No jokes about "pitching tents," please. REI has been hammering the stakes and lighting the camp fires, pumping the tires and rowing the boats of our readers for nine years. That's longer than they've been at their current location in the Gateway shopping center. Although the national co-op has been around since 1938, outdoorsy gearheads here in Austin did not get our first taste until 1989, when REI opened its doors on Lamar. Needless to say, they've grown immeasurably (just check out the climbable rock wall for goshsakes!) and have been wowing our readers ever since.
