RailRider

I hope to get a few updates made today. Stay tunned.

Use the "search" function because there are various PTR for this event and one faitfull sinking of the S.S. Gator

^ standbyme - I wanted to show that old picture because it truly shows the size of these trees. Also I am horrible at Photoshop so there will be no addition of Spock and Captain Kirk. Love the idea though. I hope to have another update posted today. Very busy at work.

Someone else was already planning on it...bigger, taller, faster and with TWO loops. But, they saw how poor Son of Beast's uptime was that first year and canceled their order....And that's no bull. They later would top another Ohio park's top thrill attraction...even adding another, so-called airtime, hill. They were later even going to add hotels and resorts to that park, but at the end of that management's storied rain...and some of us are still burking about it. That park was then the flagship at that chain, a place since taken by a place in Texas. By the time the wooden coaster was to be built, available funds (and management philosophy) dictated a shorter, less expensive coaster (and certainly no loop(s)). Meanwhile, the Southern Ohio park the subject of this fansite was the flagship of its corporate theme park owner, but that owner changed focus (and corporate headquarters) to Charlotte, then got sold to a company whose CEO and Chairman (for now) lives in the parking lot of the corporate jewel (their words) (for now). The future is an odd thing, and very difficult to predict. When all this started, around the time of the millennium force, few would have predicted a certain Kings Island general manager would end up being the COO of Six Flags, having previously been the Interim Chairman and CEO of that company and before that the CEO of the parent company of Kings Island. And that Story guy and his right hand man? They now own a place on Nashville's "shores." And the Paramount Parks GM at Kings Island when SOB was decided on? Got her name removed from a Fort later...found out what she did and did not wannado (which since closed) and now is a critical part of Herschend...so critical that she is allowed to work from her home most of the time...providing critical and instrumental consultation and advice for that fast growing, well run company that has some wild adventures of its own...but also even a beached boat of late. Love the history review of how things have changed and if anyone would have predicted most of this they would have been laughed at. Amazing what has happend in 10 years.

You stay classy backyard coaster designers. Questionable choice of names...

The Tunnel View. After a long winding drive down from Glacier Point we headed towards the Yosemite Valley with a stop at "Tunnel View" planned. The travel down to the Valley floor was long and slow because the main road through Yosemite was under heavy construction were spring floods had washed much away. The improvements they say will make travel that much better through the park. The Tunnel View stop provides an amazing view in to the Yosemite Valley with the sight of El Capitan in foreground and Half Dome in the background. Truly an amazing perspective. El Capitan on the immediate left. El Capitan's 3,000 foot vertical wall. See Half Dome in the far background? Love this shot Should have been used for the family Christmas card. Post Card? Why does this picture remind me of the Griswalds? From the Tunnel View we decided that rather than venture down to the valley floor we were ready to go back to the lodge and relax, swim, and eat at one of the amazing resturants on site. Plus I was tired of driving sharp winding mountain roads. I had at this point logged close to 8 hours driving for the day. Plus we saw the majority of the big sites and leaving the valley left to be explored gave us reasson to come back. After an amazing day at the park and a truly relaxing evening at the lodge we were heading to Pebble Beach, Monterey, and Carmel-by-the-Sea in the morning. Stay tunned much more to come...

We have a winner!!! Yes it truly does show the enormity of the tree. I will have a new update up shortly. I hope...

I always enjoyed Winterfest, especially the year it came back in 2005. Unfortunately the snowmen mad a return the following year along with other decerations as part of Fearfest. Looking back this may have been the start of the decline of Fearfest.

Avatar: I know what you mean about great wide open. When we got out at Glacier Point it was so quiet, only heard the sound of the wind through the trees. Looking out over the valley and the vast mountain ranges was amazing. Standbyme: If it makes you feel any better this was the end of August and later in the trip we are wearing long sleeves. I hope to have the next update either today or tomorrow. Has anyone figured out the famous picture taken with this tree yet? I know somebody in the KIC universe can do it.

