help us continue to grow by leaving a review on our website, Apple Podcast or your preferred podcast platform. Our positive thought for the day. Our positive thought for the day. You must be positive, folks.

Mark00:01:28

All right.

Arnold00:01:29

You must be able to turn the pages that are on the table because if you don't, you're going to be in trouble.

Mark00:01:35

This is the longest intro we've ever had.

Arnold00:01:38

Remember, it'll go along with this one. Remember, you'll never get new results from repeating old habits. You'll never get new results from repeating old habits.Now that goes exactly with what we're going to talk about today because prior to the show, we were talking with our guest, Brad Kovach, and he is the founder. Because I was like, you are the founder, right? And he goes, yeah, he's the founder and he's the deputy director at River City Outdoors.He's also the publisher at Terrain magazine.

Mark00:02:13

Holy smokes.

Arnold00:02:14

And the founder of Gateway Outdoor Expo Plus Summit, which is going to take place November 14th, 15th and 16th. Welcome back, Brad.

Mark00:02:20

When does he.

Brad00:02:20

Thank you.

Mark00:02:21

When do you sleep?

Brad00:02:22

It's crazy this time of year. Yeah, yeah. Thanks for having me. Third time, I was thinking on the drive in, do I get a jacket Five times? Like some.

Mark00:02:28

Oh, is this the third time?

Brad00:02:30

The Saturday Night Live. I have two more years for. But I'm already thinking ahead to.

Arnold00:02:35

We can just give you one of those reflective stars.

Mark00:02:37

We have a pen. We didn't give them a pen. I've got one of those official pens.

Arnold00:02:41

I can give you a Pen from another place here that we got.

Mark00:02:46

Here we go. Our official pens. It's a fidget pen.

Arnold00:02:51

Thank you.

Mark00:02:51

At the top, you can spin the top. There you go.

Arnold00:02:54

Yeah. If you're bored, if you're trying to think about what outdoor activity you're going to do for Right. You can spin that thing, your very own.

Brad00:03:00

Like a little roulette wheel.

Mark00:03:01

Yeah, we like the. We're at roulette. Are we going to get to this show?

Arnold00:03:08

We're there. We're there. Okay, so Brad, this is going to take place November 14th, 15th and 16th.And I want to mention that last year folks there were over 6,000 people.

Brad00:03:20

Wow.

Arnold00:03:20

And they expect more this year. So do you have to get a ticket to come?

Brad00:03:24

You don't. And that's one of the better things about the show I think is it's not ticketed. So it's free public entry. Also free parking.We want to remove every barrier possible to coming down.

Arnold00:03:33

And this is at the St. Charles Convention Center.

Mark00:03:36

It's easy to get to.

Arnold00:03:37

It is easy to get to. It's on out in Saint. Some people say Chuck out there. It's on the south side of I70 and you want to get it on the south service road.I believe that's how they install that there. But check that out. So what are some things that people can expect new this year that if they've been in the past. Yeah, we have going to be new.

Brad00:03:58

A couple of fun new things this year. We always tried to build activity into the Expo. So it's not just a booth event where you walk from space to space.We try to get people, give people things to do. This year we have a run before the Expo starts.So the Expo is on Saturday, starts at 10, so if you show up at 9, we're partnering with St. Charles Runners Club and they're going to have a group run, non competitive, no tickets or no fee for that either to just show up, run with some friends and you can run up to 10k but you certainly don't have to. You can run any distance you want in between there.And then afterward the group is going to have some guides there and help shepherd everybody through. And then afterward you'll come back to the convention center and there's a free light breakfast that we're offering.And then at 10 o' clock the doors to the expo open and everyone can go inside and walk around. And then we're doing the same thing on Sunday but with bicycles. So if you're not a runner, but you're a bike rider.We're coordinating with Big Shark Bicycles and Southside Cyclery and they are going to host the bike ride again, free, open to the public, starts at 9. Ride your bike on the Katy for about an hour or so. Come back, come to the expo, have a little free light breakfast and then go on and walk around.

Mark00:05:09

And Brad is doing both. He's running.

Brad00:05:11

And are us going to run for 48 hours consecutively?

Mark00:05:15

Okay, gotcha, gotcha.

Brad00:05:17

Inside the expo? Yes. Run, walk. You don't have to run. Certainly you can walk. But yeah, we want to make it again as easy as everybody or as easy as we can on everybody.

Arnold00:05:26

That's cool because Katy Trail is not too far away.

Mark00:05:28

No, it's right there.

Brad00:05:29

Yeah, that's the idea I think is to get people down to the Katy and then let them go up and down and take it at their own pace.

Arnold00:05:34

That's great. And if you've never been there, folks, there are a variety of activities. There's gear galore, base camp presentations, hands on activities.Get into some of these things for people that may have wanted to go in the past, but maybe the timing didn't work for them or their family or they're like, wow, I'm new to the area, I never knew about this, what do I do?

Brad00:05:53

So the Expo itself is a big gathering of outdoor recreation businesses, organizations, clubs, all those sorts of things. Predominantly the backbone of the show is the booths. You have vendors there who are.Some are selling gear, some are talking about their event or organization or club that might be a running club, a biking club or a rock climbing club. But it's just a way for people who maybe are new to the area or who just want to get more involved with the outdoors to come down.Yeah, meet new people, sign up for an event, sign up for a club that then you can meet with throughout the year or maybe buy some gear that you've needed to get outside. One of the other things I might mention that's new this year is we have presentations.You had mentioned that we call the area on the show floor base camp, but it's really just a stage on the expo floor. And we'll be having presentations this year every half hour or so.Experts there to talk about whatever their particular topic is that might be long range paddling or it might be grassroots conservation. Just different half hour sessions that you can stop in at when you're walking around the expo.If you need a break from walking and want to sit, learn about a new topic that interests you and then Pursue that the rest of the year if you choose.

Arnold00:06:59

Is there a rock climbing wall there?

Brad00:07:01

We will have the rock wall again this year. Yes. Yeah, that's a big one. Upper Limits always brings that. Families love it. Safe way to try rock climbing and it's fun.

