Speakeasy Cave

When I was stationed in Ft. Leonard Wood I had a caving adventure that I do not want to repeat.

I went with a friend to a large cave north of Waynesboro Missouri that was supposed to have been a speakeasy during the prohibition era. What this means is that people would sneak out to the cave to drink back when alcohol was not allowed.

We had to see what the cave was like. When we went inside, we saw that there were multiple passages going off the main cavern. Some passages were marked with ropes, twine, and colored yarn. We could tell that many people had explored the depths of the cave and marked the paths. We picked the largest passage with the most lines going into it and decided to follow it.

My friend, Mark, was very skinny and I was much bigger than him. We followed the cave back to a point where the passage dipped down and went through a small hole near the floor. It looked like it wasn't much bigger than a small pillow. I told Mark the opening was too small for me. He dropped and quickly crawled through the hole. Mark told me it was easy and it got much bigger on the other side. He kept encouraging me to go through the hole. So I went. And for a brief minute, I got stuck. Before some form of panic or terror could take root, I was able to wiggle my shoulder and slip through the hole.

I stood on the other side and looked back at the little hole and realized two things. #1 - if I had gotten stuck in the hole, Mark would have been deeper in the cave and trapped, unable to go for help. #2 - I had to go through the hole again to get out of the cave.

We continued on deeper into the cave, but it stopped being fun. I looked for other strings coming in from other passages, hoping there was an alternate way back out, but there was not. Caves are cold. You have to wear a jacket in a cave, but I remember sweating from the dread of what was coming. When we got back, Mark went through first and I followed. I took off my jacket and squeezed through without as much trouble. So we were able to get out of the cave from there without much more excitement.

We never did go back to the cave, and I can still remember how it felt to almost get trapped.

Commuter Spider

Call me strange, but I really like spiders.

Anything that will eat the insects that are going to bite or sting me is OK with me. I think spiders are like the wolves of the insect world, misunderstood hunters that are hated for no good reason. Actually, they aren't technically insects, they are arachnids

National Geographic had an article some months back about the little glands that spin out webbing, which was fascinating. The webbing silk is made from multiple little glands that mix and combine their output to form different kinds of strands. Some strands are strong and thick, some are thin and strong, and others are sticky to catch insects. They can also wrap up prey and make parachutes from different web materials. Many spiders eat their old web when they go to make a new one. It's all protein, after all. Scientists have studied web silk, trying to copy it. It's lightweight, but incredibly tough. Pound for pound, it's stronger than steel.

Plus there's the whole Spiderman series, which is also really cool.

But the point of this story is to tell about my friend and co-commuter that lives in the rear view mirror on my car. For about 3 weeks now, this little spider makes a new web every night and then is hiding in the morning when I go to work. Right there on the driver's side door, right over my rear view mirror is his perfect little web every morning. I've gone out at night and seen him on his web, and I've seen him peeking around the corner of the mirror sometimes, too. But when I back out of the driveway, he goes somewhere behind the mirror and rides out what must seem like hurricane force winds as I drive to and from work. He's gone out of town with me, too. The little web survives, somewhat tattered, every drive, and so far, he makes a new one every night. I look forward to it.

This morning I noticed that he has a little friend that spins a web about 1/4 the size of the big web and behind it, closer to the door. I don't know if the little guy can survive the commutes.

I guess it's not quite the same as a dog that loves riding in the car with you, but I've come to think of my little spider friend as my pet. I would miss him if he was gone and I always check to make sure he's still with me each morning.

Mystery Puddle

There is a little puddle near where I run. It's a low spot in a little creek where it emerges out from under the road. It looks calm and clear, and stays that way when you drive by it, but it roils when you walk or run by it. Lots of little waves like watching a snake struggling under a sheet.

I'm guessing it's full of frogs, but I haven't seen the animal that makes the waves. I haven't figured out how to solve the mystery yet. I always look at it, and it seems to have waves that would indicate about 3 big bullfrogs, probably jumping in and then swimming around once they are in.

I wonder why they are not spooked by cars, but know that a person's silhouette is something to fear? I will try to figure it out tomorrow when I go running past it again.

Cuppy Tales

I would have to say that Cuppy is my favorite cat.

She almost died twice when she was a kitten. She had some kind of infection and was very sick, but Warren doctored her up and she managed to survive. Before that, we found her as a wet, hungry, and scared little kitten next door. Her mother was gone and she had tumbled into the water on the pool cover with her sister. The first time I saw Cuppy she looked like a drowned rat. She had a little backside that stuck out like a little cupcake, which is how she got her name. I thought it was not healthy, but eventually, it went in to a normal size.

