Cabela's; A Wildlife Museum and Top Notch Oufitter

A cross between a wildlife museum and an hunting, fishing, camping outfitter, Cabela's is my new favorite store. Their slogan, "Like no other retail store on earth," is absolutely the truth. You have to see it to believe it. With 18 locations nationwide and 12 more coming soon to a neighborhood near you, Cabela's is a must visit store.

I recently discovered Cabela's on a business trip to Fort Worth, Texas. By happenstance a friend of mine was in the area. We got together for supper and had some time to kill. He told me about Cabela's and suggested we go check it out. Cabela's Fort Worth, Texas Retail Store is located at junction of state highway 170 and I-35W. My friend and I spent over an hour in the 230,000 square foot facility and didn't come close to seeing everything.

According to Cabela's website their "massive 230,000 sq. ft. showroom is an educational and entertainment attraction, featuring a décor of museum-quality animal displays, huge aquariums and trophy animals interacting in realistic re-creations of their natural habitats." You read a lot of ad agency hype and it is usually just that; hype. But what Cabela's says about their store is not hype. In fact you really have to see it to believe it.

Recently I took a day off work and my 6 year old son, my friends Matt and Dave took a 2 hour drive to Dundee, Michigan to visit the Cabela's located there. At a mere 225,000 square feet, this Cabela's is only slightly smaller than the Fort Worth location. But I guess being as it's in Texas it has to bigger. Everything in Texas is bigger isn't it? Well not when it comes to Cabela's. Texas is second to Hamburg, Pennsylvania. The Hamburg Cabela's is 250 Square feet making it the largest Cabela's in the chain, with the Dundee location a close third. The smallest Cabela's location is in Kearny, Nebraska and comes in at a mere 35,000 square feet. The average Cabela's retail store is round 150,000 square feet.

Dundee, Michigan is located just 40 minutes from Detroit and 40 minutes from Toledo, Ohio. Along with sporting the third largest Cabela's location in America, Dundee Village is a small community with a rich history. With a current population of 4160 it has its own attractions that make it a great co-location for a Cabela's retail store. The next time I plan to take my whole family, get a hotel room and spend a weekend in Dundee. Of course the centerpiece for the trip will be a day at Cabela's.

Cabela's Dundee has this huge statue in front of the building depicting two grizzly locked in combat. I'm talking big! At around 20 feet tall they are just the beginning of photo opportunities at Cabela's. What I'm saying is you don't want to forget your camera. Both the Dundee location and the Fort Worth location feature a mountain exhibit complete with antelope, deer, grizzlies, brown bears, moose, wolves, mountain goats and so much more I don't have the space to list them.

Founded by Dick Cabela in 1961, Cabela's had a sort of accidental beginning. According to the history page on Cabela's website, "Dick Cabela came up with a plan to sell fishing flies he purchased while at a furniture show in Chicago. Upon returning home to Chappell, Nebraska, Dick ran a classified ad in the Casper, Wyoming, newspaper reading: "12 hand-tied flies for $1." It generated one response. Undaunted, Dick formulated a new plan, rewriting the ad to read "FREE Introductory offer! 5 hand tied Flies....25c Postage....Handling" and placing it in national outdoor magazines. It didn't take long for the orders to begin arriving from sportsmen and women around the country. In typical direct-mail style, each order was mailed out with a mimeographed catalog of outdoor items Dick and his wife, Mary, added to their product line. In the beginning, Dick and Mary ran the business from the kitchen table of their home in Chappell." Well as you can see Cabela's has grown tremendously since 1961 becoming known as the "World's Foremost Outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear"

My recent trip with my son and friends to the Dundee location was not a disappointment. Arriving just before 10 AM we beat the rush into the store. Since we had gotten up so early to begin our drive we were all hungry. Knowing the menu at Cabela's we were already pretty excited about eating there. Featuring a menu of venison, buffalo, and other wild game, along with some standard fare for those not quite as adventuresome, you will want to plan on having breakfast lunch and or dinner at Cabela's. I ordered a venison brat with Sauer Kraut and a Buffalo burger. Matt and Dave both had venison brats and fries and Luke, my son, ate pizza and fries. We all agreed that our brunch was excellent. After our meal we visited the chocolate shop.

The chocolate shop, located right next to the restaurant, was definitely in the right place. What better to have after a satisfying meal than chocolate, fudge or some other great candy for dessert? Along with a wide variety of down-home candies to choose from you will find great venison jerky and venison sticks. After choosing some great fudge to take home to my wife we decided it was time to really check out the store.

The second floor of Cabela's Dundee, where the restaurant and chocolate store is located, also houses the camping section of the store. Here you will find everything you need to enjoy camping. Tents designed with wood burning stoves along with every possible requirement for "roughing it" are just part of items to choose from. Also located in the upper section are guns - lots of guns! You will find new guns, guns from bygone eras, pistols, rifles, shotguns and more, priced at every level. You will find guns to meet the needs of the beginner all the way up to the accomplished hunter, and everything in between.

Back down on the main level we checked out the Ford F-150 display. Near the Ford truck display was the African animals section. An elephant, lions, water buffalo along with jackals and other animals native to Africa rounded out this excellent display. Moving along from there we checked out the mountain with all the animals displayed there. These animals are set up in real life situations. These animals are displayed as attacking one another in a very real looking simulated native habitat.

Cabela's features the clothes and outer wear you will need for outdoor activities. You will find the very best gear at Cabela's. Besides the clothing and all the other accessories required for the outdoorsy types, the kids and the kid in you will love the toys.

Popguns, toy shotguns, toy six gun sets, coonskin hats and much more are awaiting your child at Cabela's. My son walked out with an official Cabela's T-Shirt and a coonskin hat. You can bet he had a great day. I forgot to mention that Cabela's has the greatest shooting arcade I've ever seen. Part of it is a life size cabin setting with targets on the cabin and in the cabin yard. If you enjoy testing your shooting skills and allow the kids to have fun shooting you will love Cabela's shooting gallery.

Are you looking for a great day trip to take with your family or a group of friends? Check out Cabela's. Visit their website and find the location nearest you. Make sure you bring your wallet and your camera. You will be glad you did.