Things in Your Belfry for $200
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The night we camped in the Needles district of Canyonlands, we decided to attend the nighttime "Ranger Talk." It turned out to be better than a chance to learn something. In the intimate open-air "theater" was a makeshift Jeopardy board propped against the rocks — A bunch of know-it-alls were going to get to compete!
There were a couple of Berkeley professors who've traveled the world three times over. Some nature photography buffs just in from the trail. Two sets of college kids — One trio of future scientists there to examine the rocks, another group of probable stoners there to examine the rocks, dude.
And finally... the lone guy on an outing from his Mom's basement.
I suspect the waistline of Lone Guy's pants was pulled half-way up to his nipples — a style choice I generally find endearing. But I had no way to know from our vantage point, because Rufus and I were front and center. Sitting with rapt attention as close to the "teacher" as we could get, it was important for everyone to understand: we were a trivia force to be reckoned with.
Hey, the stakes were high. In addition to smug self-satisfaction for knowing obscure things that others don't, the prize was attractive. Answer correctly, and you got to pick the next question. Any five year-old will tell you that's neat.
So the game began, and it was clear there were some real sharp cookies in this crowd. Everyone seemed to have their eyes on the prize. I tried to keep my competitiveness in check.
"Be cool... be cool... be cool..." I would counsel myself as the ranger revealed a question. "Ooooooh! ooooooh! I know this one! I KNOW THIS ONE!!" would take over my inner dialog if I had the slightest clue how to answer.
"Fairy shrimp!! Fairy shrimp live in the Ephemermal Pools!!" I'd blurt out before those other geeks could get a chance.
Then I crack my knuckles. "I'll take Geology next."
The problem was that Lone Guy knew almost every answer, and he was serious about having facts straight. No matter who answered the question, he knew an additional detail — something more specific to make us all think. It was impressive.
When these crazy-looking birds started flying all around the spotlight on the board, the ranger informed us they were bats.
"There here to eat the moths," Lone Guy added.
"Yes," the Ranger confirmed. "There are nine types of bats here in Canyonlands National Park."
"Actually, there are sixteen," corrected Lone Guy.
He read that in some book or brochure, I'm willing to accept his expertise on the subject. I don't know what kind of bats live there, because I was probably dinking around on YouTube while he was reading zoology.
Bats.
Haven't I seen something educational recently about bats and numbers?
I feel OK about not being a trivia match for Lone Guy. I still count it as time well spent.
Alex, I'll take "Things in Your Belfry" for $200.
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Yeeeaaahhh... there are definitely 18 species of bats in Canyonlands National Park definitely... but of course not all of them are present in the Needles area...
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