She got attacked at one point by the bigger cats and they cut a notch in her ear, which is still there to this day. You can tell she's in the bottom of the cat pecking order and is constantly on the run from the other cat bullies. This has made her quite resilient. When she wants to go outside in the morning and the outside cats are in a cluster outside the door, waiting to be fed, she makes a running leap and soars right over their heads and out into the yard.

Cuppy will climb way up in a tree and go way out on a limb and catch a cicada (locust). She used to bring them inside to show off and play with. She also chases the turkeys and has been known to freighten off a deer, as well as coming nose to nose with one out of sheer curiosity.

When I come home, she runs up to the car to see me. When I try to stop petting her, she stands up on her hind legs and takes my hand in her paws.

When she was a kitten, she would try to get the food off of my plate or eat something off the counter that she wasn't supposed to. We would yell "Cuppy! No!" and she would go "mrowwll!" So she likes to talk back to us.

I've written about how she likes to rub her face on my socks when I get home at the end of the day in a previous post, and I've written about her obsession about the Atomic Ball and how she talks to me to get me to look for it for her. What I may not have mentioned is that she loves to play fetch with her little Atomic Ball, just like a dog. She brings it over and drops it in front of you and stares at you until you toss it into the other room. Very fun.

She also likes to come in the middle of the night (I should say really early morning) and dig her claws in me like she's nursing. If I see a dark blob, feel sharp claws, and hear a really loud purring at 4 a.m., I know it's Cuppy.

When I sit on the floor in front of the couch and watch TV, she likes to sit right next to me. She doesn't want me to pet her, usually, she just wants to sit near me. She sits in Andrea's lap and licks her fingers, then rubs the wet fingertips back along her jawline.

I'm not sure how it is that so much personality is crammed into such a little package.

The Atomic Ball is back

Monday morning Cuppy started talking to me again. She hasn't talked in a long time and was very excited for some reason. She wanted me to go to a back bedroom, so I followed her. She was hanging out next to the dresser, very loud then. I got down and looked under, and there was her famous and beloved atomic ball.

She was so happy she sat on it like a little egg. Maybe she was trying to hatch more little atomic balls.

Unfortunately, by Wednesday, it was missing again. I'll look for it this weekend.

Hummingbirds

I visited my friend 4 doors down Sunday. He had several hummingbird feeders. When I noticed this, he said that there are more hummingbirds this year than ever before.

Andrea has seen hummingbirds all summer and keeps telling me about it.

All we have is flowers, but the hummingbirds seem to like them too. It's hard to photograph a hummingbird in motion. The zip around all over the place. It only took me about 20 pictures to get this one.

Gardner Spider

I got to see another Gardner Spider on Labor Day. My younger cousins and nephews had not seen this trick before. I caught a grasshopper and put it in the web, and the spider quickly caught, paralyzed and wrapped up the grasshopper.

They asked me if it was dead and when it was going to drink the blood, and I'm not sure. I think the grasshoppers insides liquify, but they stay alive for a while until the spider is ready to finish his meal.

It's delightfully disgusting.

Green Heron

We have a little Green Heron that comes to our pond from time to time. We love to watch it catch frogs and strut around the pond, stalking for prey.

Andrea thought that the bird looked like President Nixon, so we called it the Nixon bird for a long time.

The cats, of course, would like to meet the bird, but the bird has other ideas.

If you right click on the picture and save it, then zoom in, you can see the colors on the heron. I've never noticed all the colors on this bird before.

Yellow Bellied Marmot

This little guy was also beside the trail on the way up Mt. Washburn.

They are also called a Rock Chuck and they are in the squirrel family. This guy wasn't afraid of us at all, and seemed uninterested in the Bighorn Sheep walking behind it.

The Wikipedia entry for this little furry mammal is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-bellied_Marmot

Come to think of it, Wikipedia changes from time to time, and this entry is so enjoyable, I better copy it here:

The Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris), also known as the Rock Chuck, is a ground squirrel in the marmot genus. It lives in the western United States and southwestern Canada, including the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. It inhabits steppes, meadows, talus fields and other open habitats, sometimes on the edge of deciduous or coniferous forests, and typically above 2000 metres (6500 feet) of elevation. Yellow-bellied Marmots usually weigh between 5 and 11 pounds (2 and 5 kg) when fully grown. They get fatter in the fall just before hibernating. A marmot’s habitat is mostly grass and rocks with few trees. Their territory is about 20,000 to 30,000 square metres (about 6 acres) around a number of summer burrows.

