We Leave the East Coast Liberals Behind!
Trip Start
Sep 09, 2009
1
7
Trip End
Sep 18, 2009
New York City, New York
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Anyway, it did not take us long to leave the east coast liberals behind (and start keeping mum about our left wing opinions!) By mid-afternoon, in rural Pennsylvania, we were firmly in red state territory, our first stop being Cabela's, a sporting good store that caters to hunters, fishermen, and campers. Cabela's is what L.L. Bean must have been before they lost their soul. Cabela's imposing building sits on the crest of a hill, just off I-78, east of Harrisburg, a huge palace of a lodge-like emporium flanked by acres of parking. We had no trouble finding a spot on a Thursday afternoon. Threading our way through parked cars to reach the entrance, we passed no Priuses with Obama stickers. We did pass a pickup, though, with a bumper sticker that read "I'll keep my freedom, my guns, and my money! You keep 'The change' "
Just inside the front entrance, a bank of glass doors that opened onto a large vestibule area, we were greeted by a "welcomer" who asked if we needed help. Learning that we had never before been there, he gave us a quick run down on the layout of the store and set us loose. With the twang of country music ( "Cowboy Town") playing over the store's sound system we went off to the right, threading our way through some racks of clothing to reach an aquarium he had suggested we see. It was beyond huge and unlike those at museums that we have visited that always feature colorful tropical fish, it contained only local fish. Admittedly, they were mostly drab brown, but we were amazed at the variety of shapes and sizes as we threaded our way through a darkened passage with floor to ceiling tanks on both sides. Pike, muskelunge, sunnies, blue gills, trout, and bass floated and flipped along beside us. We came out in the fishing section with walls of rods, reels, flys and all manner of fishing gear - none of particular interest to us New Yorkers.
Leaving the fishing section, we stumbled onto a fenced-in re-creation of the African plain that put the Museum of Natural History's wildlife dioramas to shame. It was an extensive scene with elephants, antelope, tigers, and leopards that contained about as many animals as does the Museum's exhibits except that they were in one large open display rather than separate cases. There was one small difference, however. Unlike the contemplative nature of the animals at the museum who seem to stare off into the middle distance, this was REAL jungle life. Several crocodiles were ripping apart a gazelle. A leopard had treed a deer whose lifeless body lay slung over a branch. Hmmmm..... Was there a message here!?!
Now we entered the footwear section. Boots of every type, hiking shoes, waders. There was a rack of foot warmers as well. We had been looking for hand warmers for some time and asked a clerk if there were any hand warmers. For those he sent us up to a second floor balcony to the camping section which spread out before us in various directions. From the displays, we could surmise that the campers Cabela's catered to were real campers, not those we meet in campgrounds who who prepare meals on corian counters of their r.v.'s while watching big screen t.v.'s, but people who fry their trout in cast iron skillets over a wood fire after showering from black plastic containers hung from tree branches filled with water warmed by the sun.
From the camping section we had a view of another diorama, this one of the northeast woods - deer, moose, bears, etc. The black bears were chewing on a moose carcass with hungry crows looking down from the tree above waiting for their turn at the carcass. A polar bear loomed above on a snowy slope. Again, the taxidermy was amazing.
Moving on, however, we found ourselves in the "home furniishings" section. Lots of rustic looking tables, lamps, etc. The usual for furnishing a cabin in the Adirondacks or Catskills. But even this had a bit of a Red State edge and featured lots of stuff with eagles, hunting dogs, water fowl, etc. And much camouflage! My favorite was a Barka Lounger upholstered in camouflage!
The piece de resistance for a hunter lay ahead: a diorama of deer in a large museum like room off by itself. Each one was a masterpiece of taxidermy and standing in a forest-like setting. An informational panel explained how deer had once numbered in the millions, had gradually been exterminated, but again were numerous. And then we passed into the guns and hunting equipment section. A hunters dream of a display it was and even with my prejudices against guns I went "wow!"
As we headed back to the entrance, we passed a rack of magazines. I would have loved to get my hands of an issue of "Gun Dog." It was a special one on waterfowl. I'm a birder after all. Right up my alley, right? But the checkout line was too long and we needed to get going. So it was off to Carlisle where we were camping for the night - but, let me tell you, not cooking on a wood fire!
Instead, we opted for a Flying-J Plaza eatery and good "home cooking." For those of you who aren't familiar with Flying-J, it is a chain of truck stops that are generally located at interstate highway exits. They cater to truckers and in addition to diesel and a food option, they provide showers, game rooms, and a general store with an extensive selection of auto parts, sundries, snacks, and small gifts for women and children back home. And lots of t-shirts of course with American Eagles or slogans like "Will Hunt For Food." One trucker, browsing around was wearing a shirt with a black lab dolled up with a confederate-style bandana on his head, a field of ducks being flushed out in the background. They also sell "artwork" - simulated 3-D representations of Cougars, Lions, or Eagles and plaques with slogans like "Driving Trucks and Shooting Bucks." Perusing the merchandise tells one a lot about life on the road for truckers.