Glacier Point - sits over 7,200 feet above sea level and over 3,200 feet above the Valley floor. Glacier Point offers breath taking views of Half-Dome, Yosemite Valley, the various waterfalls, and the high sierra neveda mountain range. The road to Glacier Point is a steep winding path that has many hairpin corners lacking guardrails. Quite the white knuckle driving experience. The view from Glacier Point feels as if you are on top of the world. Amazing. The initial view from Glacier Point and first glimpse of Half-Dome standing over 4,700 feet above the valley floor Half-Dome Notice the discoloration up the back of Half-Dome that is the cable hiking path during the Summer. Some day. Amazing! The valley with ranges in the background Mountain Range Piggy Rock as its known. Perspective Postcard? Better Postcard? I like this one What is she looking at? Now I see Waterfalls everywhere. Some are over 700feet tall, but the Summer months they are a mere trickle. Group Shot Next stop, the Tunnel View. Stay tunned.

Looks like my earlier arguement of seperation of church and state is coming up. ABC news has now ran with this story. Interesting article and news cast video to acompany. ABC News

Much of the roadways in Yosemite become impassable during late fall through mid-late spring because of the massive snow falls. If and when we go back we will probably going in May or early June because the massive waterfals will be at peak flow because of snow melt, by late Summer the waterfalls are nothing more than a runny nose. Would without a doubt stay at Tenaya again and probably visit the park for 2-3 days 4 at the most, but honestly it is possible to see the greatest hits in 1 day. Staying more days would allow you to go to the high country or even hike to sumit of Half-Dome. Paid admission per vehicle is good for an entire week so that leaves lots of options. I could easily see a 5 day 4 night trip to Tenaya with Yosemite being the main focal point of the trip. We will visit Southern California again before going back to Yosemite. Thanks everyone else for the coments, I hope the views from Glacier Point up today.

Very interesting indeed.

We arrived at Oakland International Airport late in the evening / early in the morning and quickly picked up our rental car (Dodge Journey, how fitting for the amazing Journey that lay ahead) and headed over to Mrs RailRider's hotel for some much needed sleep. First thought was how cold the SanFran area was at the end of August. Glad I packed some warm clothes for later in the trip. The plan for Day 1 was to make the 4 hour drive to the South Entrance of Yosemite and check in to the Tenaya Lodge, before trecking in to the park for the day. The drive from the coast to the park was absolutely amazing. The change of terrain in such a short span is amazing, a real testament to the geographic activity that formed California over the years. We drove through wind farms through the high plateau, the bountiful farmland, which we counted over 20 different kinds of crops, rolling pasture land, and eventually the Sierras. The Tenaya Lodge is the closest lodging to the National Park and has a truly amazing atmosphere. We enjoyed an amazing lunch, dinner, and breakfast here and cannot wait to go back. The lodge is worth seeing even if not staying there. Lodge from the outside, credit to the Tenaya's website. I would have needed a crane to get this picture over the now mature trees. The beautiful fireplace and the grand lobby. This theme is carried throughout the resort, every bit worth the 4 diamond rating. From Tenaya we made the short trip to the South Gate of Yosemite. Yosemite National Park is one of the original National Parks and is also the inspiration for one of Americas best photographers in Ansel Adams. The park sits in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and has a terrain that goes from the valley floor to over 3,200 feet at Glacier Point. The area has comanding views of the Granite Monolith Half-Dome and El Capitan along with rolling meadows, and a grove of Giant Sequoias. A truly beautiful place that must be seen and I only hope pictures will do it justice. Our first stop once inside the park was the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. These trees are the largest living things on Earth and some are over 3,000 years old. Did I mention they were big? Notice the cars for scale. Big doesn't even describe the size of these trees. Little Miss RailRider and her Pappa. Mrs RailRider and Little Miss RailRider taking it all in. The Fallen Monarch A very famous picture was taken with this fallen giant. Can anyone guess the picture? From Mariposa Grove we headed up to Glacier Point for a breathtaking view of Yosemite. Litterally breath taking, at over 3,200 feet above the valley floor things and 7,274 above sea level Glacier Point test the lungs and your nerves for hair pin corners and steep narrow mountain road driving. Stay tuned for some amazing sites and a very photogenic squirel.