Arnold00:07:11

Now I'm wondering if there's going to be like a kayak kind of or will there be somebody with kayaks out there? Do they have a. One of those swimming things that you can bid in there and then the water will rise?

Brad00:07:21

I've seen those north at the boat show. They used to have a kayak area with an inflatable pool and water. You could actually kayak on site. Unfortunately, we're not doing that.But hey, ideas for, for next year?

Arnold00:07:34

Okay. All right. So how many vendors will be there roughly?

Brad00:07:38

We have 150 booths.

Arnold00:07:39

Wow.

Brad00:07:39

So you know, it's about 100, 125 vendors. Some have multiple size booths, but yeah, so you're looking at about 100 different organizations that are going to be there.

Arnold00:07:47

So when you're talking about gear, you're talking about, okay, tents, sleeping bags, bikes, canoes, kayaks, every kind of thing that you would imagine for outdoors. There's a vendor for all of the above.

Brad00:07:59

So yeah, we try to keep. Cut a wide path there, if that makes sense. A lot of different, different gear from a lot of different places.

Arnold00:08:06

When did you start planning for this particular year? Oh gosh, the day after last year.

Brad00:08:11

Yeah, that's the real answer. Things really heat up about three months out. Six months is the light break in.But yeah, once we're three months out, it's really, it's all on fire because.

Arnold00:08:22

You have to make plans with the convention center probably maybe a couple years in advance.

Brad00:08:27

That happens a year out. Yeah, so we're already talking about next year. We're talking about 2026 now at least with a convention center.And then we start some light reach outreach to vendors and stuff about six months out and then it goes from there.

Arnold00:08:40

And these aren't all local vendors. Do you have some vendors in outstate Missouri or maybe out of the state of Missouri coming?

Brad00:08:46

No, we do. That's a good question. I haven't. Last year we did a little heat map to kind of show where they were from.Haven't done that yet this year, but I do know we have a Colorado. I think we have a couple from Georgia area, Louisiana, Tennessee perhaps. They spread out a bit.Predominantly it's regional and local, but we do get a few that come from the outlying area.

Arnold00:09:07

So you get not only vendors, but people to come from nationally to this.

Brad00:09:10

Those are more vendors. Yeah. And people. It's hard to say since it's a non ticketed event. We can't. It's hard to track people.I think most of the folks are local, regional, drawing from the metro and maybe southern Illinois a little bit, but yeah, predominantly.

Arnold00:09:22

Do you have a map? Like they could put a pin and say where they're from.

Brad00:09:25

That would be fun.

Arnold00:09:26

Track.

Brad00:09:26

I haven't done that.

Arnold00:09:27

That would be neat because I'm sure there's people from Iowa and Kansas and Nebraska and matter of fact, Missouri is one of the fewest states that has the most border states around it. And you get all these people coming in. And it's pretty centrally located too.

Brad00:09:41

I think so too.

Mark00:09:42

Yeah.

Arnold00:09:43

November 14th, 15th and 16th and they can get some information@gatewayoutdoorexpo.com Gatewayoutdoor Expo.com and in the issue of Terrain magazine. Which issue?

Brad00:09:56

Yeah. So we just released our November December issue of the magazine. And one of the fun items in there we do every year this. Every.This time of year, every year is a photo contest. So these are the winners. These are all amateur regional photos. So submitted by our readers.And then we have a panel of judges and we go through and we choose. I want to say there's maybe 15, there's five categories, three winners in each category. So about 15, 16 winners overall.And it's just a fun issue to page through people, I think to see what other people are doing outdoors. Yeah, I would encourage you to go pick it up.

Arnold00:10:30

Is there going to be like a booth with these photos up in display and things like that?

Brad00:10:35

We do do that. We did it for the first time last year. We're doing it again this year.So we're take all the winners, we blow up their photos poster size and then we have a photo gallery at the expo where you can come and just check out what other people have caught.

Arnold00:10:48

Can you purchase those if people like them or.

Brad00:10:50

We have not done that.

Arnold00:10:52

See, I'm giving him ideas.

Brad00:10:53

These are good ideas. I do. The gallery is great. I do like the idea of maybe having some prints.

Arnold00:10:58

Yeah, yeah, that would be great.

Mark00:11:00

Yeah, there's probably some there I'd like.

Arnold00:11:02

Because look at the. The picture here on the front. This is. Was this taken out at.

Brad00:11:06

That's Hidden Valley.

Arnold00:11:07

Hidden Valley, yeah. Look at that.

Mark00:11:09

That's a great shot.

Arnold00:11:10

It is a great. These are amateurs. These aren't correct. It's probably taken with an iPhone or something like that.

Brad00:11:14

Yeah. Who knows?

Arnold00:11:15

Yeah. So of course they were shameless Plug.

Brad00:11:18

We had a lot of good response to that cover, especially a lot of folks who were excited saying that that's just a photo you don't anticipate seeing necessarily in St. Louis, but sure enough, that's right here in Wildwood.

Mark00:11:30

I think it's great you're doing it for free. I don't know how you do it for free. Vendors are.

Arnold00:11:36

How do you do it? How do you do it?

Brad00:11:40

Well, guys, how much money do you have to spe.

Arnold00:11:46

Yeah, let's go to the next question.

Mark00:11:48

Brad's selling stuff out of the back end of his car. Old shoes and stuff.

Brad00:11:52

It's all those photo prints that they submit for free that we turn on and sell them.

Mark00:11:59

Yeah.

Arnold00:11:59

How can people get on a mailing list for Terrain magazine?

Brad00:12:04

Oh, thank you for asking that. That's a good question.So we do have on the website a free sign up for the newsletter, which also, when you sign up for the newsletter, you're also signing up for the digital edition of the magazine.

Arnold00:12:15

Okay.

Brad00:12:15

So we would send that to your email address every other month. It comes out every two months. And you get basically what you call like the ezine format or digital magazine form, the same as you would get in print.And then if you do want it in print, we're at most local cycling shops, running stores, outfitters, and then also in a lot of coffee shops, rec centers, that kind of. Those kind of places. So you can find that list online at terrain-mag.com if you want to pick it up in print.

Arnold00:12:41

And would these be free or would these be too? Wow.

Brad00:12:44

Yeah, in print we're free. The.

