Postcard of the week: Jackalopes!

You can't travel far in the rural American West without running into a jackalope. Oh, you won't see one in the wild too often, but you'll see plenty in person at roadside trading posts (otherwise known as tourist traps), and on about a dozen popular postcards. At Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota, you can even sit right atop a huge 'lope (undoubtedly raised on powerful steroids) and get your picture taken. Jackalopes, in case you don't know, are a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope. The only time you will likely run into one is after closing time at a rural tavern when they often howl in pairs. Some folks say they sound like Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing a duet. And here's another little-known fact about jackalopes: they only mate during lightning storms. Now, how about that?

My name is Chuck and other names

My name is Chuck, but it's really Charles. I took the name Chuck when I was a teenager. I thought it was better than Charles, which sounded too formal. For the last few decades I have questioned my decision. I have determined that the name Chuck is the most common name found on bowling alley score cards. I have a cartoon that shows a butcher shop: "Chuck Steak: $1.49 a pound," it says. "Charles Steak, $5.49 a pound."

I especially love the word Chuck as it is used in the popular term "Up Chuck."

But I could have a name that I liked less. Here are a few names I found in a book called "Remarkable Names of Real People."

Remember, these are absolutely real.

Dr. Zoltan Ovary (a noted gynecologist)
A. Moron (Commissioner of Education, Virgin Islands)
Sir Basil Smallpiece
Mrs. Belcher Wack Wack (she married Mr. Wack and then his brother)
Cardinal Sin (Archbishop of Manila)
Reverand Christian Church
Baroness Gaby von Bagge of Boo
Gaston J Feeblebunny
I.C. Shivers (iceman)
Ima and Ura Hogg
Katz Meow
Preserved Fish, Jr.

In my own family, one name always gets a chuckle: my great aunt Fanny Butts. I once came across a married couple who worked as real estate agents in Sacramento, California. Their name: The Swindlers. Maybe you have some names to add!

Postcard of the Week: Idaho potatoes

Idaho is a beautiful state with tall mountains, pine forests, and lakes and streams for catching big ol' trout. But it also has a lot of farmland and just about everybody knows about the biggest crop: Yes, you are right -- it's potatoes. In the town of Blackfoot you can learn all about potatoes, see the world's largest potato chip and even eat a yummy potato for free. Billboards on the way into town advertise "Free Taters For Out-Of-Staters." So, being famous for its potatoes, you'd expect that there would be a selection of postcards related to spuds. The one pictured above is one of the most popular.

Stuck people

Here are some photos I have collected in my travels of people who are truly stuck. Do not try this yourself! Click on any photo to make all the photos bigger.

Hot fish and a scary-shaped building

Here are a few things about Death Valley that may surprise you. First, in case you do not know, Death Valley is a National Park -- the largest National Park in the USA outside Alaska -- and is located in Southern California with a little bit in Nevada. It's the lowest place in the Western Hemisphere at nearly a few hundred feet below sea level. And it's very, very hot. In the summer, the temperature routinely reaches 120 degrees. The record is 134.

Did you know that Death Valley has its own fish? It's true. But do not bring your fishing pole, because the Pupfish is about the size of a small goldfish. What is amazing about this little fish is how it can survive in such a harsh environment. Its ancestors occupied Lake Manley, which covered Death Valley. The water probably got warm, but not hot like the tiny pools where the Pupfish lives today, which can be hotter than your evening bathwater. The fact is, the Pupfish can live in water as hot as 115 degrees! Try taking a bath in water like that and you will probably dip your pinky in and utter, "No way!"

At the Furnace Creek oasis, you will find a beautiful 18-hole golf course. It's the lowest golf course in the world -- at 214 feet below sea level. For many visitors, it's a big surprise to find a golf course in Death Valley, but there is no problem keeping the grass green because of an abundance of gushing spring water.

Another interesting thing about Death Valley is at the visitor center at Furnace Creek. If you should ever attend an evening nature program, pay attention to the shape of the building. It's not square or rectangular like most buildings. No, this building is unique -- shaped exactly like a coffin. Now doesn't that seem appropriate for a place named Death Valley?

We are all builders

We are all builders at heart. Someone built this little monument at the Harmony Borax Works site in Death Valley National Park. It doesn't take much to build such a monument -- a few rocks and few minutes. Such a monument may last a day or a month. But just as we humans are included to build monuments, we are also inclined to destroy them: maybe the park service will determine that this one is not fitting its historic site. But I think there's a better chance someone will just push it over. If you drive I-80 across the vast Bonniville Salt Flats in Utah, you will find many little monuments like this one. Some are more one dimensional: rocks placed on the ground to spell a name or create an image; there were a few peace symbols the last time I drove by. Some people build beautiful sand castles at the beach. These are guaranteed to vanish with the next high tide. In the redwoods, people have carved their names in fallen redwood trees. These are more "memorials" than monuments. A name carved in a fallen redwood tree may still be visible 100 years later, for redwood trees decompose very slowly. I saw a fallen redwood once where early explorers had left their signatures.

Pizza in a ghost town

This trailer is right outside the Mozart Club in Goldfield, Nevada. It's the only restaurant in Goldfield these days, with a limited menu: pizza or chicken. Bartender and owner Rick McChesney asked me if I wanted pizza. I said sure. He went in back and started making it. After awhile, he delivered it to my table. It was huge with all the fixings. I realized then that when you order a pizza at the Mozart, you get one size fits all. It was a mighty fine pizza.

Goldfield was once a booming gold mining town of 10,000. Now there are maybe 500 people, if that. The old Goldfield Hotel (see pic), was once the most elegant hostelry between Chicago and San Francisco but is now boarded up. There have been a couple of restoration attempts, but all fell short. There's a new owner now, and he says he will get the once majestic hotel up and running again, complete with casino. No one is holding their breath.

There was a huge championship boxing match in Goldfield in 1906 -- the Gans/Nelson bout that was telegraphed around the world. Joe Gans was black and Battling Nelson was white. Seven thousand people watched in what is now a vacant lot. The fight went 42 rounds before being called because of a low blow. To this day, it is the longest world title fight in the history of boxing.

Goldfield is worth a stop for anyone traveling between Las Vegas and Reno on U.S. 95. There's a tiny motel and an RV park. A good place to grab a libation is at the Mozart or down the street at the Santa Fe Saloon, the oldest continually operating bar in Nevada.