The store’s been around for decades, and it still never ceases to amaze. Stop in to buy a fishing reel or a box of shotgun shells and you might end up just wandering — to the gun range, the swimming pool, the indoor carpeted ski slope, the lake out back. Bill Jackson is set off U.S. 19 in a wooded area, lending it a real air of authenticity. Probably no grizzlies hiding behind those trees, but you can let your imagination run wild. Whatever your outdoor pursuit — hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking, hunting, inline skating, scuba diving — this expansive complex will get you set right up. And the store has about as friendly and helpful a staff as you’ll find.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2006.