Jackalope Nostalgia

On my desk, I have a Jackalope.

It's not a real one (ha!), not even a stuffed rabbit. It's a cute little 2" figure with ratty faux fur and purple antlers.

Today I'm feeling nostalgic about Ms. Jack. Enough to write this post, which has nothing to do with jewelry, etsy, ebay, or any of my usual topics.

In 1999, my brother graduated from college at Arizona State. The family made the trek from various locales to watch him walk, and spend a few days together relaxing. One day we drove out to Tortilla Flat, a small wide-spot on the frighteningly narrow Apache Trail road. We had a large minivan, which made the drive even more interesting - something about 7 people reminding the driver just how FAR down it was to the river.

Tortilla Flat is mainly a restaurant, with a few gift shops and such to browse before you go back to Phoenix. My family was browsing the gift shop while waiting for a table when my grandmother found her first Jackalope. I'll hand it to the shop owner - quite an impressive display of taxidermy, and the faux history with it was very interesting and somewhat believable. Grandma certainly believed it, and nothing anyone else said could convince her otherwise. She also kept asking me to look "on the internets" to prove her right, so I finally agreed to have some peace.

After the trip, life returned to somewhat normal. Grandma didn't bring up the Jackalope again, which was perfect since I had no intention of 'researching' it. Then, in one night of grand inspiration, my ex-husband and I - with my brother's help - created our own National Geographic-style information sheet on the Jackalope. It was greatness - history, latin name, pictures, even the yellow box and logo. We printed it and quietly circulated it among the family that attended the Tortilla Flats trip...and it's now family legend.

Unfortunately, the original file is gone, and the printouts have been safely 'stashed' beyond reach. Grandma has also left us, but telling the story (and recalling the details of the sheet) still gives us a wonderful giggle and glow. I can't remember everything, but here's a few snippets of the funniest thing I ever did.

North American Jackalope
Jackalopus Reallyfakus
also known as the Morman Chihuahua and Dollie's Folly

Believed to have crossed the land-bridge of creative taxidermy sometime before the ice age, the Jackalope now resides entirely in the United States. Primary habitat is Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and rural gift shops everywhere.

Diet consists of berries and foliage. Has been reported to spear fish from rivers, data is unconfirmed