Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Barb Henderson: An indoor adventure for outdoor enthusiasts

Barb Henderson is an outdoors enthusiast, freelance writer and producer/host of outdoors radio television programming. Her column appears Friday in the Sun.

A warm rustic mountain-lodge appearance welcomes visitors inside the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World's first store in the West.

Adjacent to the Silverton hotel-casino, the 165,000-square-foot store promises to be a shopping paradise for the hunter, angler and all around outdoor enthusiast.

The doors will officially open to the public on Nov. 15 for local conservation groups with the grand opening planned for Nov. 16.

Among the groups that are planned for Conservation Night are: Ducks Unlimited, Lake Mead National Conservation Area, Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn, Friends of the NRA, National Wild Turkey Federation, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International, Southern Nevada Chapter of Trout Unlimited, United Anglers of Southern California, Wildlife Habitat Improvement of Nevada and others.

Popular TV host and legendary angler Jimmy Houston will serve as master of ceremonies.

This week the media was invited for a sneak preview, an expedition I had been looking forward to. The warmth of the store greeted us with a huge fireplace inside the front lobby along with a rustic vaulted post and beam construction ceiling. It gave the feeling of an early-1800 style hunting lodge.

I heard this store would be huge, although I had no idea how enormous it really was until I stood in the middle of the store and looked around.

The detail work is absolutely marvelous. The floor has different wildlife tracks, appearing as though pheasant, mule deer, bighorn sheep and bear had wandered through the store during the night, leaving their prints along the way.

The craftsmanship in the wood finishing is beautiful. The fly-fishing shop has been structured as though it's a little cabin out in the woods, with large logs sticking out in front with beautiful trout carvings found on the front of the beams.

The hand-painted wall scenes of Red Rock, Mount Charleston and the desert Southwest gives an outdoor atmosphere indoors.

The climbing wall has an appearance of sandstone while offering the outdoor enthusiast an opportunity to experience the thrill of rock climbing. The marine area ceiling casts a water reflection while the variety of boats will have boaters and anglers wanting to pull up anchor.

The Bass Pro Shop has placed a lot of emphasis on the store's appearance, with hopes that the outdoor visitor's shopping experience will be an adventure in itself.

The wildlife trophies on display throughout the store are quite amazing. The species of fish include trout, catfish, stripper, bass, marlin and more. The larger animal mounts include a giraffe, lions, antelope, mule deer and my favorite: two bull elk fighting.

Among the departments you'll find boat, climbing, backpacking, hiking, camping, outdoor cooking and fine gift wear, the two largest departments being hunting and fishing.

As an avid hunter and angler I was drawn to the hunting and fishing departments. There will be rods, reels and fishing tackle and fly-fishing merchandise for those who enjoy casting a fly.

The hunting department will have an array of hunting apparel and gear for hunting game birds and big-game hunting adventures. The archery department will offer a bow repair shop and an assortment of archery equipment. A rifle tube and pistol range will also be available.

The second-floor includes a gunsmith area, a fine gun room with firearms on display from the early 1800s to present and an archery range.

Construction workers were still busy at work on many of the final touches such as the 40,000-gallon freshwater aquarium that will be fed by a canyon waterfall and a trout stream that meanders through the store that will be populated by brook, brown and rainbow trout.

I found the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World to be more than a store. It was an adventure!

For more information, visit www.basspro.com

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