I am of course talking about the new Cabela’s outfitters store, located just off the turnpike at the Scarborough exit. I had the opportunity to tour the store prior to opening, and it was like getting a sneak peak at a new Disney World for hunters and fishermen. I wasn’t disappointed. As I toured the store and poked into each section, I had to keep refocusing on the bigger picture as to why I was there. It was easy to get distracted by 300 bright and shiny new fishing reels, forests of rods, aisles of baits and lures, an aquarium holding one of the biggest, prettiest rainbow trout I have ever seen, marine electronics and supplies, and enough camping and outdoor equipment to satisfy even me, one of the kings of outdoor equipment gadgets! It’s a good thing they had not yet stocked the firearm section yet or this column wouldn’t have made it to press on time. As I said, it was easy to get distracted. Sorry about digressing, but hey, I am a guy!

After I managed to pull myself away from the bright, shiny things, I stopped for a bit and looked at the store as a whole, and one thought kept nagging at me. There are going to be a ton of people coming to Scarborough to purchase all types of outdoor gear. How do we keep them here? 

Many who come to Maine to take part in outdoor activities have a mental picture of lakes surrounded by towering pines with a lone fisherman spin casting, granite ledges jutting out into the ocean with a fishing boat offshore, and a lonely tent pitched beside a river with canoes hauled onto the bank. That’s the classic image that many have and it’s what they want. 

The modern reality is that there are numerous ways to enjoy Maine’s outdoor character. The classic image is great, but in some ways appears dated, and quite frankly boring, to many other people. White water rafting or kayaking, sea kayaking, mountain biking and other “non-traditional” high energy, fast paced, eco-friendly outdoor sports take place in Maine as well. How does Cabalas tie into this? All of these people could use equipment that is available at their store. 

What if, using Cabela’s as an anchor, the area around the store could be developed into an eco-friendly area with businesses, stores, all geared toward enjoying the outdoors, a place where all the outdoor activities could be supported. Whether you’re a avid hunter or adrenaline junky mountain biker, a fisherman or a extreme back country camper, an ATV enthusiast or die hard sea kayaker, you would be able to find what you need. A Maine Mall of the Outdoors, with all of Maine’s outdoor activities represented. 

Think I am crazy? Go to any sportsman’s show and look at the crowds that attend. It’s wall to wall people. Imagine a show that never ends. 

It would be possible to even take it to the next step. With the price of gas what it is, and promoting eco-friendly habits, what about not only providing a place to shop, but a way to get there and to your final destination as well?

Imagine a young professional couple living in Boston wants to get away for a weekend in Maine. But instead of driving, they get online and go a Web site sponsored by the “Mall of the Outdoors.” They purchase a weekend get-a-away package that includes one of day of fishing and one of white water rafting. They could board the train in North Station at 2 p.m. and by 4 p.m., they would be at Saco Station. An eco-friendly shuttle picks them up and deposits them at the Mecca of outdoors sports. There they can purchase any items they may want to bring along or need, and at 6 p.m., board another eco-friendly bus and by 9 are in Bingham at the local guide operation, who over the course of two days, takes them on the experience of a lifetime. They are home in their apartment in “Beantown” by 9 p.m. Sunday night. You think they might tell their friends in the office?

This idea is nothing new. It’s how it was done during the “Golden Days” of Maine’s outdoors sports in the late 1800s and early 1900s. People traveled from the cities to the woods and water by train, and were met by the local guides, spending money along the way. It spread the money across the entire state, not just in the commercialized southern areas. Sometimes a look to the past, solves a problem of the present. 

We have an opportunity here to spread the wealth in southern Maine to the rest of the state. Its just going to take some thinking and planning. The best part of this would be that the more people use the state’s natural resources, for whatever outdoor activity they enjoy, and begin to financially benefit from them, the more they will want to preserve what we have, both the “locals” and “people from away.” A common effort for planned conservation. But that’s a story for another day. 

— Jeff Grinnell is a firefighter and EMT for the town of Scarborough, his wife, Stephanie Grinnell, is a staff writer at the Leader.