Mark00:12:45

Is the free guy.

Brad00:12:47

Yeah. The only cost.

Arnold00:12:48

He's got deep pockets.

Brad00:12:49

The only cost for the magazine is if you want to get a home subscription, you can purchase that and then you're really just paying for the. The postage. So it's. I think it's 24 for. For six issues.

Arnold00:13:00

Okay, now I refrained from what I was going to say.

Mark00:13:03

Next question. How many issues? What?

Arnold00:13:04

Oh, no, you know, how many issues? Six. Six issues. Yes, I was refraining because when it was mailed, depending upon what area you live in St. Louis, you may or may not receive it.

Mark00:13:14

Oh.

Brad00:13:16

Shots fired.

Arnold00:13:18

USPS will not like me. I probably won't get any mail now the rest of my life. Yeah, exactly.A lot of great advertising in here of stores and obviously they're underwriting the magazine and the expo. But things that you might not even think about.What's the Most unusual sponsor that's going to be here at the expo that has a booth that you're like, wow, this is really out of the mind, out of the box kind of outdoors.

Brad00:13:46

You're putting me on the spot.

Arnold00:13:48

And we're not saying that any of them are not. But our new ones. Yeah, our new ones. Yeah, new ones. That would be a good one, Mark.

Mark00:13:54

Coming in this year again.

Brad00:13:55

Man, I'm biased.

Mark00:13:56

Good. I love these curve balls.

Arnold00:13:59

You keep thinking for a second. This is Arnold Stricker. With Mark Langston of St. Louis in Tune, we're talking to Brad Kovach, deputy director at River City Outdoors and founder.And founder.

Mark00:14:08

Right.

Arnold00:14:10

A founder of Gateway Outdoor Expo plus Summit, and he's also the publisher at Terrain magazine. And Terrain magazine can be received six times a year. This is the November December issue.It's got a picture of winning shots from the 2025 photo contest. And great. Frozen in time.

Mark00:14:31

Terrain-mag.com Correct. Terrain-mag. I'm going there.

Arnold00:14:36

So what's that? What's the answer to that?

Brad00:14:38

You know, I don't know why I'm trying to think of, like, someone that's really gonna be new and exciting. They're all exciting. We're fortunate that we have a lot of repeat, repeat customers.

Arnold00:14:48

Let's talk about scavenger hunt.

Brad00:14:50

Yeah. Yeah. That's fun.So, yeah, for families who maybe have little ones who aren't as excited to just walk around and look at gear, we have a scavenger hunt that you will get when you walk in the door. There's an opportunity to pick up a kind of a printed directory.And then at the same time, I'll have a printout of a scavenger hunt, kind of a bingo card.And you go around to the listed vendors on there and get a check mark or a stamp, and then you bring that back to the scavenger hunt booth when you're completed and you get a free prize.So the prizes are more directed toward the little coloring book or a sticker or T shirt or something like that, but just keeps the kids engaged, builds a little excitement in for them.

Arnold00:15:25

And I'm sure. Go ahead, Mark.

Mark00:15:27

Are the big retailers in St. Louis there, too?

Brad00:15:29

We have. Bass Pro is coming. I. Cabela's has not signed on yet, but I know that we've been talking with them. So Alpine Shop is always there.They're one of the big local outdoor outfitters. So. Yeah.

Mark00:15:40

Rei do they.

Brad00:15:42

REI usually does not, but you never know. We still have some time.

Mark00:15:45

Yeah. Never know.

Arnold00:15:47

Maybe in the future.

Mark00:15:48

They should. They don't know what they're missing.

Brad00:15:49

There's another big store coming into town I just found out about called Sierra.

Arnold00:15:53

Yes. It's going to be in Kirkwood.

Brad00:15:55

Yes, I just heard that.

Arnold00:15:56

I read that this morning.

Brad00:15:57

A day or two ago.

Mark00:15:57

Yeah.

Arnold00:16:00

Located where the. Across from the. No. Walmart and the Lowe's on South Lindbergh or South Kirkwood Brook.

Mark00:16:09

Is Alpine still in Kirkwood?

Brad00:16:11

Yeah.

Arnold00:16:11

Yes.

Mark00:16:11

Okay. Wow. Okay. Kirkwood is the outdoor capital of.

Brad00:16:17

It's getting that way.

Arnold00:16:19

They all live in tents.

Mark00:16:23

Okay, sorry, folks in Kirkwood. I know.

Arnold00:16:26

I was going to ask you this one.When people go around to the booths, one of the big things when I go to a convention or something, there's always people that I got my bag, what's the free thing you're gonna give me? And they walk out like grocery bags full of stuff.

Brad00:16:39

Right. Yeah, that. That definitely happens. That's the thing.And yeah, I'm sure a lot of the booths will have little tchotchkes or spin the wheel for a prize or something like that. Again, it just keeps things interesting and fun.

Arnold00:16:49

Keeps people coming in.

Brad00:16:51

Exactly.

Arnold00:16:52

I know you've done this in the past. Canoe with claws.

Brad00:16:55

Oh, yeah. We are doing that again this year. So that's a fun opportunity for.

Arnold00:16:59

Again, Dayton with Santa.

Brad00:17:03

See, I'm helping them out, but yeah, another family activity. Obviously this is a show geared toward all ages, but people come with their families and so we try to keep it fun.So, yeah, you can bring your kids or young at heart if you want to get your photo taken. With Santa, we set up a canoe and a full scene. This is backdrop. There's snow, there's all kinds of stuff, but Santa is seated in the canoe.You come, you sit in the canoe. Get your photo taken for free and take that home. Show it off at Thanksgiving.

Mark00:17:29

Yeah.

Brad00:17:30

Hand it out with your Christmas list. Yeah.

Arnold00:17:32

Now you have Expo plus Summit.

Brad00:17:35

Right. So where's the summit come in? Yeah, so the summit is on Friday the 14th.

Arnold00:17:40

Okay.

Brad00:17:40

So it's an afternoon conference style event mainly geared toward the outdoor professional, so not so much the public, although it is open to the public. If you want to come, you can.

Arnold00:17:49

Okay.

