We raked in the Christmas gift cards this year. On Saturday we took the stack and made the trek into “the big city” to see what we could find.
Our first stop was Barnes and Noble where we spent a good hour and came out with a stack of new reads to last us all at least a month.
Macy’s would have been our second stop but we decided to forgo the mall on a busy Saturday afternoon.
Instead we stopped at Cabela’s.
If you’re not familiar with it, it’s an outdoorsman’s dream store (read: lots of hunting and fishing gear). As we are neither hunters nor fishers, we seldom find ourselves in Cabelas. But Jack won a gift card at our Christmas Eve white elephant auction and we thought we’d see if he could find something to spend it on.
I run the risk of offending someone out there with this post. (A few that I know well, in fact. ) So, if you are a serious hunter, STOP READING.
If you’ve read this blog for very long you know I’m a city girl at heart as are the rest of us. We’ve lived here in Idaho for about 8 months. Certainly not long enough to develop an appropriate appreciation for the “art” of killing animals for sport. For necessity, I can understand. But I don’t think I’ll ever appreciate hunting for sport. Ever. Did I say ever?
As a family we love to watch Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel together. The death of Steve Erwin elicited a period of mourning at our house. The zoo is a favorite destination as is any natural history museum. Jack started collecting animal figures at a young age and has hundreds of them now. His favorite books since he started reading, at age 4, have been animal encyclopedias. His knowledge of the animal world is astounding. He can spout off the status of any rare or endangered species on the spot. In short, we love animals of every kind.
So here we stood in Cabelas, gift card in hand, surrounded by the art of taxidermy, middle aged rotund men with goatees and flannel shirts pushing camoflage-laden carts , with the sounds of random duck calls overhead. A fish out of water was the term I’d use to describe how I felt (Although being a fish in or out of water in that store would get me skinned alive and eaten or stuffed and mounted, neither of which I’d prefer). So let’s just say we were out of our element.
But we had to spend that gift card so off we went to “hunt” for something unhunting-ish.
Here is just a sampling of what we found to choose from:
Who wouldn’t love a beautiful Black Hills Gold pendant of the food source you’re looking to hunt, kill, and eat? I guess it makes sense. I’d probably wear a pendant of an adorable Sprinkles cupcake. I guess it could also pass for Rudolf at Christmas time. But Jack passed on it anyhow.
We actually all tried on one of these coonskin caps. Visions of next year’s family Christmas card picture danced in our heads. But just for a moment. Then we continued on our “hunt” for something unhunting-ish.
What an adorable baby doll all dressed in camoflage so he doesn’t scare away the target when you take him up in the mountains on your next hunting trip. Good thinking! Not being “into” dolls, Jack passed on this as well.
It’s true. Our Netflix queue has been sparse lately but not sparse enough to watch 18 thrilling bowhunts! ( As bad to the bone as they may be)
OK, Jack. If you’re not into dolls, how about action figures? This would go perfect with Jack’s collection of common and exotic animals. Just stick this guy in the animal bucket and when he’s finished we’ll have a little more space in the playroom for other toys. (Wouldn’t the orange vest give him away though? I don’t get it).
I believe this is a Cabelas exclusive item. Mounted Jackalope Fighting Bucks. Jack’s got some extra wall space in his room. It could even double as a towel rack for practical purposes. But Jack informed us that Jackalopes are not real animals. So that was a no go.
I lost interest in our “hunt” for something unhunting-ish after that and took the little boys to the aquarium to watch them feed the bass. I thought that’d be a fun and educational experience. Little did I know that in addition to feeding the fish fish food and worms, they release live goldfish as well. We watched those lumbering mean bass taunt and chase the cute little goldfish around the aquarium until finally catching them and swallowing them whole. I was ready to go home.
Wanna know what Jack finally spent his gift card on?
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This:
He bought a turkey decoy to “put out in the pasture to attract other turkeys, foxes, and wildlife so we can watch them”. I’d say we accomplished our goal of hunting for something unhunting-ish at Cabelas.
Even though he scares me every time I pull into the driveway, he’s kinda cute. I think we should name him.
Happy Wednesday!
I would have spent that gift card on a large assortment of dutch oven bake ware.. just pour moi! I love that stuff. I stir fry in my cast iron skillet and I love it! My mom makes all sorts of stuff in her dutch oven… Next time…. 🙂
Oh dear Wendy! I am so glad you share my same disgust with all things hunting, killing and maiming!! Makes me love you and your family even more.
