Hello, bean fans, and welcome to today's adventure, as the beans take on the Sioux City prairie dogs!

Yes, for some strange-yet-slightly-cool reason, the nice people of Sioux City, Iowa decided that prairie dogs - the 5 foot tall, 200-pound fiberglass species of prairie dogs - were *the* art project du jour, and were just the thing to decorate the streets around town for the summer of 2002.

So - the big question is: Why prairie dogs? For those of you that have never been around here (And take it from a resident - you don't know what you're missing...), Sioux City isn't exactly overrun with these critters in their natural habitat. As far as the beans know, there aren't any wild prairie dogs within several hundred miles of here, unless someone in Onawa has one living in their basement...

While the beans don't claim to fully understand why it's raining prairie dogs all over this otherwise-peaceful city, they are glad that they went with that, and not giant 5-foot ears of corn. Vegetables are a jealous breed, you know...

Okay, I know what you're thinking. "But seriously, beans. Why prairie dogs?" Well, here's the story:

Way back when, everyone's favorite explorer duo Lewis and Clark (they're mighty popular here in Sioux City...) stumbled across thousands of little hills filled with what they called "barking squirrels". Being the collectors that they are (you should see their Pokemon card collection!), L & C decided to trap one of these things and send it back to President Jefferson.

The P.O.E. (Prisoner of Exploration) prairie dog was boxed up and shipped down the Missouri River to St. Louis, then down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, then on a ship to Baltimore, and finally to public display with President Jefferson in Philadelphia, 3 months later. (Too bad that they didn't have FedEx back then, huh? It would've been a whole lot easier for everyone involved...)

So, since Lewis and Clark got us into this situation, it's only fitting that the beans stop to meet "Prairie Children", who is adorned with images of L & C's famous route to the Pacific Ocean. The beans approve, and really dig his cool Davy Crockett hat.

Now, for those of you that have never seen a real prairie dog, here's one that the beans ran into while visiting Devil's Tower in Wyoming a few years ago.

And now, a little fun with Professor Nature! A prairie dog is a large, burrowing, ground squirrel. An average adult weighs about two pounds. Prairie dogs are active only during daylight hours and spend a lot of time feeding and socializing. (Sounds like just about any morning at Denny's!) Prairie dogs build their homes underground in tunnels that extend downward from 3-10 feet and then horizontally for another 10-15 feet.

So now you know. As for their Sioux City fiberglass friends, they're quite similar to the beans: they don't eat much, they prefer to stay above ground, but as far as socializing goes, well, let's just say that they don't call it gossip for nothin', honey.

Okay, back to Prairie Dog Quest. Just across the Missouri River bridge, you'll find South Sioux City, Nebraska, home to "Husker Dog", dedicated to the U of Nebraska's Cornhuskers football team. The Huskers are big business around here - whatever you do, don't get into an argument with a "Husker Hound" about which team will be next year's national champion. You'll lose, I promise you...

Anyway, the beans liked hanging out with Husker Dog, and were glad to see that he didn't fumble them.

This angry-looking dog is named "Abstract Expressionist Prairie Dog", made by David West. He sits in front of a bank in South Sioux City, NE, and apparently he plans to paint the town red...

Next, we meet "Dog in Spring", who sits in front of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. Dog in Spring looks a bit like an Easter Bunny with his ears chewed off, doesn't he? (That, or the default wallpaper background on Windows XP...)

The beans would have stayed longer, but all that grass was playing havoc with their hay fever, so it was time to move on to...

Peace, man! Brought to you by Peace Dog, who sits peacefully in front of Uncle John's, a record store/restaurant in Sioux City's historic 4th street neighborhood. Peace Dog has images of Gandhi and Martin Luther King on his front, and Anne Frank and John Lennon on the back.

The beans felt very peaceful here with the Peace Dog, but when he started bugging the beans for their spare change so that he could buy a bus ticket to the Dead reunion concert, the beans made a polite yet hasty exit.

Next up is "Gumdrop", the world's first hybrid gumball machine/rodent. Now, if you think it's strange to imagine bubble gum coming out of a 5-foot tall prairie dog's nether regions, you're in good company, but ol' Gumdrop here is still pretty cool, in his own way.

The beans were pleased to meet Gumdrop, but wisely turned down an offer for a free sample.

Next, it's "Pizzicato Prairie Dog", who hangs out in front of "Momo's", a new piano bar next door to the Orpheum Theater. For those of you whose knowledge of Italian orchestral terms has lapsed, a "Pizzicato" is a musical tone played by plucking rather than bowing the strings. And as you can tell, P.P.D. here has the appropriate strings running down his side.

While the beans were delighted to meet P.P.D., they were a little disappointed that he wasn't able to play their request. I mean, doesn't every street musician know "Tequila"?

In front of Sioux City's recently remodeled theater "The Orpheum", you'll find "Prairie Doordog", who will gladly hail you a cab or carry your Gucci bags, whatever the case may be. But instead of putting him to work, the beans and Ambassador Katie asked him to stand there and pose for a picture. Who knew that Katie was going to give him bunny ears? Well, let's just say that I had to give Mr. Doordog an extra tip after that little prank...

Our next prairie dog is "Blues", and Blues is kinda special. Why? Well, he was prairie dog-napped almost immediately after he made his debut on the streets of Sioux City.

Yep, a couple of hoodlums managed to swipe Blues one night. He was missing for about a week - they were just about to put his picture on the back of milk cartons - but then he turned up, abandoned in Sioux City's War Eagle park. His base was slightly damaged, and his name plate was missing, but his artist was able to put him back together, and he has now been returned to his rightful place.

The beans were twice as grateful to have a chance to meet Blues, although they were thinking it would've made one heck of a cool "Where's Waldo?" type book... (And by the way, let it be known that as much as the beans like traveling, they had nothing to do with his short-term disappearance. He just followed them home...that's all.)

For those of you who prefer your prairie dogs to assume the professional look, you'll be thrilled to meet "Mr. Money", who stands conservatively in front of a downtown bank building.

Yes, Mr. Money looks pretty dapper in his 3-piece suit, and the beans were pleased to make his acquaintance. Only next time, the beans are going to recommend that he dress like a teen pop superstar instead of a banker; that way he'll get chicks instead of worthless stock tips.

Finally, this one is "Tourist Dog", or something close to that. (Since he didn't have a name plate, we'll just have to guess.) Tourist Dog stands guard in front of the Sioux City Convention Center, where he apparently got into a scuffle with a gang of roving terrazzo artists. One thing led to another, and before he knew it, he'd been "tiled".

For those of you passing through Sioux City this summer, be sure to stop by and check out Prairie Dog Quest - you'll be glad that you did. More information on Prairie Dog Quest can be found on its official Prairie Dog Quest Web site.

You know, the beans had a good time after all hanging out with the dawgs. And yes, it may be a little odd, but it's no stranger than a traveling can of black beans, I suppose...