Brad00:17:49

But it's more geared toward folks who work in perhaps Parks and Rec, or maybe you're with a nonprofit or. Or you're just an outdoor advocate. And so it's an afternoon of sessions to talk about things that are driven toward the industry professional.So it might be talking about equity on the trail or talking about how race events can help Drive economy or things along those lines. It's from 3 to 6 on Friday.And then that dovetails into a little VIP after party that we have for the folks who attend the summit and the vendors of the expo who will be setting up on Friday. So Friday night we have a little mixer for everybody. And then Saturday really kicks off the Expo itself at 10:00 clock that morning.

Arnold00:18:30

Okay, now question about, are there like breakout sessions or little mini conference things where somebody says, hey, if you want to go off camping by yourself, this is the best way to put up a tent, or this is the best way to start a fire, or this is the kind of gear you need. Do they have that going on?

Brad00:18:48

Yeah, so that's the presentations I mentioned that are going on on Saturday and Sunday during the expo that will be taking place right on the show floor there, so you don't have to go to a different room. Or they're actively taking place on the main exhibit hall or in the main exhibit hall while you're walking around.And so, yeah, those will run a whole range of topics from.I don't know that we have anyone necessarily specifically teaching how to build a fire, but along those lines, more educational information type presentations that are geared toward the public. Yeah, I hope people will stop and check those out.

Arnold00:19:19

So are these like ongoing kinds of things? Does somebody like, wait, I gotta wait till I have 15 people, or gee, I have five people here and somebody's wondering what's going on.

Brad00:19:27

They're going on every half hour, essentially.

Arnold00:19:29

So I didn't get that schedule.

Brad00:19:31

Yeah, no, and that's obviously they're keeping things from you. Yeah, I have to have some surprises to talk about, but yeah, so we have one on Tales from the Big Rivers.So people who have done some endurance paddling, we have a talk about gear libraries, what those are and how to access those. We have two of those in Missouri. We have a conversation with our organization, River City Outdoors. So who are we? What are we about?So, yeah, those are just an example of a few. We have one about stories from Missouri student cyclists, kids who are on local cycling teams and what they get out of it, how to be part of that.If you have a child or if you're a youth who wants to be part of a youth cycling team.

Arnold00:20:08

I didn't even know there were local youth cycling team.

Brad00:20:11

Yes. Yeah. So just those are a few examples of the presentation.

Mark00:20:13

What's a gear library?

Brad00:20:15

We have one here with our foundation, River City Outdoors. We have about a thousand pieces of gear. And think of it, much like you would with a book library. You want to, you want to read this book.You don't want to buy it. Maybe you don't have access to it, but you can come borrow it from the library, read it, bring it back, I'll be there.So if, if you don't have a tent or a sleeping bag, but you have a camping trip this coming weekend and friends are like, hey, come with us. But you say, I don't have the gear and I can't go out and buy $300 worth of gear.We will lend it to you and check out process like you would at a library. You take it with you for the weekend, bring it back, and there you go.We're allowing you or trying to help you get outside and experience the outdoors.

Mark00:20:52

This is great.

Arnold00:20:53

So how do people get in touch with you about the gear Library?

Brad00:20:56

If you go to our foundation website, which is rivercityoutdoors.org we have a page on the library that I believe says Gear Library or I'm sorry, a page on the website that says Gear Library. Click on that and it just walks you through the process.

Mark00:21:11

That's great.

Brad00:21:12

Yeah. You do have to register like you would get a library card. You have to register to get a Gear Library quote unquote card.But once you're a member, you can reserve gear.You know as much as you would like and as long as you bring it back in decent working order and don't steal it or anything nasty, you can keep coming back.

Mark00:21:28

Did I say that?

Arnold00:21:30

Yeah.

Mark00:21:30

I think that's great.

Arnold00:21:31

Are you guys the ones that do the canoe trips by the arch and stuff?

Brad00:21:35

As part of our foundation, River City Outdoors, we publish Terrain magazine, we host the expo, and we also run Big Muddy Adventures, which is. Which are the boats that go by the arch and canoe on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Mark00:21:48

Seems dangerous to me.

Arnold00:21:51

Do that confluence. Is that the part of the confluence?

Brad00:21:54

We have done trips to the confluence in the past. It's not on our schedule right now. Things swap in and out year on year. But we've certainly done confluence trips in the past.

Arnold00:22:02

Wow. Yeah.

Mark00:22:03

This is crazy.

Arnold00:22:04

Like, I'm on River City Outdoors right now. Mark rivercityoutdoors.org They've got a get outdoors drop down and you can discover, Explore the Gear Lending Library, Play Events, blog.Then there's Learn More. Then there's Connect, which there's volunteering or some careers or donation or media relations.And then there's the outdoor brands, which Brad just mentioned. Big Money Adventures, Gateway Outdoor Expo, And Terrain magazine, the other one that we.The reason Brad's here is to talk about the gateway outdoor expo. Gatewayoutdoor expo.com. you can catch that. There's some video on there, an expo layout with the base camp out there and the. What's the MTB zone?

Brad00:22:48

Oh, that's the mountain bike zone. So another activity zone that you can take part in basically will put you on a mountain bike and let you ride around.There's some small, like, entry level obstacles, so rumble strips and. And there's a teeter totter you can roll over and stuff like that.So give you a chance to feel what it's like to be on a mountain bike, maybe approach some obstacles. And then it's run by one of our vendors, which is called Wheels up, and they are certified mountain bike instructors.So they will be on hand, one, to make sure you're safe, but two, also to give you some little pointers here and there on how to negotiate some of these obstacles.

Arnold00:23:19

This is just unbelievable.

Mark00:23:21

I have a friend that does mountain biking. He loves it. He's addicted to it, actually.

Brad00:23:26

It's very exciting.

Mark00:23:27

He goes everywhere. He takes his bike and goes all over the place, always looking for a new adventure.

Brad00:23:33

Well, we're fortunate that we're just north of Bentonville, which is an amazing mountain bike town down in northwest Arkansas. You can go down there. Seems like every weekend you go down there, there's a new trail opening up. It's just remarkable.

Arnold00:23:45

They have regular, very good, regular biking trails down there.

Brad00:23:48

They do, too.