Kid.you.not. one of the blogs I subscribe to posted a few weeks ago about their frequent hunting expeditions. This is the kid.you.not part–pictures of her 9 year old son with *REAL* blood painted on his face FROM the animal that HE killed.
Sorry if I grossed you out, but I need someone to join me in my “Oh-no-you-di’nt” party.
I like the lady, but this is just UN-acceptable.
On a lighter note, lol, glad you found something that works for Jack. He is such a cutie! And I LOVE the name Jack. That’s what I want to name my son when I have one. 🙂
Don’t ya just love Cabela’s…makes you want to become a vegetarian…LOL.
I got my banner today and I just looooove it. Thank you sooo much Wendy. Who said that Blog Stalking would never pay off…LOL. Thank…thank you….thank you!
That is sooooo funny! I love the turkey decoy! Hilarious!!!! Cabela’s is a fun and educational place to hang out it sounds like.
Did you get any of the flavored licorice? Ours sells cinnamon licorice and it is TO DIE FOR. Next time, look for it. (I think they have like 25 different flavors)
XOXOXOXO
Jennifer
My father was a hunter and we never saw eye to eye on the issue. As far as I’m concerned, the only fair way to kill an animal is hand to hand combat.
I do like the Cabella’s catalog because I can bypass the disgusting stuff and go for the 40 below socks that I love so much.
I love what Jack ended up with. I laughed!!! What a cute kid and a great idea. Hopefully lots of great birds show up in your yard.
I have to agree with you on Cabelas. We aren’t hunters at all, but it is kind of fun to walk around that store and check stuff out. Who need to go to the museum when you can go to Cabelas! Isn’t it exactly like the Bean Museam and the Y, minus the Liger.
Too funny!
I agree with you, Wenderful – hunting for sport alone is something I just can’t understand. Now hunting for food, that’s different. Even though I would be hard-pressed to do it myself (really hard-pressed), I really appreciate it when I can go to the freezer and find some elk meat to make for dinner. (We’ve already discussed that, as you know!) Bruce loves to hunt, but we also eat everything (well, maybe I should say 95%) of what he hunts for, and I really appreciate the contribution to the family food store.
So, one can be against hunting for sport only, which I most definitely am, but I don’t think one can be against hunting for sport and food unless one is a strict vegetarian. Then one would walk the talk. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense, does it?
One thing I didn’t know about hunting is that the State manages the hunts very carefully in order to keep a balance in the ecosystems. They watch populations and areas very closely to make sure that the hunting to extinction of the “Wild, Wild, West” doesn’t occur anymore.
There is one other factor as well, and that is that hunting gives one a sense of truly providing and being self-sufficient. The first time Bruce brought home an elk, he said, “I feel like a true provider.” And the self-sufficiency aspect is really valuable.
By the way, I haven’t always felt this way. I felt more along the lines of how you feel the first ten years of our marriage, because Bruce didn’t hunt until we moved to Idaho. However, over time I’ve come to appreciate what he brings home, and I’ve come to terms with it.
Don’t know whether this will happen to Ralf or not! I’m guessing on the not side, but you never know… 🙂
And since I’m the “Explainer” of all things Idaho, deer and elk are color blind, so they can’t see the orange, but other hunters can. The orange is to alert other hunters that you are there.
Love your blog, (and you) as always!
PS Tell Will I loved the picture!
Lorena,
I knew I’d hear from you on this particular post. 😉 This culture in Idaho of hunting is so foreign to me. I’m still getting acclimated to it.
Thanks for the FYI on the orange vest. I had no idea. That makes sense.
I know you guys eat all that you kill. We’ve talked about it. It’s the hunters that kill just for the fun of it. Especially the big game trophy hunters. I think that if you kill something, you better plan on eating it. And that’s one reason for me not to hunt. I’d be stuck hunting cows, turkeys and chickens. I’m not sure if Ralf will ever become a “hunter” although I think he’d be curious to tag along sometime just for the adventure. But he’d be forbidden from bringing anything home to the freezer. 😉
I loved reading this post because I couldn’t wait to see what purchase was made. While the hunting thing is foreign to me, I’ve been to Cabela’s and I thought it was better than a lot of museums. What the heck Wednesdays are my favorite.
An interesting phenomenon of the outdoors is that the best outdoor enthusiasts, that really enjoy the wildlife, what sustains and balances out the ecosystem, are predominantly hunters.
