Nature's Wonderland, 1960s
I'm always happy to find photos from the classic Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland attraction, gone nearly 50 years now. These aren't the greatest pictures in the world, but I still like 'em.
If there's one thing I know about bobcats (having majored in Bobcatology at Yale) is that they will climb things at the drop of a hat. It's just their way! You can't stop them. This fellow has scaled a saguaro cactus, if I remember correctly, there was a family of wild pigs at the base of the saguaro, ready to eat Bob (you could tell they were going to eat him because they had little knives and forks in their hands).
Next we are crossing the trestle bridge in Bear Country; sure enough, there are bears there, scratchin' and fishin' and sleepin'. This scenes seems to have been in shade for much of the day, as it is here. If you look closely, you can see the baby bear climbing that dead tree to reach a beehive fully of hunny.
11 comments:
Major-
Blurry, or no, these images of the Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland still invoke good feelings.
Thanks, Major.
Too bad the bobcat wasn't facing the other way, it would have been a better composition. As it is, it looks like he's gonna jump off the edge of the picture. I wonder what keeps bobcats from getting cactus needles impaled through their feet when they climb up? The shape of this bobcat looks a little 'off'. Too leggy, or something. His hind legs look a bit too long? I don't know why I'm being picky. It's a better shot of the Nature's Wonderland bobact than we usually see.
Actually, "if you look closely", you can see TWO baby bears climbing that dead tree.
[Rex Allen voice] "That li'l bear cub is gonna be a might disappointed when he reaches that ol' beehive and discovers that there's no honey to be had. If only he knew that the beehive wasn't real... Come to think of it, he doesn't know that he's not real either! Such is the life of bears in Nature's Wonderland". [ending music swells... roll credits]
Thanks for the 'back to nature' photos, Major. [Rex again] "Until next time... Happy trails!"
You mean Dal (Dallas) McKennon.
"cactus needles" "picky"
JB, there you go again...encouraging Chuck...
*sigh*
These are very nice scenes to enjoy today...thank you, Major.
Every year on April Fool's Day, they should have played a version of the narration with Dallas McKennon using his Gumby voice! "Gee, this train's engine is acting kind of Pokey." "Look at the bobcat atop of that Prickle-y cactus!" "Those paint pots look like they're filled with red, yellow, and blue Goo!"
Thanks for the NWMT pics, Major!
Nanook, these are only the tiniest bit “soft”, so I am OK with them!
JB, I agree, the composition could have been better on that first photo. But it was taken from a moving train, so maybe it was trickier than it seems? There are cacti that don’t have spines, perhaps this is one of those. I’ve seen a few bobcats here in SoCal, I think they do have long-ish legs. Ah, you’re right about the two baby bears. Once again I wrote my description based only on the thumbnails! They changed that scene in subtle ways kind of a lot, adding and subtracting bears.
Nanook, I think JB might have been thinking of the narration for the “True Life Adventures”? Though I believe that Winston Hibler narrated those, but maybe Rex Allen did some too?
Lou and Sue, I didn’t even get that pun!
TokyoMagic!, now that I’ve read your comment, I realize that Gumby (and friends) have never been in an amusement park the way the Peanuts characters or Warner Bros. characters are. It seems like a missed opportunity!
I think Bob is a wise cat, based on my experience with feral pigs, you give them a wide berth and try not to attract their attention. He is in danger of becoming a Hard Fact.
I always loved the Bear Country scenes, not sure why savage brutes like bears are so winsome in their spare time but there it is. No one will clap for the feral pigs, but baby bears are comedy fodder. It’s just being human.
Disney engineers used an advanced form of calculations back then with this species of bears, Ursus Quadratus. By adding and subtracting bears with a slide rule, they could determine beam sizing and electrical circuit loading. The method fell out of use when Hewlett-Packard developed the electronic calculator, keeping honey off the slide rule cursor.
Thank you for the these Nature’s Wonderland slightly blurry memories!
JG
I "heard" the narration of the photos in Dallas McKennon's voice - "Them wild pigs has caught up to old Mr. Bobcat. He's in kind of a sticky situation!" -- love any photos of Nature's Wonderland and the mine train. I'd trade my left geyser for a chance to use modern technology to capture video of the colorful glory that was inside the Rainbow Caverns Mine.
Dallas McKeannon’s narration was used the longest … but Rex Allen ALSO recorded narration for the attraction and was used. The attraction’s sound system was upgraded in the late 60’s and Dallas’s voice was used for the updated re-record. The narration sold on the Disneyland Forever CD making machines used the recordings from the 70’s. When the DL FOREVER system was still being updated there were plans to add the Rex Allen narration but the system when stat net before the service switched to issued vintage Disney record albums to cd .
The system went stagnant. Dallas was the first and the last narrator of natures wonderland . Why he was replaced with Rex Allen for a time is unknown but likely my because Rex was around doing carousel of progress stuff ..
How did the bobcat climb up all those stickers? I go into my berry patch and I'm suddenly Snow White caught in the bramble trying to elude the Huntsman...stickers are stickery! When I was really young we climbed a cliff on Catalina Island that was covered in cactuses. I remember being terrified, as there was nothing to grab onto but cactuses...while my (3 beers in) uncle was collecting prickly pears to eat later on...the rest of us were hoping to escape alive. We ended up getting a lot of stickers in us...and handy hint...jump into the ocean and the salt water will pull them out gently...enough to get them and pull them out...I remember them hurting for weeks after. "Cactus Fun". or as I call it "Do not pet". I enjoy seeing Bear Soup...and I wish they would have left those bears in it. I have bears in my neighborhood: the animal kind too...and they are very very smart, and like a very large raccoon...they get into everything, and know how to open doors, barbecues etc. Like cactus: "do not pet". If they have babies: very slowly walk away...and this post has been my public announcement for the day. Bears: cute, but no. Cactus: pretty, but no. PS: In honor of the Mine Train transition: I just found "Big Thunder" pepper seeds for sale...the peppers look amazing...let the bears munch on those: ....they won't be back. Or maybe they will like them? They eat foil just fine. Thanks Major.
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