Arnold00:23:49

That really connect almost. Yeah. Almost all the way down to Fayetteville.

Mark00:23:52

Is that right?

Arnold00:23:52

Yeah.

Mark00:23:53

Who knew? I never knew.

Arnold00:23:54

It's a great area down there. It's very beautiful.

Brad00:23:56

It's lovely.

Arnold00:23:57

Yeah. You can see some great artwork down there too, at the museum down there.

Mark00:24:01

And if they made those trails, that's great. So they don't have ruts and everything and. Yeah, but it's more fun that way.

Brad00:24:07

Yep. It's a great area.

Mark00:24:09

Oh, yeah.

Brad00:24:09

Highly recommend.

Mark00:24:10

Had no idea. This is your wealth of information.

Arnold00:24:14

What's your favorite outdoor activity and what's your. The one that you wish you loved a little bit more.

Brad00:24:20

Okay.

Mark00:24:21

Wow.

Brad00:24:21

So we did talk a little bit about this beforehand, but I have certainly a mountain biker that's never going to go away. But more recently I've been trail running and really enjoying that. There's a lot of trails around here that you can bike, hike and run on.So that's been exciting for me just to experience a new activity. And you meet as you do that, you meet new friends, new folks. So that's been fun to meet a lot of different people.Something that I would like to do or haven't done a lot of. I get pitched a lot by friends who are also rock climbers, outdoor rock climbers, and I haven't really done much of that. They keep inviting me.I keep not being able to go. One of these days I'm gonna go. I've done it a couple times, very casually. It's fun. Again, just a different aspect of the outdoors.Completely different obviously than running or biking, but it's exciting and new and so I think eventually I will probably try that out a little more.

Mark00:25:13

Trail running is fascinating to me. I've never heard of trail running.

Brad00:25:16

Pick your feet up. That's the number one tip.

Arnold00:25:19

But say, I know, is it like the you're out of high school cross country kind of deal?

Brad00:25:24

Yeah, cross country, I guess. Would that kind of bridge does the gap between like track and trail running? Trail running that I do is more on single track trails.So hiking trails that you might. Trails you might hike or bike on. Usually just one person abreast. That's why it's called single track. But rocky, rooty, hilly, up and down.

Mark00:25:43

You wear gear?

Brad00:25:44

No, not beyond just your running shoes.

Mark00:25:46

You're just like out there.

Brad00:25:47

Yeah. If you're going to run long distances, you might have a water bladder.

Mark00:25:51

Right. But if you.

Brad00:25:53

More often than not, you're just out.

Mark00:25:54

There, you trip and fall, you're going, yeah, it happens. Not suggesting that will happen, but oh no, it'll happen.

Brad00:26:02

It happens to me. Anyway.

Mark00:26:05

Pick your feet up.

Arnold00:26:06

You may or may not be able to answer this and it's okay if you don't, but the, the ability and the effort to get outside and what it does for you mentally and emotionally and spiritually and physically in connecting people. Because we grew up, my dad was a PE teacher, always actively doing stuff and it seems now with the phones, people are just.Or the computers, they're just by themselves and isolated themselves. Getting out into the outdoors really does a lot for people's psyches.Can you talk a little about or have you talked about that in the magazine or at the expo?

Brad00:26:42

Yeah, an ever present undercurrent to the magazine and the expo. Yeah, you're absolutely right.There are numerous studies and I don't have any here to cite, but I don't think it would surprise anyone to know that getting outside, even for 15, 20 minutes a day is going to help you mentally, physically and emotionally and it can be anything. It can be a walk in your neighborhood, it can be biking at a park. It can be doing something more air quotes. Extreme, if you want to call it that.But just getting away from home, away from the screen and outdoors in the fresh air, no question is going to be a benefit to you in the long run. The hardest part, honestly, and this is certainly applies to me, but I think applies to everyone. The hardest part is just getting your.The motivation to take that first step to get outside.

Arnold00:27:29

Right.

Brad00:27:29

Once you're there for me anyway, everything else just goes right off my back. All the stress and everything just flows right off. It's just getting yourself into the habit of spending 20 minutes a day putting it on.Book it on your calendar. I'm gonna take that walk after work every day, or I'm gonna join this club that meets every Tuesday for an hour.And that's stuff that you can find at the Expo, honestly, is. We have a lot of clubs there, and that's why they're there. They're trying to get membership. Many of these clubs are free.When I say membership, it's not that you have to pay them 20 bucks a month or something.It's no, they just want you to sign up, be in on their weekly or bi weekly or monthly activity, their group meeting, which might be a run or a bike or a walk. But once you meet those folks, make friends, then suddenly you're interested and, and looking forward to being there.And there's some accountability as well. Honestly, they're saying to you, hey, where were you last Friday? Why didn't you come out to our run? We miss you. Come back out.So that's one of the best things I think people can do, is find their group, whatever it is, whatever activity in those. And they exist. There's tons of groups out there. We try to feature those in the magazine on a regular basis.Once you find your group, engage with them and try to make it a regular part of your life.

Arnold00:28:43

Find your group and find your groove.

Mark00:28:45

Ooh, yeah. Oh, my goodness. Somebody write that down, will you please? Okay, yeah.

Arnold00:28:53

And this is not to say the club memberships in these big box places, exercise places, that, that's not bad. But getting outside is just so healthy. Just to see green or to smell fresh air or to see the sun shine. Obviously not today, but.

Mark00:29:10

Put the phone down.

Arnold00:29:11

Yeah, put the phone down. Getting out. Some people, they'll exercise with the earbuds in disconnect, right? And connect with nature and connect with what's going on outside.

Mark00:29:20

It's an amazing thing.

Arnold00:29:21

It is.

Mark00:29:22

Really is. Always loved it.

Arnold00:29:24

So November 14th, 15th and 16th, it's the Gateway Outdoor Expo Plus Summit. It will be held at the St. Charles Convention center in St. Charles, Missouri. The parking is free. It's free to get in.

Mark00:29:38

Free. Free.

Arnold00:29:39

Yeah, that's right.

Mark00:29:40

You won't tell us how it's free, but it's free.

