"Phish and Wildlife"
Episode KH810
Original Airdate: 2/15/04

Hank and the gang travel out of the suburbs of Arlen to the wilds of the wilderness. Hank wants to teach Bobby once and for all how to survive on his own. Hank hopes to make a real man out of Bobby (if that’s possible). Bobby does not like the every-man-for-himself motto of the trip, but he’s going to have to get down and dirty and fish like the rest of the folk if he wants to eat. Unfortunately, Hank and the gang are not alone in the wild and share their territory with a group of hippies in a spot next door. When the fish stop swimming, Dale and Boomhauer leave the wilds for more burger friendly territory.

Bobby yearns for a good, home-cooked meal, but is left with little to suck on but a sour berry. The hippies temp him with fresh gumbo, and he caves into the temptation in the end, regardless of Hank’s orders to resist. The hippies are taking over Hank’s gang one by one…first Bobby and then Bill because, “the hippies accept him for who he is.” Hank is almost forced to give into the hippies himself, and nearly closes up camp, when Bobby steps up, and convinces him that they can get their campsite back. Hank finally rids himself of the hippies when he tells them that the park’s public services, like water and bathrooms, are being shut off. The hippies are obviously less environmentally savvy than they thought because they immediately flee for more well-equipped ground, where they can find the luxuries of home…but for free. In the end, Hank and Bobby have done a little father/son bonding, and Bobby has proven his independence.