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Walk in the new Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World opening Thursday at the Harrisburg Mall and you can tell immediately that things are different now.
Lord & Taylor, former occupant of that retail space, never had this much taxidermy or camo clothing.
As Martha Stewart might say, that's a good thing, at least for the midstate hunters and anglers.
For others, Bass Pro Shops -- which added 50,000 square feet to the mall for this 225,000-square- foot store -- is simply a stunning visual experience.
It's the Springfield, Mo.-based outdoor outfitter's 26th, and second-largest, store.
It's got a stocked trout stream just outside the mall entrance to the store and a 40-foot rock climbing wall and 60,000-gallon aquarium and waterfall inside the store.
A Citizen Kane-sized fireplace and lots of knotted pine columns and wood paneling give the interior the look and feel of a giant Adirondack Lodge.
Panoramic murals painted on the walls depict Pennsylvania landscapes.
Look down and you'll see imprints of dinosaur fossils and wildlife tracks on the floor.
Look up and you'll see a float plane suspended in the lobby's 80-foot-high vaulted ceiling.
Look around and you'll spot a worried moose surrounded by a pack of snarling wolves, one already on his back. Nearby two bucks lock antlers.
A raccoon overlooks the extensive footwear department, which carries hunting, hiking and work boots, athletic shoes and even pink slippers.
"The taxidermy will be incorporated with the merchandising," general manager Jim Wargo explains.
It's enough to divert your attention from all the stuff for sale. But not for long.
There's something for everyone here: pet supplies, knives, optics, birdhouses, camping and hiking gear, home furnishings, toys, sunglasses, clothing for all ages, food, backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, coolers, canoes and kayaks.
This is the place to get that bass-shaped mailbox you've been looking for.
Then there are the more than 3,000 guns (including antique ones ranging in price from $ 500 to $ 50,000) and the more than 4,000 fishing rods.
There's a fine gun room and a full-time gunsmith on duty.
Well-known angler Bobby Clouser of Middletown manages the fly shop. "You'll find what you need and you'll find the help you need. We'll answer your questions," he promises.
In the archery department, you can get your bow tuned and your arrows cut to size. Then you can try them out on the 25-yard archery range.
The marine department offers about 200 boats, 40 of them displayed on the showroom floor. "It'll be an indoor boat show every day," Wargo observes.
A simulator in the golf pro shop allows you to try out that new club.
"It's a little bit more than a hunting and fishing store," Wargo proudly proclaims.
There's also entertainment. An arcade will offer hunting related games and skeet shooting. The NASCAR shop will have Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. race car simulators.
In anticipation of Bass Pro's opening, the mall invested $ 40 million in a full-color LED marquee, pylon signs and renovations to the food court, building entrances, exterior and parking lot, according to mall manager Mark Nobile and owner Larry Feldman of Feldman Equities.
Thousands are expected at Thursday's grand opening. The mall has 4,223 parking spaces, so Nobile recommends that people come early and be patient.
Before the store even opens, it's already guaranteed one customer.
As Bill Wilsback hung a shelf in the hunting department last week, he said his wife had asked him what he was going to do with all the extra money he earned at Bass Pro Shops.
"I said, I'm not getting a paycheck. I told them just give me vouchers for merchandise."
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