Arnold00:29:43

Saturday is 10:10am to 5:00pm Sunday is 10:00am to 4:00pm and prior to the Saturday event is a run and prior to the Sunday event is a bike ride.

Brad00:29:55

That's correct.

Arnold00:29:56

And if you want more information, go to GatewayOutdoor Expo.com GatewayOutdoorExpo.com and also you can go to RiverCityOutdoors.org Brad, thanks for coming in again, man.

Brad00:30:05

Thank you.

Arnold00:30:05

It's great.

Mark00:30:07

So much fun. I know. It really is. Be careful on that trail. Running trail. It just doesn't, I just can't get my head around.

Brad00:30:14

I'm gonna keep picking those feet up.

Mark00:30:16

Yeah.

Arnold00:30:17

It's not like the black ski one.

Mark00:30:19

Which is, you know, this way, I can't imagine. And it's the same trail usually that the bike, the rider. The bikes go. No.

Brad00:30:27

Yeah.

Mark00:30:27

Okay.

Arnold00:30:28

Yeah.

Brad00:30:28

Most. More often than not. Okay.

Arnold00:30:30

Just don't get a bike rider behind you when you're on the trail.

Mark00:30:32

Okay.

Arnold00:30:34

Wow. We're gonna take a break, folks. We'll be right back for our next segment.You're listening to St. Louis in tune with Arnold Stricker and Mark Langston on the US Radio Network. As strange as it may sound, at Better Rate Mortgage, we love talking to people about mortgages. Everyone in St. Louis promises a better mortgage rate.But what you really need to turn that perfect house into your dream home is a better mortgage. At Better Rate Mortgage, we open the door to so much more. So where are you in the home buying process?Researching, maybe wondering how much you can afford. House hunting. Get a pre approval from Better Rate Mortgage. Ready to buy. Our team is ready to make your mortgage process fast and easy.Whether you're purchasing your first home or taking cash out to make your dream home even dreamier, our door is open. Come on in and get started. Today we'll show you how.Call Sean directly at 314-375-3293 or online@betterratemortgage.com Remember, at Better Rate Mortgage, a better rate is just the beginning. Betterratemortgage.com and MLS ID 240135 and equal housing.The United States has a strong tradition of welcoming newcomers and refugees The Welcome Corps is a new service opportunity for Americans inspired to welcome those seeking freedom and safety and in turn help strengthen their own communities. Welcome Corps is a public, private partnership that is inspired by what Americans represent to so many around the world. A beacon of hope and refuge.All it takes is a helping hand. Are you ready to learn more? Contact the International Institute of St. Louis us@infoistl.org or call 314-773-9090.That's infoiistl.org or call 314 203-9090. Welcome back to St. Louis in Tune. I was going to go welcome back. Welcome back to St. Louis in Tune. This is Arnold Stricker with Mark langston.Again the 2025 Expo Summit going to take place the Gateway Outdoor Expo Plus Summit is going to take place at the St. Charles Convention Center November 15th, 16th there's the 14th, but this is actually for those folks who are doing the exhibiting.And so folks, if you want to go and check it out, the exhibit hall opens at 10am to 5pm if you want to participate in the run prior to that, that starts at 9 o'. Clock. You would need to go to Gateway Expo Gatewayoutdoor Expo.com and find out a little bit more information.Also Sunday, November 16 from 10 to 4 and prior to that there is a bike ride on the Katy Trail and it's free. It's free parking.

Mark00:33:24

Yep. And that magazine@terrain-mag.com if you want to subscribe to that. And that's free unless you want it mailed to your house or you can.

Arnold00:33:34

Go to River City. Gosh, I messed up. Rivercityoutdoors.org and as Mark said, terrain, that's two Rs mag.com there's a lot of.

Mark00:33:45

Websites there to remember, but we'll post.

Arnold00:33:47

That on the podcast page.

Mark00:33:48

If you like outdoors or considering doing outdoor stuff, what a great place to start.

Arnold00:33:52

It is a wonderful thing. It's really premier in our area. I would say that this particular expo.

Mark00:33:59

So really, really fortunate to have something.

Arnold00:34:02

Right here and somebody like Brad who's really organizing all of this and keeps keeps things focused. You're taking in a whole lot of new things. There's things that I'm sure like when rock climbing first came on the scene.There's a lot to learn and then there's things that probably people aren't doing as much. Fly fishing. I know there's going to be probably fly fishing people there, but it's unique kind of thing. It is even fly fishing Making. That's even.

Mark00:34:26

Oh, that is tough. Yeah. Are using one of those fly rods.

Arnold00:34:30

Fly rods? Yeah.

Mark00:34:30

There's a trick to those.

Arnold00:34:32

Yeah. I'm sure they probably teach you how to do that.

Mark00:34:33

Whip it out a couple of times before you finally make it.

Arnold00:34:37

But, man, you go back to. Down to Montauk and Merrimack park down there when they let all the stuff out and everybody there for the first day.I guess it's in April or late March or something.

Mark00:34:47

And I used to go to Montauk with my dad. We always had fun.

Arnold00:34:51

Were you lined up shoulder to shoulder, waiting for the horn to go off?

Mark00:34:54

Yeah, the horn. And then it's. Then all the. And how we didn't get tangled. Tangled is amazing to me. I go. Everybody throwing their lure in at the same time.

Arnold00:35:04

Yeah.

Mark00:35:05

And. Yeah, you get tangled once in a while, but not as much as you think.

Arnold00:35:09

I could see a great cartoon where all the fish are out there and all these things come in at the same time. We all just ought to just let them hang there.

Mark00:35:17

Now, I know it's probably different now, but when we stayed at the Montauk Lodge, there was no TV. They couldn't get a TV signal in there, so there was no TVs then. Now, that's got to change now, I'm sure. But. But when we went, there was no tv.

Arnold00:35:31

I think it's good to disconnect from that.

Mark00:35:33

And instead of a gun rack, they had a fishing rod rack in the room. I remember that, too.

Arnold00:35:38

People have that in the back of their pickup truck.

Mark00:35:40

Yeah. Can I complain about something real quick?

Arnold00:35:43

Absolutely.

Mark00:35:43

Because we're talking about outdoors.

Arnold00:35:45

Yes.

