Quigley’s little stinker…

Day 5, Thursday, September 7th, 2023:

Bass Pro Shops—Toy Store for Adults

As I discussed in my last Blog, Today we would be visiting the Little Rock, Bass Po Shop for a bit of a Trout fishing gear shopping spree. Well, that’s exactly what we did, and for several hours, and if we weren’t so hungry, make that hangry, we would have stayed even longer. Justin and I love trout fishing, and I have a few fantastic trout recipes I have created over the years. I’ll eventually share them in my recipe blog. Sorry, PETA people, we catch and eat, especially from the crystal clear waters of the Rockies.

Not a Texan…

When we entered the Bass Pro Shop, Ron, the friendly greeter, took one look at us, Belt Buckle, Boots, and Cowboy hat, and yelled, “Hey, what part of Texas are Y’all from.” We get this all the time, but I responded instantaneously with Florida, and all the employees standing by looked as shocked as a squirrel landing on a live wire. Clearly, we don’t belong in Florida; imagine their reaction if they knew we were originally from upstate N.Y.

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

We got all our new gear, put it in the truck, and headed to the nearby Saltgrass Steakhouse. As we walked through the blacktop parking lot, we discussed global warming and decided if it is legitimate and not a regular cycle of the earth or some underhanded power grab by blowhard politicians; well, we know it’s not because of a few cow farts, gas-power lawn equipment, or all the other things they blame it on; I believe we heated the earth by paving over her, and today at 101 degrees the Blacktop felt as if we were on top of a stove; we left Florida for cooler weather only to find more intense, sweltering heat in Arkansas. Justin and I got healthy lunch salads from a Steakhouse.

Oh Quigley…

After lunch, we took Quigley for a short walk, and when he got back, well, that’s when it happened; it was under a pile of bags, and he knew it, and before I could stop him, he lunged for it. He had it and was instantaneously wrestling with it. It was black and white, just like him, and it was hard to distinguish between them. Quigley tossed that skunk around like a rag doll, making it squeak and squeal. He even tried to drown it in his water bowl; the whole time, smiling and happy, they eventually became fast friends and cuddle buddies. It’s a cute little skunk, and we don’t need a vat of tomato juice with this one. But it’s kind of a noisy critter with three squeakers; still, she’s a keeper. We call her Peppa La-Pew.
(See the Photo at the end of this post.)

Fix Our Infrastructure!

We spent the rest of the day driving and made it to Checotah, Oklahoma. Traveling the country, we realized how defective our infrastructure is. The bridges are pretty scary, and most roads are years past expiration. Perhaps we could fix the infrastructure if we stop giving our tax dollars away or paying the salaries of bloated, do-nothing politicians. Now, we’re off to dip ourselves in Hemp and Arnica. Tomorrow is another driving day.

Quigley after wrestling a skunk.

Peppa La Pew—-Quigley sleeping with his new skunk friend from the Bass Pro Shops.