Animal seen on the summit of Pyramid Peak (California)Marmots choose to dig burrows under rocks because predators are less likely to see their burrow. Predators include wolves, foxes, and coyotes. When a marmot sees a predator it whistles to warn all other marmots in the area (giving it the nickname the whistle pig). Then it typically hides in a nearby rock pile.

Marmots reproduce when about 2 years old, and may live up to an age of fifteen years. They reside in colonies. A colony is a group of about 10 to 20. Each male marmot digs a burrow soon after he wakes up from hibernation. He then starts looking for females and by summer has 1 to 4 females living with him. Litters usually average 2-5 offspring per female. Marmots have what is called "harem-polygynous" mating system, which means the male defends 1-4 mates at the same time.

Yellow-bellied Marmots are diurnal like most mammals. The marmot is also an omnivore, eating grass, leaves, flowers, fruit, grasshoppers, and bird eggs.

Marmots are not hunted for sport but are sometimes killed by farmers.

Yellow-bellied Marmots include "toilet rooms" in their burrows as well as living rooms, bedrooms and eating rooms.

Mt. Washburn Bighorns

We climbed Mt. Washburn on our last day in Yellowstone. The hike was very scenic and a highlight of the trip.

One of the highlights of the hike was seeing a herd of Bighorns. They passed us on the trail, completely ignoring us, about 5 feet away at their closest. I thought that Bighorns had horns that curled all the way around back to the front.

These sheep are all females, the males have the long horns. We did not see any males.

Madison River Yetis

One thing the Yellowstone Park brochures do not tell you about is that there are Yetis in the park.

We discovered this pair fishing in the Madison River. The front one is standing right behind the branches in the middle of the stream and his buddy is swimming up behind him.

We did not report them to the Rangers, because we did not want to get them in trouble. They did not have fishing licenses.

Buffalo Jam

The brochures about Yellowstone warn that you could be stuck in traffic for long periods of time because everyone stops to see the wildlife. They usually call them "Bear Jams" (instead of traffic jams).

We did not see any bears or any bear jams, but we did see this very interesting Buffalo Jam. They don't really seem to care about the cars at all, they just walk along nice and slow.

I wonder if they think they are in a parade?

Chubby Cheeks Chipmunk

This little guy is working hard to store up energy for the winter.

They can really pack a lot of food in their cheeks. I guess people do, too. Just not the same cheeks.

Entering Bear Country

If you read the sign, you wonder why anyone would leave their car or venture into the park at all.

We did not see any bears, but we wanted to. We went onto trails twice that said there were bears nearby. We did run into some Serbians or Latvians or something that claimed to see a bear, but they were totally crazy, so who knows what they really saw.

It would be good to drive right up to some nice parking lot and have a bear come out and dance and pose for you, but that didn't happen to us.

Maybe next time.

The Raven

There were Ravens everywhere in the west. They seemed to like to hang out in parking lots.

Ravens are very interesting because they are very intelligent. They have been known to use tools. These Ravens watched for food and we found one opening a pouch in the back of a truck and pulling items out, looking for food.

I gave it a cracker.

Friendly Neighborhood Elk Patrol

At Mammoth Hot Springs near the Park Headquarters at Historic Fort Yellowstone, the elk roam freely on the well manicured grounds.

It's like one big perpetual elk party.

Moose in Yellowstone

This is the only Moose we saw in Yellowstone.

He did not come up to the road to see us. He did not dance on his hind legs for us. He did not talk to us in Moosinese.

It was good to see him, but I'm really sorry he didn't perform for us.

The Velvet Buck and the Korean Maiden

This buck was by the path with about 60 tourists watching from about 15 feet away. They were all in awe, as the deer was so close.

A young Korean girl walked over to the deer and turned around so that her boyfriend could take her picture in front of the deer. She was dangerously close and had her back to the buck.

The American tourists thought they knew better and that the Korean was being stupid. But the deer did not attack the Korean and they got a really excellent photo. So who was more stupid?

Tourist Animals on the Edge

This is Yellowstone's Grand Canyon. This view is looking down the canyon from the second falls, which is the big 300 foot tall one. We had been on observation overlooks which are visible on in the big picture.

I was looking at the photo and blew it up to spot the lower observation platform. That's when I noticed that the tourist on the platform is standing on the handrail for an interesting photo.

We had been on this platform earlier and saw that the drop off the rail would be fatal. Andrea had heard before we left for the vacation that there was a tourist that fell off of a guardrail to her death as her family watched. It was such a rare and bizarre event that I assumed we would never hear of somthing like it happening again, much less witness someone risking the same fate.