Who enjoys the outdoors and animals more – a hunter in field, appreciating how incredibly athletic animals are, appreciating their environment, both harsh and beautiful, or someone who watches it from an armchair or RV.
The next question is why not just take a picture instead of killing it? We could let the cougars, grizzleys or wolves do it for us, but that would make the outdoors a very formidable place to be – I enjoy taking my family packing into wilderness areas. Hunting has definitely tamed Idaho into a beautiful back-country area. Ever been to the Yukon or remote Alaska – there are real dangers there.
Hunting has educated me and some of my kids immensely about the outdoors and wildlife. Frankly there are too many people who want life and what sustains us packaged up in a neat seran wrapped packages.
I talked to a lady a while ago that ask me if milk really came from that ugly utter on a dirty old cow – wow.
There are definitely unbalanced hunters as there are unbalanced non-hunters – Cabelas certainly has oddities for the former. I really love the displays of animals at Cabelas, it gives a taste of the beauty of the animal and environment.
For me it’s all about balance and coming to grips with my omivore tendencies. I think the American Indians came to a good balance with Nature after living in it for a long time. They respected what they hunted, used what they killed, were good at killing it and lived in harmony with the environment.
I’m not perfect because I like the trophies (not that I have any) – mostly because they remind me of the animal, where it came from, how to survive there and maybe a little kinship and reliving being there. I enjoy the meat too. Ok, this is long winded…
Deer and Elk are colorblind??
The Littles call it Tinkerbellas… and I call it my free-indoor-zoo-when-it’s-too-cold-too-Hogle.
Oh my! This was hysterical (no offense meant at all!). Reminded me of the first hunting season I spent in Northern New Hampshire. My journals were filled with references to camo-, huntin’ gear, etc, etc. The best was waking up on a Sunday morning in peak hunting season to a Dr Demento song about hunting, hearing a gun shot off in the distance, followed very shortly by the local auto races revving the engines….ahhhhh good times!
My favorite is the DVD and the mounted Jackalopes.
Thanks for the chuckle! 🙂
A day at Cabela’s brings out the redneck in all of us. My boys and husband adore it there.
Oh my gosh Wendy! That is great. I needed a good laugh today. I love the Candy store at ours…. but a turkey decoy- who doesn’t need one of those! Thanks so much for sharing
Thank you so much for visiting my Blog today & Laughing with me.
Come back anytime.
I think Jack chose the perfect item in a place with few choices for the requirements. I took Ashley and Nick there and they didn’t last very long. They were mostly impressed with the assortment of licorace as was I. It was a “life experience” for us all. Good post.
I came here from Celia’s blog. Too funny that i hopped over! I was visiting family in UT this weekend and our big outing was to…..Cabelas! I had no idea what it was, my sister who lives in ID had been telling me about it, we are both CA natives, outdoorsy, but of the hiking and exercising kind, not the hunting kind. WOW, it was like Disneyland for the outdoorsman. I just stood there with my mouth open as we navigated the store. The best part was not the amazing animal trophies, but the bullet department, where we saw about a dozen men, all lined up with their eyes glazed over, ogling bullets. What a bizarre world we had stepped into. I can’t wait to go back and take my kids.
My favorite choices for Jack were the camaflouge baby (seriously, who wouldn’t LOVE that) and the ornament. LOL when you talked about wearing the sprinkles cupcake pendant. Wendy you are too funny and too clever. You need to have a sponsored blog! The turkey choice was fabulous as well, but I could not have passed on the baby. BTW, totally non-offensive! 🙂
Oh My Heck! That is really funny!
In a former life, I was a country girl and spent many hours in Cabela’s and other stores like it. A few weeks ago, we stopped into a farm and ranch store for some wood for our smoker and it was so strange! We looked so out of place but it was a great educational experience for the kids.
We will go back but this time I won’t wear my best ‘city’ outfit!
Hey…a turkey decoy trumps a pink flamingo any day, don’tcha think? Maybe you should get a whole flock o’ them? Make sure to post pix (or even video) of the critters you attract when they finally notice that Good-lookin’ Gobbler on your property! 🙂
I think you either “get” hunting or you don’t. I fall into the don’t category.
Thanks for making me laugh. The necklace was a hoot. My daughter is dating a guy who hunts. I would love to see her reaction if he gave her a deer necklace. I should suggest it for Valentine’s Day.
hey…thanks for outing and more imortantly, taking my side. the votes are not looking to stay in my favor though. shoot.
i live in idaho… of course in the remote netherland region. any chance we’re neighbor-ish?