The Granddaddy of All Bass

Or more correctly, as it's advertised on the front of the building, "The Granddaddy of All Outdoor Stores."

Springfield, MO. That's where it all started in 1972. Some guy named John Morris who loved to fish for bass wanted to make his homemade specialty baits available to other enthusiasts. What began as a small catalog mailed from a fishing section at the back of his dad's liquor store became a multimillion dollar corporation supplying almost any kind of product you can think of related to hunting, fishing, camping, and generally looking good while on the water or in the forest.

What's more, their stores have a signature style that keeps the local taxidermists in business. (The Springfield store actually has its own taxidermy shop down the street.) Part natural history museum, part Disneyland Animal Kingdom, part aspirational sales tactic ("See what you can bag when you buy our products?"), and part marketing gimmick, every store is filled with critters--once live and now stuffed, and some actually alive.

We'd already stumbled onto my first Bass Shop experience at Branson Landing. I oohed and ahhed over the displays of ponds teeming with trophy-sized game fish, stuffed bighorn sheep gamboling on rocks, an elk standing over my shoulder as I pawed through a rack of T-shirts. For a kid who always loved natural history museums but lamented that I couldn't get close to the animals behind their glass cases, I was in heaven. Ken, while impressed, kept telling me about an even bigger Bass Pro Shop he had once visited in southern California. "This is nothing compared to that one."

Well.

That one in California is NOTHING compared to this mother of all stores in Springfield, even by Ken's standards. Bass has spared no imagination or dollar figure to make their flagship Outdoor World Catalog Showroom extremely camera worthy.

No matter which way you look, there are true-to-life dioramas and habitats. Deer leap through a forest in the rafters above boating world. Ducks and geese fly in formation over women's wear. An eagle lifts off from its nest above an elk bugling for a mate at the entrance to Hunting. Opossums dangle from trees throughout the store. A creek burbles through the camping department.

And, yes, there were other looky-loos like me stopping to gawk and photograph.

Having seen so many trophies on display in Yellowstone hotels. lodges, and restaurants, this is what I expected of an outdoor store. Wow, was I surprised by what else was to come...

This scene greets you as you walk in the main door. The taxidermy is so well done I could sense the weight and energy of each animal at their moment of impact. I expected the one on the left to crumple as I watched.

The gigantic main entrance display was breathtaking even under renovation. The scene is both high and deep, and stairs will take you right into the action as you go to the second level.

A member of the new display overlooks guests. I was drooling over how much fun it would be to create this kind of stuff.

Yup, a full-blown bayou takes you into the marine center. Beaver dam, fish pond (live fish), Spanish moss draping from salt cedars, turkeys and grouse in full flight overhead, a water mill by a cafe that serves coffee and snacks to foot-weary shoppers.

The lower side of the bayou, viewable as a six-foot deep aquarium.

One of the live occupants of the store--Big Al, the alligator, now 14 years old, has been here since 2009.

True interior decorating is all about detail.

Retail raiders in the shoe department.

Grizzlies and black bears aren't usually found sharing the same space, but what the hell...it sells shirts.

Mr. Coyote was all over the place. Something about their expressions always reminded me of Patchouli.

Other live occupants. Reptiles and fish seem to do well in this kind of environment. There were also a few resident ducks in the various water features.

One of my favorite areas was the fishing department, where I got a unique perspective of what lurks beneath a pier and beyond a marshy shore.

This gar is just a few feet away from the fisher-kid's toes. A live gar was in a tank below this scene, and a record-sized dead gar was in a case nearby.

Big Al's cousin out for a snack...and much too close for my own comfort. Glad he was already stuffed.

Back in above-ground scenes, a cabin in the woods where you can buy knives, ostensibly to fend off Mr. Grizzly. Just beyond the bear is another deep pond, kept fresh by a working water wheel. The store also has a separate room dedicated to high-end guns, which of course sported animal trophies on every wall. I gravitated toward a lovely silver engraved rifle with gorgeous wood. Naturally, it turned out to be the most expensive gun in the shop, at nearly $5,000.

This is only a portion of a full-wall, three-story display that you can also view by elevator.

Can't quite tell if that person is yelling for help or enjoying the scene. Live ducks plus nesting boxes.

Turn a corner, meet a leaping wolf.

Coyote on the prowl. This is definitely a Patchouli pose.

Mom teaches 'em young at the indoor shooting range.

Every raccoon made me smile.

Sleepy boy, just like Patchouli sunning. Sure makes me want to take advantage of the sandal sale.

By the way, there's also a $52 million Bass-sponsored Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium next to the store, but it's undergoing a five-year renovation that's supposed to enlarge the museum by 58%. It's not due to reopen until Dec 2012. Bummer that we missed it; it's sure to be worth visiting if you're ever in the area.