But the man in the picture did not fall.

The Great White Buffalo

I wrote about White Buffaloes in a June post called The Great White Peacock, so it was in the back of my mind when I went on vacation, and when we started seeing Buffaloes, the song just started coming into my mind every day.

I became obsessed with the Ted Nugent song, and tried to remember exactly how it went, but it just wasn't coming back clearly. When we got to Cody Wyoming, not only did we have internet access that allowed me to buy the song on itunes and play it for Andrea, but they also had a White Buffalo statue.

The buffaloness of the vacation was really going well up to that point, but seeing the White Buffalo statue was the icing on the cake. The creamy sweet white icing that is.

When I played the song for Andrea, I realized that the lyrics were almost like a children's story. I would like to share them with you now (I recommend listening to the song for the full effect):

The Great White Buffalo

(Double Live Gonzo version)

Well, listen everybody,
to what I got to say.
There's hope for tomorrow,
Ooh,we're workin'on today.

Well,it happened long time ago,
in the new magic land.
The Indian and the buffalo,
they existed hand in hand....

The Indian needed food,
he needed skins for a roof.
But he only took what they needed,baby.
Millions of buffalo were the proof.

Yeah,its all right.
But then came the white man,
with his thick and empty head.
He couldnt see past the billfold,

he wanted all the buffalo dead.
It was sad...It was sad.
Oh yeah...yes indeed.
Oh yes,

it happened a long time ago,baby.
In the new magic land.
See,the Indian and the buffalo,
they existed hand in hand.

The Indians,they needed some food,
and some skins for a roof.
They only took what they needed,baby.
millions of buffalo were the proof,yeah.

But then came the white dogs,
with their thick and empty heads.
They couldnt see past the billfold.
they wanted all the buffalo dead.
Everything was SO sad.

When I looked above the canyon wall,
some strong eyes did I see.
I think its somebody comin' around
to save my ass,baby.
I think...I think he's comin' around
to save you and me.

Boys......

I said, above the canyon wall...
strong eyes did glow.
It was the leader of the land,baby.
OH MY GOD, The GREAT WHITE BUFFALO.....
LOOK OUT!!!! LOOK OUT!!!!!!!

(excellent guitar solo)

Well,he got the battered herd.
He led em cross the land.
With the Great White Buffalo,
they gonna make a final stand.

The Great White Buffalo,
comin'around to make a final stand.
Well,look out here he comes.

The great white buffalo,baby.
The Great White Buffalo....
Look out,here he comes.
He's doin'all right.

Makin'everything all right.
Yeah,yeah,yeah....

Wild Donkeys

Custer State Park has a herd of wild donkeys.

I don't know how wild they were, they came right up to the car and looked inside. I think maybe a lot of people feed them. While we were watching them, I saw a man in a trunk rubbing one under the chin, and a guy jumped out of a car with a donkey doll and posed with them while his girlfriend took a picture of him.

We also watched two young donkeys playing. It looked a little like a game of tag, but you could also say they were playing grab ass.

Full Sized Pronghorn

Here's a full sized Pronghorn.

Apparently, they are not a true Antelope. They were first spotted on the Lewis & Clark expedition. The Pronghorn is the second fastest land animal after the Cheetah. This is the fastest animal in North America. We never saw one running.

They can run up to 61 miles per hour and keep it up for a lot longer than a Cheetah can run

Badger Hole

This is an animal tale where a man thinks he's an animal. Either that or the man acted like a animal and so they named him Badger. I'm not sure. I guess it kind of figures that he would be enshrined for his stubborn, reclusive, and skunklike ways.

Baby Pronghorns

These little guys were munching on bushes only five feet away from the car. You can see the little horns starting to come out of their heads. I'm not sure why they were so fearless.

Buffalo at Custer

The buffalo herd at Custer State park is pretty large and right there on the road of the Wildlife Loop Road.

This lumbering beast is obviously walking away from a delicious meal of grass, see how he is licking his lips?

Prairie Dogs

We saw several Prairie Dog towns, where there were multiple mounds with many Prairie Dogs standing guard.

Lewis & Clark were the first white men to report seeing the Prairie Dog and even dug one up to bring back to show off.

Later, farmers and ranchers tried their hardest to wipe out the Prairie Dog and almost succeeded. The Black Footed Ferret has also almost disappeared, because the Prairie Dog was its favorite meal. While some still resist saving these animals, today we can see some recovery and some hopes that they will not disappear, the latest extinction of the modern era.