Less than 8 months after our magical Southern California / Disneyland Trip, Trip Report Here, the family was heading back to the West Coast. My wife was assigned a travel trip at the end of August and I decided that my daughter and I would fly out at the end of of August and spend some time once again in California. This time in Northern California, mainly San Francisco. Illusions of grandure entered my head as I thought about the many things we could do in 4 days. After all if we can do both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure in one day, there is not much I think is impossible... I have learned that if planned well almost anything can be experienced in only one day, I can relax at home. Vaccation is a verb with my family. We Do... 4 Days in the Northern California / San Francisco Area. What to do and where to start? I knew that 1 day would be spent in San Francisco and I have always wanted to see Monterey, Pebbel Beach and Carmel by the Sea, so that left me with 1 day left to plan. Napa Valley seemed like an easy choice, but then I soon discovered that Yosemite National Park was only 4 hours or so away. Yosemite is considered one of the most picturesque natural wonders in the US and has been the inspiration for Ansel Adams life work and the formation of Sierra Club. This had can't miss written all over it, but how do I figure Yosemite, San Fran, and Monterery in to such a short trip? The answer ended up being quite simple with the discovery of Tenaya Lodge located outside the south entrance of the park, in Fish Camp. This would be our base camp for experiencing Yosemite in only 1 day. Thats right 1 day is all we could spare, I had some serious planning to do. Now that you know where we will start our journey I will lay out the rest of our trip schedule. The trip report will more than likely be broken in to these sections as well. Day 1 - Yosemite National Park Day 2 - Monterey, Pebble Beach, Carmel by-the-sea Day 3 - San Francisco Day 4 - First flight back to Ohio Side note: Our second trip to California is filled with some of the most impressive images I have ever seen or taken. The magnitute of the sights is amazing in some places so please be patient as I have more than 2,000 pictures to sort through. Also my parents were able to accompany us on this trip. They were originally scheduled to go on the SoCal / Disneyland trip, buy my Dads youngest daughter (my half sister) died minutes before he stepped on the plane in Cincinnati. This return to California was a breath of fresh air for him, but also brought back emotions from earlier in the year. Please sit back and enjoy our journey and thanks for stopping by. First set of pictures coming sooner rather than later.

Freestyle Thrill Park, should do as well as Freestyle Music Park. Im also sure ride manufacturers will want to work with Baker and his group, they have a great track record lately of taking care of outstanding debts.

Well I will get it up once I get through all the pictures. I have over 2,000 Im currently sorting through... Very scenic trip, what can I say.

Glad to hear that. I have started organizing the pictures and will post once Avatar is done with his wonderful report.

I will save additional comments for the end, but I absolutely love the series of pictures showing Miss Rae over the years. Thought I had seen those Mickey Ears before. Love the trip report, keep up the great work.

Teryp I agree regarding the public funding. How and when do you say no to an established park? Also what about the fact the state would be sponsoring a religious ideaology if they provided funding for this park? Seems to murky the seperation of church and state waters.

I don't see those lasting long! Terpy once those get all scratched, yellowed, and a few pieces of gum they will be quite lovely. Why not cage them in like on Dollywood's Veggie Tales SideShow Spin. Talk about an uncomfortable ride. and Indyguy The plexiglass is not going anywhere because it is there to prevent arms from going sideways out of the train, looks like there are some clearance issues out the side.

Same category till it reopens I won't believe it. The economic environment is not favorable for new parks to open or established parks to reopen.

The more I see of the New Texas Giant, the less and less it looks like the Texas Giant. While the ride looks exciting I am not sure what the point is in keeping the structure or ride name, when the new layout is completely unlike the original. Also I find the train design to be extremely weird. Plexi glass windows because clerances are going to be tight? Strange to me.

I will put this in the same category of the WV Highlands park, until it breaks ground and even then success is not guranteed. See Hard Rock Park...

Not reall that surprising when you consider the enormity of the project and the technology it incorporates. Although it does currently opperate with the most expensive static prop ever, poor Yeti. Consider the complexity of the mountain. 3 seperate structures enclossed in the mountain. The mountain, coaster, and Yeti all have their own structure and are seperate from one another. Very impressive in my book.