Mark00:35:45

I have noticed lately an increase in trash along the highways in the country going, what are people thinking? We had a. When I was in scouting, we have a saying, leave no trace. So if we see trash, we try to pick it up.But I'm telling you what, there's so much trash, I don't know if we could pick it all up. And I'll go back to. I think that they should have a program, and I think they did it one time.For those that are incarcerated, you bring them out and have them pick up the trash. Maybe give them time off their sentence or something. I guess it's dangerous to be out there doing it. I don't know. But, boy, it's tough.You go down Highway 44?

Arnold00:36:26

Yep.

Mark00:36:27

It's just. Just look, just pay attention next time. I don't get one last thing.

Arnold00:36:33

Keep going.

Mark00:36:34

I get how people have. Just roll the window down. They get done with something, just throw it out the window. What is that? What are you thinking? Who does that? Why?I just don't get that.

Arnold00:36:44

Now, the only way I would accept that is if there was so much trash in the car and there was no more room to put anything. But that's not the case.

Mark00:36:53

Or maybe it's on fire or something, or there's some reason it needs to go out of the car, but other than just, oh, I just finished my. My Big Gulp drink, and I'm just gonna throw it out the window. Really?You can't wait till you get to a gas station and use the trash can there, take it home, stick it behind, whatever. I just don't. I just.Lately it's because I remember there used to be all those campaigns about being a litter bug and all that stuff, and it seemed to work well. See any campaign now that don't litter? But it's gotten. And we talk about outdoors.Gosh, nothing worse than being out on a trail somewhere and finding trash. Trash.

Arnold00:37:33

Yeah.

Mark00:37:34

What in the world? So that's my. That's my rant.

Arnold00:37:38

No, that's fine. It used to be that when you got to an intersection, especially off a highway, you would see cigarette butts. That would be the big thing.It really wasn't a lot of trash when we were kids. But nowadays, like, when we go to another city, that's one of the first things we look at. Is there litter? Where is it? Is the grass mowed?Or the weeds mode?Like, you come off the Stamusil Bridge, Stamus Memorial Bridge, coming from Illinois, and you drive into St. Louis, one of the predominant entrances into St. Louis. It is embarrassing.

Mark00:38:10

It is.

Arnold00:38:11

It is embarrassing. And we always used to have a saying at work that if I'm driving up to a school and I see weeds and I see shades broken or junk all over the place.That psychologically tells me learning's not important here. You don't keep your money in a bank that looks like it was bombed out. Because, man, why would I want to keep my money there?They can't even keep up the lawn. So it's a psychological kind of thing, and it really makes you feel good when things look nice.And it's not a strong effort to keep it in your car and then deposit it in a trash can when you get home. In Japan, you don't see any litter. Matter of fact, people can't even. They're supposed to just hang on to it.

Mark00:38:59

Ah, take it home, recycle. Yeah, just throw away concept yeah.

Arnold00:39:04

Amazing. Be personal responsibility.

Mark00:39:06

I used to put it on the floor in the back seat. I just. And then I'd get somewhere and I'd take it out and throw it away.

Arnold00:39:12

We go to so many places that have trash cans.

Mark00:39:15

I know. They're everywhere. They are.

Arnold00:39:17

I know.

Mark00:39:18

And where you go to get that Big Gulp, they've got trash cans right there at the door. And I still. I mean we shouldn't be talking about who's going to clean up after you in the first place. But again, I think convicts would not.I don't think it'd be a bad community service to have them do that, but I think they did for a while. And then there was somebody that complained. Yeah. That said, no, you can't. This is dangerous. You can't use them for that.I don't know what it was all about, but I would give them time off. If you want to be part of the detail that goes out and cleans.

Arnold00:39:50

It all up or it's pain. Let's talk about this for a second. Because our illustrious government in the state of Missouri.And I shouldn't say the government, it was one individual. And I don't want to mention a name or a.

Mark00:40:02

Yes, you do. You want to say it so bad it's on the tip of your throat.

Arnold00:40:05

Yeah.When you know inmates, they do receive funds for the work that they do in a jail or the penitentiary and it would go to an account that they would have. And the nice thing about that would be that when they got out of jail they had what I would call seed money to help them reinvest and re.Acclimate to society.In their illustrious wisdom, this particular individual said, we're going to take that and you're reimbursing the state for your room and board at the jail. I'm thinking like that's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Mark00:40:40

No. Why would you. Insult to injury.

Arnold00:40:43

It really does.

Mark00:40:44

It is. It's. Why would you. What. Who comes up with that stuff?

Arnold00:40:49

People who are.

Mark00:40:52

I'll say it if that's a dumb idea.

Arnold00:40:55

It is a dumb idea.If they had a family member or a close friend who was in that situation and would understand what it takes to re acclimate in society and you get out of prison and if you don't have a network of connection other than a criminal network of connection, if you don't have a halfway house or a faith based organization that's helping you re acclimate, in other words, find housing, find a job. Get a driver's license, get all of this stuff. You're on your own.

Mark00:41:26

Right.

Arnold00:41:27

What's the chances of you headed back to prison? Pretty high.

Mark00:41:31

Yeah. Pretty good, I would say. Yeah.

Arnold00:41:32

So the recidivism rate would be really high for people to. That's why people commit. Hey, I got room and board. I got my three squares. I can watch tv. I can work out. I got a job here. It's pretty comfortable.So I think I'm gonna go rob this convenience store.

Mark00:41:47

Yes. I go back in the big house. That's just wrong. I don't know why. Yeah, that's just wrong. Help people. When do we start helping people?

Arnold00:41:55

When we got selfish.

Mark00:41:57

There you go. That's the word of the day. Selfish, I'm afraid. But. So that's. That was my big. It's been festering for a long time to talk about that on the show.

Arnold00:42:06

Good one. Good one.

Mark00:42:07

But, yeah, the litter. I'll get off at just 44. And J. Jefferson. Just amazing. Just if you're going east. Eastbound. Yeah. Just. I just. It's. Wow.

Arnold00:42:18

Notice when you go to different places, folks. When you go to different cities.

Mark00:42:21

Uhhuh.

Arnold00:42:22

Is it a priority or is it not a priority?

