TheSchwitek Posted March 28, 2012 Author Posted March 28, 2012 40 mpg when I'm on cruise control on the highway.
CoasterGuy06 Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 I would kill for that kind of mileage in my car. Also you were pretty dead on when you said how many miles you planned to put on your car last year
TheSchwitek Posted July 29, 2012 Author Posted July 29, 2012 KINGMAN COUNTY CARNIVAL Alright, so I have to give credit to the smartestscoasterkidever! for finding this rare little coaster. I decided to stop by this little place in a town called Kingman, Kansas on my way to Colorado a few weeks back. I just stopped to get pictures of this "abandonned" roller coaster when I noticed a couple ladies nearby. They informed me that they ran the carnival and that it would be open for 4 days at the end of July. They informed me that they decided to buy their own carnival rides about 7 years ago, because they didn't like the image traveling carnival folks brought to their town. They have bought a new ride almost every season, and staff each one with volunteers during this once a year fair. Everything about this little place reminded me a lot of Brookhaven Exchange Park in Mississippi. Needless to say, they invited me back to enjoy the carnival, so I did just that. I hopped in the Mini Cooper Friday afternoon, and enjoyed a fair (and a coaster), that not many people have ever experienced. Now, let the fair begin: So 30 minutes West of Wichita, you will find Kingman Kansas. During my first vist I saw the only two rides that are left standing all year; the Ferris Wheel and... ... The Screamin' Eagle!! And it looks like it someone is getting ready to put the trains on the track! And there are the coaster cars. Looks like I will be coming back in a couple weeks to see this super rare coaster in operation! So here we are, July 27, 2012. Parking at the Kingman County Fair, next to a statue of some guy riding a bull. Here is the flyer for the fair. I met up with the nice ladies that run the carnival, and they were so excited that I drove all the way here, that they gave me one of their volunteer buttons which enabled me to get VIP treatment and a free dinner! On the way to the food, I smelled, and saw a nice sized rodeo going on. They also had Kingman County Idol taking place, with all the communities best singers. (There were 4 people in the contest) Yes, I found the food! That sweet corn was amazingly awesome. 2 minutes later. Now that I have a full tummy, its time for the main event. The Kingman County Carnival!! Looks like there is a bit of a wait for tickets. But who cares, they are only 25 cents! They had a lot of homemade games to play as well. Here you can see Milk Jugs and some random Beer Pong looking game where you tossed a ping pong ball into one of about 30 glasses from someone's kitchen. A couple more classic games including the Bottle Toss, where you can win a 2 liter bottle of Sam's Choice Soda Pop. They even had Plinko! And a carnival wouldn't be complete without Mini Golf and Drinks. These lovely old men ran the High Strikers. You can also see the men's and women's restrooms in the background. And yes, there were rides as well. Ride #1: The Motorcycle/Dune Buggy/Car/Truck Ride. Ride #2: The Classic Carousel. Ride #3: The Swings. Ride #4: The Tilt A Whirl. Ride #5: The Ferris Wheel. Ride #6: The Spider (By far the most popular ride at the Carnival) And last, but definitely not least, Ride #7: The Screamin' Eagle. Lift Hill POV. (Yes I took a full ride POV as well). Overall ride layout. Track close-up! Action Shot. A shot from the back. My favorite iphone picture of the evening. So I got a new coaster credit, met some nice people, ate some great (free) food, and had a fantastic evening. So that's the Kingman County Carnival. PS - This coaster does stay here all year, so rcdb needs to add it. Thanks for reading!
Skycoastin Steve Posted July 29, 2012 Posted July 29, 2012 I'm insanely jealous of your ghetto Kansas carnival/4H fair credit. Amazing looking place!
CoasterGuy06 Posted July 29, 2012 Posted July 29, 2012 Yeah I would not have guessed that coaster in a million years.
chadster Posted July 29, 2012 Posted July 29, 2012 What a classic old school fair, very cool. Glad you were able to make it up there, incredibly jealous!
simon8899 Posted July 29, 2012 Posted July 29, 2012 It's amazing that there're still carnivals around that look like those from my father's pictures from 40+ years ago....
