Malcolm in Heaven

We have driven 1,158 miles since loading on Friday in Colorado. It's been an easy weekend, except for a few moments of nasty weather. There was the wind in Wyoming that I told you about yesterday. And then last night, right at dusk, we ran into some of the nasty snow that's been in the weather reports. This was just across the Nevada line after leaving Utah.

Today, we've been relaxing in Reno. We had breakfast, showered, went shopping at an outlet mall, and then Malcolm went to heaven. (I'll explain in a bit.)

After he was done in heaven, we headed on west to get across the Sierra Nevadas. We were put out a bit, because they had reinstated the chain law and we were going to have to put on the snow chains, or "throw iron" as another trucker friend of ours says.

There are two ways of looking at what happened. On the one hand, you could say "well at least you don't have to put on the snow chains now!" On the other, you might say, "well sh**!"

At every entrance to California, at least within 50 miles of the border, all vehicles have to go through an agricultural inspection station. They look to see if your hauling any fruit or house plants or such with you. And if you are, they take them away. For us, they check our paperwork and take a sample of our product. And as it turned out, and this is our first experience with this scenario, they needed some papers we hadn't been given by the shipper, and so they won't let us in!
Yep, California has kicked us out of the state, sent us packing, tails tucked back to Nevada!!!

Malcolm has made some phone calls and we have to wait till tomorrow to see what happens now. I figure it will be one of three possibilities: either they will work out the details and we'll go across the border tomorrow and make a late delivery (provided the road is still open b/c they are supposed to get a ridiculous amount of snow tonight in the mountains) - or -  we'll be haulin this corn back to Colorado - or - they'll sell it to someone else and we'll take it wherever that may be. HUGE inconvenience and irritation, but never fear...we get paid, regardless, for all miles no matter where we end up going with it. It just is very irritating and a waste of our time.

Anyway, I was going to explain heaven, Malcolm's heaven at least.

Having been ousted from California, we are now parked in the parking lot of the heaven in Reno. There are, in truth, 34 heavens in North America, soon to be 37! They are adding three more sometime soon! More are added every year.


this and the following pictures were taken at the Lacey, WA store

 We're talking about Cabelas, folks. The Mecca for all hunters and outdoors men! There are 34 Cabelas stores in the country. I counted.

We have been to 15 of them. Malcolm has set a personal goal to get to as many of them as he can. Guess trucking is good for some things after all!

Have you ever been to a Cabelas store? If not, your missing out.

They have thought of everything and everyone! Outside the stores they have provided facilities where your dogs and horses can relax in comfort while you shop...

...and inside they've even put consideration towards those of us who are not hunters, fishers, or serious outdoors men. It's pretty darn interesting to go in and  take a look around! It's not just about men! They have thought of the hunters prettier counterpart and have stocked some nice items that appeal to the interest of the wives!

Ok, in all seriousness though, they do have a pretty nice clothing department and I've found some pretty sweaters and nice jackets and such there.

Outside of clothing, they have all sorts of camping supplies, including stuff for cooking at camp. I like to look at that too.

For Malcolm, the draw is the guns and such. He's big into reloading ammunition and shooting it too. Guns are kind of his thing. All the stores have a wide selection of new and used guns, and most stores have a special room for special guns, and if your a special person who has lots of money, you can buy one of these.

In addition to the gun library, all the stores have a "general store" where there are lots of goodies for sale to tempt the taste buds...

...including a large supply of various fudges, all of which can be sampled free of charge. I love free samples!

And if your hungry now, many of the stores have a grill inside where you can order buffalo burgers or roast elk sandwiches. They specialize in sandwiches made from specialty game, pretty much anything from buffalo to ostrich to elk. After several hours of browsing, the grill comes in handy!

Here's one of the things I do really find interesting to go into the store and see. Each store has a display of mounted game. It's usually pretty interesting, and usually displays animals from the region, though not always.

I grew up with family members that hunt, and I'm married to a hunter. I'm not bothered by it as I know some are. And these pictures might bother some of you. But I support hunters and believe it has it's merits and is part of wildlife management. And I think these displays have educational use. There are plaques for each animal telling what they are and a little about them. It's very tastefully done, and there are usually some really nice pieces of taxidermy work.

All the mounts have been donated to Cabelas, or purchased by them, from hunters or estates. None of these were just randomly shot for the purpose of decorating the store.

And a number of the stores, particularly the ones in regions where fishing is a great interest, also have a walk through aquarium where the regional fish are on display.

 Always fun to walk through there and watch the fish at face level.

Cabelas....sportsman's paradise. In Billings, the guys at the gun library are on a first name basis with my husband. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Hmmm...

There are 34 Cabelas stores in the country and my husband wants to see them all. He's seen the 15 he's gotten to on multiple occasions. We've been to this one here in Reno, where we're parked now, at least a dozen times. I don't resent his time at Cabelas. It's one of the few recreational activities he really enjoys. I don't go in much anymore though. For me, once you've seen it, you've seen it. But if you ever get the chance to go to one of the stores, go in and take a look around. Don't just sit in the car and read a book while your honey is shopping. You might just find some cute sweater, or a coffee mug, or a camouflage bikini you can't live without. At the very least you'll get a free sample of fudge!

And after you've gone to Cabelas a handful of times, then come join my new campaign. I'm going to petition them to start building Barnes and Noble bookstores next to every Cabelas! That way Malcolm and I both get to spend some time in heaven!