Mark00:42:24

Don't letter, please.

Arnold00:42:27

So let's do some mental floss here, folks.

Mark00:42:29

Oh, no.

Arnold00:42:30

Okay, these words that I'm going to mention are legitimate. They're certified dictionary terms. They've survived for centuries. Okay, so again, they are. There's bumfuzzle. Bum fuzzle.It means to confuse, perplex or fluster. Kind of variation on dumbfound. This year's corn maze was so complex, it bumfuzzled visitors. Then there's snickersnee.

Mark00:42:59

All right.

Arnold00:43:00

It means a large knife.

Mark00:43:02

A snickersnee. That's a large.

Arnold00:43:04

But can also refer to a knife fight.

Mark00:43:07

Whoa.

Arnold00:43:08

Yeah. Then there's wabbit. It's not the Elmer Fudd one. It means wary or exhausted. Hunting rabbits all day without a catch left the predator feeling wabbit.

Mark00:43:22

You think that's where it came from? For the.

Arnold00:43:23

It could be Wesley Webbit. Yes. Collywobbles. Stomach pain or anxiety. Speaking in front of a crowd. Gave Jane Collywobbles. Then there's snallygoster.It's a shrewd, unprincipled person. In 1952, Harry S. Truman referred to his political opponents as snallygosters. He really did that, folks.This next one I can't even pronounce, so I'm not going to try. And there's terradiddle. Terradiddle it means a petty lie. You can't blame the exhausted mom for telling her toddler the park was closed today.A forgivable pterodiddle. Yeah. Some of these I can't even pronounce. I don't want to try to. Slubber de golen. What? Yeah. Can't pronounce it. Slobber de gullion. Slobber de gulian.A delightful insult for a slovenly, dirty, slobber, worthless person. After living with three roommates who never washed a dish, Michael declared he would never again share an apartment with such slobber gullions.

Mark00:44:28

There you go. That's it.

Arnold00:44:29

There you go.

Mark00:44:30

Okay, Good for him.

Arnold00:44:31

Yeah. Slumber gullions.

Mark00:44:34

Forget the slobber gullions.

Arnold00:44:37

Wow.

Mark00:44:37

Okay. There you go.

Brad00:44:39

Yeah.

Mark00:44:39

Do you know today's National Chocolate Day?

Arnold00:44:41

Oh, every day should be chocolate.

Mark00:44:43

Do you like chocolate like that?

Arnold00:44:44

I like dark chocolate.

Mark00:44:45

Let's see. International Animation Day. The art of animation.

Arnold00:44:51

Yeah.

Mark00:44:52

It's a big Disney thing.

Arnold00:44:53

Walt Disney.

Mark00:44:53

Yeah. Yeah. One of my favorites. The National Immigrants Day is today.

Arnold00:44:59

Huh? We're all immigrants at one point or another. You all have some kind of link.

Mark00:45:04

Don't forget that. Plush Animal Lovers Day. Like your teddy bear.

Arnold00:45:11

I don't have one.

Mark00:45:11

Plush Animal Lovers Day. You never had one?

Arnold00:45:14

No.

Mark00:45:15

That explains a lot.

Arnold00:45:19

I think I really did. I just don't remember.

Mark00:45:20

I don't remember. I know someday we'll have a big talk about that first National First Responders Day.

Arnold00:45:26

Okay.

Mark00:45:27

Thank goodness for first responders.

Arnold00:45:29

Yes.

Mark00:45:30

Who wants to run into that fire? That building that's on fire?

Arnold00:45:35

Really don't get paid enough to do that either.

Mark00:45:37

No. Who wants to stop that crime? That's. Those are just a few of the many days of the days of the day. Days of the day.Those are some of the top highlights for us.

Arnold00:45:49

Yeah.

Mark00:45:49

Okay.

Arnold00:45:50

I was going to buy a new car and the salesman said that the car will seat six problem. Six people without any problems. I said, I don't know. Six people. People without any problems.The first drone was invented by mothers that never missed the target.

Mark00:46:14

Certainly not by a guy.

Arnold00:46:16

Yeah.

Mark00:46:17

Never mind.

Arnold00:46:18

Let's see here.

Mark00:46:19

He's thinking. He'll come up with it.

Arnold00:46:21

I am thinking. I'm just. My friend told me me she wouldn't eat beef tongue because it came out of a cow's mouth. So I gave her an egg.I think I've done some of these before. Let's go back to some really old ones. I couldn't log on to the site to get the ones that I wanted. Here we go. Ready? English lesson, folks. Tsunami.T is silent. Honest. H is silent. Psychology. P is silent. Knife. K is silent. Wife. Husband is silent.

Mark00:47:04

Happy wife, happy life.

Arnold00:47:06

The only person coming to save you is the version of yourself that's tired of your current situation.

Mark00:47:12

Boy, isn't that the truth? Hello.

Arnold00:47:17

And maybe folks will close with this. That maybe you have had trouble with a password. And you know how it says you haven't included this, you haven't included that.You haven't included this. Sorry. This was the version that came up on the computer the other day.Your password must contain at least eight characters, upper and lowercase letter, a symbol or number, a hieroglyphic, a haiku, a musical note, the feather of a hawk and the drop of a unicorn blood. Isn't that true?

Mark00:47:44

It is so true. I know. That way you gotta change the password every time.

Arnold00:47:49

That's great.

Mark00:47:50

I forgot it. I'm always.

Arnold00:47:53

Folks, that's all for this hour. We don't forget you and we don't want you to forget us. Thank you for listening.If you've enjoyed this episode, you can listen to additional shows@stlintune.com. consider leaving a review on our website, Apple Podcast, Podchaser, or your preferred podcast platform.Your feedback helps helps us reach more listeners and continue to grow. Thanks to Bob Berthicel for our theme music, our sponsor, Better Rate Mortgage, our guest, Brad Kovach and co host Mark Langston.We thank you folks for being part of our community of curious minds. St. Louis in tune is a production of Motif Media Group and the US Radio Network.Remember to keep seeking, keep learning, walk worthy, and let your light shine. For St. Louis in tune, I'm Arnold Stricker.

Mark00:48:37

Sam.