I’ve always been intrigued by "creative taxidermy." I suppose this dates back to my early childhood when we’d travel through Arizona and see anatomically correct billboards urging us to "See The World’s Biggest Jackalope Only 120 Miles Ahead." I’d make my poor mom stop at every Indian trading post so I could compare their Jackalope with previous ones I’d seen. Of course, I’d load up on Jackalope post cards and beg for a stuffed horned rabbit, which by the way, I never got.

I hate to admit this but I was seven years old before I found out that putting antelope horns and deer antlers on jackrabbits was someone’s sick idea of a joke. I found out my mother had been lying to me about the Jackalope the same year I discovered the big lie about Santa Claus. Believe me, that was one rough year. I got even with my mom though. The Jackalope had sparked an early interest in creative taxidermy and so one day I duct-taped the head of a dead smiling gopher on to the body of a snake and left it in my mother’s bread box. Judging by her reaction I figure that made us about even.

After the success of the duct-taped "gophersnake" I’ve always considered myself sort of an amateur taxidermist. So, you can imagine my excitement when twenty of us went to eat recently at a restaurant outside Cheyenne that featured the finest creative taxidermy I’ve ever seen in my life. The place is called Little Bear in honor of the very BIG BEAR standing in the lobby as you walk in. Believe me, that bear is the most intimidating maitre d’ I’ve ever met. "Sure, I’ll be glad to wait for a table!"

On the wall behind the bear in the lobby were masterpieces of creative taxidermy be-yond compare. There was the finest "catfish" I’d ever seen that blended the head of a bobcat with the body of a large fish. Of course, they also had the proverbial Jackalope. I’d never seen a "Wyoming Owl" before and at first glance the face made from the rump of an antelope looked exactly like an owl, except of course it had hair where feathers should have been. These examples of fine art were so life-like I asked one of the restaurant employees if urbanite Easterners passing by on the Interstate who stopped to dine ever mistook the fake animals for real ones.

"Very rarely, but once in a great while we get a dude or two in here, or someone from a foreign country, who don’t know any better."

Because we had some time to kill before our table was ready a few of us decided to stay in the lobby instead of joining our friends in the bar. We figured it might be fun to wait for tourists to come in and make small talk about the animals like, "I caught one of those "catfish" before. Good eating but you have to watch for bones." In the old days cowboys called such a prank "stringin' the greener." Unfortunately all the greeners we tried to snare in our animal trap, including young children, were far too bright to be caught. We soon tired of the game and joined our friends.

I paused briefly when I ordered my meal, thinking that a restaurant with fake animals in the lobby might be prone to slip a little ground antelope or prairie dog in their burgers, but I am happy to report the food was as good as the taxidermy.

On our way out of the restaurant we were joined by our entire group who previously had been polishing the brass rail in the bar. I noticed Percy was eying the Jackalope with keen interest. Now, Percy is about as shy of brains as that Wyoming owl was of feathers, but even our outfit was dumbfounded when Percy said in all seriousness, "I believe that’s the biggest Jackalope I’ve ever seen. Much bigger than those in the desert Southwest." "Perhaps it’s a different species."