It was fun to watch the first-time visitors come through the front door. The t-shirt, ball cap and beer gut crowd was well represented, and you could tell by their big eyes and open mouths...they've just entered through the gates of the redneck Holy Land.
This place is going to do very, very well because Bass Pro Shops puts every other outdoors shop to shame. They've got everything from bass boats to little plastic deer heads you can stick on your hitch ball.
We stopped for lunch near the store and found out a little bit about opening night. There were a couple of guys sitting in the fast food joint with Bass Pro hats on that had been autographed. One autograph read "Capt. Sig". If you're a fan of the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch you'll know that "Capt. Sig" is Sig Hansen, captain of the fishing vessel Northwestern, one of the crab boats featured on the show. Sig has become a cultural icon and now the lifelong fisherman who was known only within the crabbing industry is being flown to show openings to sign autographs. Funny thing celebrity.
The guys told me that some 15,000 people had shown up for opening night, and one guy had to park over a mile away from the store. On Thursday the news showed over 1,000 people who had lined up to enter the store before it opened. Today the large parking lot was jammed and many of us ended up parking at the mall across the street.
This is the sign that greets you as you enter the store:
Let me warn you - if you're squeamish around stuffed critters, don't go in this store. Just like the other stores I've been in, this store is chocked full of God's creatures who have been stuffed and put on display in realistic scenes (if having two bobcats on a clothing rack is realistic). They have everything from squirrels, raccoons and skunks from the small animal roster, to elk, bears and various deer on the large end. The Fine Gun room even has a lion and a selection of African animals. Here's the boy with a full sized elk:
Speaking of the Fine Gun room, they had a display in there featuring a matched set of four Italian-made hunting weapons. You could have that set for $431,000. It was still for sale, but on the other side of that display was four other weapons that had already sold for $381,000. Not a bad start for the Fine Gun room.
I took this photo from inside one of the store's elevators. The ground floor entrance is right behind the big freshwater fish tank:
In addition to the famous people that were there on Wednesday, they also had a famous car on display. NASCAR fans know that Bass Pro Shops is the primary sponsor on Martin Truax's DEI Chevy that recently won at Dover. One of his cars is on display:
The grand opening celebration continues for a few more days and I'm sure the crowds will begin to calm down, but given the uniqueness of this store, I have to believe it will be very popular, and on weekends may be really tough to get into.
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