PKI Jizzman Posted July 29, 2012 Posted July 29, 2012 Awesome! A long anticipated Mikey's Mini TR! Great to see an update from ya, buddy
TheSchwitek Posted July 31, 2012 Author Posted July 31, 2012 So coasterguy06, I finally stumped you. I knew you had to have a weak spot; and obviously "things that aren't on rcdb" are your weak spots. Game on. Hopefully I will find the time to do a couple more Mini updates this week!
TheSchwitek Posted January 24, 2013 Author Posted January 24, 2013 So 2012 was a busy year for me. I made it to a ton of new parks and got to see some awesome parts of the country. Today's update is from Western Playland, right outside of El Paso, Texas. The park has actually recently moved across the state line to New Mexico. It's a nice little park, but has no shade at all. You can definitely see everything the park has to offer in under 2 hours. On to the pictures... I took the scenic route to El Paso, and drove through Guadalupe Mountains National Park. That's Guadalupe Peak in the background. The Mini hit 100,000 miles on this trip! This was its last moment of the teenage years. Oasis Lanes used to be the home of a coaster named Cobra that is now at Zoomers in Florida. I felt like I should at least stop by and get a photo while I was in the area. After a long drive through West Texas, I finally arrived at my final destination, Western Playland! The park didn't open until 5 pm this day, and there was a pretty nasty storm coming from the West, so I snapped a few pictures from the parking lot before the park opened. Look, its a decent sized coaster! Well shoot, they even have a Shoot the Chute! Extreme close up of the Entrance sign just in case you want to make a T-shirt. Park's open, let's check out the park map and get on some rides before it starts to pour. Look at this lovely collection of kiddie rides! It's a carousel, or a carrousel. Forget about the carousel, I see a coaster. Oh, it's a Miler Miner Coaster. Look at those Miner themed Miler cars. Lift Pic. It was a fun little ride, and no problems letting adults ride. (Not that I'm an adult) Next up, a Round Up. A swingy Pirate Pharaoh Dragon thingy. There's some bumper cars in there somewhere. A Himalaya with a barn built around it. A short, but scary drop ride. A Whirl that is Tilted. Yo, a Yo Yo. Para Troopers. Not as funny as Super Troopers. The park is basically a big circle with "room for expansion" in the middle of the circle. This train circles around that circle. At this point the lightning was getting very close, but everything stayed open! This is the machine that makes scrambled eggs. Even the Shoot the Chute kept running with lightning striking within a couple miles. There was a skyride, but most importantly, there's another coaster over there in the distance. I hurried over dodging lighting bolts. Yes! They are still running it. Hooray for another Zyklon coaster. Action shot. The entrance sign for El Bandido. I think some of the track grease was leaking onto it. I had to wait for enough people to fill the train, because apparently it won't make it around with only one person riding. Finally on the ride with lightning booming literally a mile away, and rain starting to fall. This is the "Lift Hill." That mountain over there is Mexico. The park is only about a mile from the border of Texas and Mexico. You can see Canada from Magnum on a clear day, or you can see Mexico from El Bandido on a rainy day. Lots of fun to be had here. As the storm got worse I left, but they just kept loading the rides. I was actually scared of getting struck by lightning on the way to my car, but I survived and lived to tell the tale of my evening at Western Playland in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Voxelmatic Posted January 25, 2013 Posted January 25, 2013 That looks like an... interesting park. Nice pictures!
IronWolfman Posted January 25, 2013 Posted January 25, 2013 I loved that place back when I was in Elementary. I'm a Freshman now, so it's been a while. They must have added the bumper cars and round since then because I remember all the rides but those two. Was a very nice place.
Big Mike Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 Enjoyed your report Mikey!! Brings back memories of my visit there and I was amused at how close it was to the border and another state too! Plus my visit to Oasis lanes during a big lightning storm too! Peace, Big Mike
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