Mountain Goat

This Mountain Goat and 3 or 4 of his friends must have a summer job at Mount Rushmore. They were beside the road at the exit as we left. The wildlife guide says they are shy and live on steep mountainsides, but these were grazing on grass in a little flat field beside the road.

Their latin name is Oreamnos americanus, which sounds like a cookie. If I were a Korean tourist, I would have gotten out of the car and tried to pose with my arm around the goat. I probably would have discovered what they can do with those horns, too!

Old Guys

This Old Guy was just one example of the Senior version of the common tourist.

Although not as common as the Florida Retiree, some tough and hardy souls can be found in South Dakota or Wyoming, although most of them migrate south to warmer climates before winter comes.

Mount Rushmore

You might be asking yourself, "Why is Mount Rushmore included in Animal Tales? I thought this was about animals?"

That is a good question. Here is a Tootsie Roll for you. Good questions should always get a candy treat reward.

A little known fact about Mount Rushmore is that it was carved out of the side of the mountain by large Black Hills Stone Beavers. These mighty creatures are adapted to the stony environment of the Black Hills to make their dams out of stone, since there is more stone than trees in this area, and the dams tend to last longer.

Back in 1927, a man called Samuel "T-Bone" Rushmore was trading in beavers when the beaver market dried up overnight, leaving him with a large supply of beavers and no market for the large furry aquatic rodents. He was approached by Gutzon Borglum to help built the monument, and they quickly determined that Sam's beavers would be an excellent asset, as the cost of dynamite and labor was so high. They quickly trained the beavers to chew through the rock where directed and the monument was finished in a record 14 years. If you look closely, you can still see the claw and teeth marks in the rocks. The rest, as they say, is history.

Twin Fawns

We saw these little deers on the Needles highway in Custer State Park. They did not want to come home with us.

Barn Swallows

These little guys were everywhere at the Legion Lake main lodge. They nested all around the eves of the boathouse and sat in the lodge window sills. They were not afraid of us, and we were able to get about five feet away. The Barn Swallows would catch insects by flying low over the lake and they almost hovered when they came back to their nests. The nests look like they are made of mud and stick to the side of the walls. I would like to know how they make those nests.

Legion Lake Flock

These ducks were always nestled down near Legion Lake. When we went by in the morning, they were sleeping or resting and we could walk right up to them and not scare them away. I guess in a State Park where you can't hunt, the animals may get tame because no one is ever shooting at them.

Zeke the Indian

I tried to have an intelligent conversation with this local man, but he was kind of wooden headed.

Bandlands Bunny

We stopped at a scenic overlook in the Badlands and this rabbit was right next to the path and not too concerned about us. Andrea got about five feet away from him and took several pictures. The rabbit was too busy eating to care. Sagebrush must be pretty yummy!

Using my trusty Reader's Digest North American Wildlife guide, I have positively identified this animal as either the Black Tailed Jackrabbit or the Snowshoe Hare. I guess when you can't decide, that's not a positive identification. I think it's the Snowshoe Hare, because it has ears that are about as long as it's face, and the Jackrabbit has ears longer than it's head, and looks taller and skinnier. If it is the Snowshoe Hare, it will turn white in the winter. That's a pretty cool trick. I used to do that when I was in High School & College. Now I just stay pasty white all year.

Near the Badlands is the tourist attraction called Wall Drug. It's a drug store in Wall South Dakota that sells a whole bunch of crazy stuff. One of the things they like to sell is a fake rabbit with tiny horns on it. They call it the Jackalope, which is supposed to be a cross between a Jackrabbit and an antelope. Everyone knows it's not a real animal, but when reading in the wildlife guide about rabbits, I noticed one thing. There is a Jackrabbit in Mexico called Antelope Jackrabbit. It has longer ears, but there is no mention of any horns.

Beware Rattlesnakes!

While travelling in the Badlands, we saw this sign many times.

I guess I shouldn't have been wearing sandals.

Ha ha ha, not really. I did not manage to get bitten. However, when travelling in snake infested areas, it is always a good idea to wear high boots and thick jeans.

It was too hot for that, so I risked the snakebite.

If I had seen a real snake, I would have been hovering around it, taking pictures.

Cow Sculpture

We did not stop to find out why there was a big cow head sculpture.

We did not want to take the chance that this was some kind of cult with cows in it, seeking revenge for us eating beef. Better safe than sorry.

Crazy Cats

I certainly hope that no one thinks that what this cat is doing is a good idea.

Harley Hogs

Sturgis week in South Dakota brings about a lot of odd sights.

This Harley Hog in a rest stop on I-29 south of Sioux Falls proves the point.