Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Missouri Vacation, Day Two (Continued) Bass Pro Shops

Hello.  I'm continuing to blog about our first day of vacation in Springfield, Missouri;  my last post described our trip to the Springfield Botanical Gardens.

First, a disclaimer.  I am not a hunter, nor do I like anything hunting related.  I do however love nature, being out in it, looking at it, and admiring it.  I just don't want to kill it.  That being said, since we were in Springfield, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the state is the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.  It's described as this in the Springfield Visitor Guide:
 "Grandaddy of all outdoor stores. Fishing, hunting, camping, boating, golf, gifts, footwear and apparel. Explore the 300,000-square-foot showroom loaded with unique features, including an art gallery, barber shop, firing range, Tracker boat showroom, waterfalls, aquariums, Hemingway's Restaurant, a coffee shop and much more. Your adventure starts here." 
Well of course we had to stop and see this, and what an adventure it was.  They had lots of aquariums filled with   fish, and some small alligators as well.  It was a taxidermists dream....every dead, stuffed animal you could imagine was there.  My daughter has a phobia for taxidermy so she waited in the car...and it was a good thing.  I don't usually like taxidermy either, but the way the company had it set up, it was more like a museum.  They placed all the animals in their natural surroundings and had great quotes every where about nature, conservation, etc.  
Below is a picture of me about to enter the store.

 
 This is what you see when you enter the doors.  The chandeliers are gorgeous, and the first thing you notice is the giant elk/deer in the background and all the mounted and free standing deer everywhere.  The detail in this place is amazing.  Everywhere you look is something very intricate and detailed.  The banisters on the railing to the steps are hand carved cougar heads, there is a massive fireplace to your right when you just walk in that's got a beautiful iron screen on it.  The ceilings are either rustic beams like pictured below, or painted to look like a sky with flying geese hanging from strings above your heads.  In the fishing department they paint the ceiling to make it appear as if your under the water looking up, you see fish and swirling water above you.  There are stuffed squirrels and other small animals on top of every merchandise shelf.  There is so much to look at, it's almost overwhelming.
 Here is a closeup of one of the chandeliers.  There are real deer heads on top of the chandelier to give you an idea of the scale.  Even if your not into nature or woodsy things, anyone can appreciate all the beautiful 'artwork' in this place.
 This is a view from the top of the staircase as if you were looking out at the entrance to the parking lot.
 Here is my husband in front of the large elk statue.  It really gives you some idea of the size of the statue.
 Here is a picture of my husband with one of the many animals in the store.
You could spend an entire day in this place, there is so much to do and see.   There's a beautiful restaurant, two coffee shops, and actually lots of cute shoes and apparel for women.  I thought the prices were reasonable too!  But we had Ashley waiting in the car, so we only stayed for a couple of hours.  It was great FREE entertainment, and the place was filled with kids.  I was shocked to see how the store allowed kids to run all over the place and touch and play with everything.  They were climbing in and out of all the speedboats and playing with all the steering wheels and engines.  I said to my husband...'I sure wouldn't want to buy that boat after it's been displayed here'.  I wonder what they do with them.  So if your looking for a great learning experience for the kids, that free and entertaining, I highly recommend stopping here.

Have a great day! Amy

1 comment:

  1. Great pics of the Bass Outlet. There is one just outside of Calgary and have been to it twice, amazing store! They have an elevator that has a view to a giant fish tank as one whole wall so you get to watch the fishes as you go from floor to floor!
    hugs
    Glenda

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