1971 Snapshots
My pal "Mr. X" gave me a small stack of snapshots, photos that he took himself back in 1971. Most of them are very nice, and a few of them (in future posts) are very VERY nice!
For now we'll start with this lovely shot of the Columbia, with all of its sails unfurled (or partially unfurled, at least). It looks great! The deck is packed with guests who don't realize that they are about to circumnavigate the globe. Sorry, no bathrooms on board!
Here's a nice night shot of the Golden Horseshoe building. On this particular night, the "Revue" gang had the night off, but you'll just have to wait to see who was performing there. The windows closest to us must be part of the Pendleton store.
One of my time machine fantasies is to go back and ride the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland at night - 3 or 4 times, preferably. I am assuming that that's just what Mr. X was doing when he snapped this photo of Rainbow Ridge.
15 comments:
Major-
I thought you had me with that lovely shot of the Columbia; but then you upped your game with those two, spectacular night shots-! AND Rainbow Ridge too boot-!
"Sorry, no bathrooms on board!" Just remember Major - What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
Thanks Major [& "Mr. X"].
Awww, now I want to know who was performing at the Golden Horseshoe that night! Was it Johnny Depp? I bet it was!
I want one of the popcorn boxes in that second pic! And I'm digging the groovy long sideburns on the guy in the red shirt in the same pic.
I also never got to experience Nature's Wonderland at night. I'm going to put that on my time machine fantasy bucket list too!
Thanks for these, Major (and "Mr. X" too!)
P.S. No bathrooms? I guess they couldn't put holes in the bottom of the ship like some of the railroad cars had back in the day.
Was the Mine Train even open at night? Notice there are no people evident in that last photo.
Scott: Yes, the Mine Train was most definitely open until closing. We it rode at night dozens and dozens of times over the years. It wasn't unusual for the trains to operate in the rain at night! I can remember some visiting cousins, along with my brothers and me, happily getting soaked one warm summer evening around 1am during what must have been the final run of the night. There were a fair amount of lights along the way and the ride operators had a spotlight they'd swing around, as well. Ah, youth!
Of course there are no bathrooms on a ship! But I suppose you were welcome to use the seats of ease at the head.
Big thanks to the major and Mr. X for some pretty wonderful shots. And leave it to Steve D to know how heads worked on sailing ships of the time. The an knows something about everything, I suspect. Seamen of the time went number one out through the scuppers, though.
I never got to do it but a well-timed Mine Train would slow or stop on the downhill grade through the Saguaro Forest to allow viewing of the fireworks. So says my brother Tom who got to do all the cool stuff...
IAnd I like the vintage lanterns illuminating the marquee of the Golden Horseshoe: good theming, that.
If these are not the very nice ones, we are in store for future treats.
The Rainbow ridge image is a pip. Gotta dig the sideburns and shoes on that dapper dude.
Nanook, the Columbia photo reminds me of several vintage postcards; it really is a nicer-than-usual shot. The night shots are good too, though Mr. X told me about several photos that the developer somehow managed to lose (?!) that would have been the best of all.
TokyoMagic!, let’s just say it was the King of Rock and Roll. That’s right, Pat Boone! I have one of those popcorn boxes, there’s a photo on my blog.
TokyoMagic!, they couldn’t put holes in the bottom of the ship because there were already so many screen doors.
Scott Lane, I have spoken to people who rode the Mine Train at night! Also, vintage tickets for some attractions (Tom Sawyer Island and the Rafts) have notes saying “Closed at Dusk”, but I’ve never seen that note next to the Mine Train.
Anonymous, interesting, I would have thought that the rain would have put a stop to the train, but it sounds like it would have been a fun time if you don’t mind being soggy (this being before the days of cheap plastic ponchos). On the “Yesterland” site, Werner Weiss mentions that if you timed it just right, the Mine Train would stop when the fireworks started so that you would get an amazing view from the Painted Desert.
Steve DeGaetano, imagine if Disneyland’s Columbia allowed passengers to “use the head”!! Oy!
Patrick Devlin, I suppose sailors had to consider the direction of the wind! I didn’t even know that there was a “downhill grade” through the Saguaro Forest - I thought that most of the Mine Train ran relatively flat. Arg, why is that ride no longer there?
DrGoat, thanks to Mr. X, you are in store for lots of future treats! I am very grateful to him for sharing so many amazing photos - probably over 300 at this point.
Major, the grade ran down from the high point as the line passed over the entrance to Rainbow Caverns down to the flats of the Living Desert somewhere around the geysers. It was a pretty gentle grade.
Brilliant stuff today, night shots... wow.
JG
You know what would have been even more spectacular than stopping in the Saguaro Forest to watch the fireworks? Stopping in Rainbow Caverns to watch the fireworks!
All things mentioned about the MT is true! Night time was special and the crowds were small then. KS
Patrick Devlin, gosh I wish I remembered the path of the Mine Train as well as you apparently do!
JG, I’m saving the better stuff for later!
Chuck, I’ll never forget going to the park when I was a kid. We REALLY wanted to see the fireworks, but thought that we had time to ride the Subs. For some reason there was a big delay in getting our Sub back to the dock, and we suddenly heard the sound of fireworks going off nearby. Couldn’t see a thing of course. We missed the whole show.
KS, the more I think about it the more I am bummed that I never experienced it.
I rode the Mine Train at night and it did stop during the fireworks. Also, there is a website where you can print out the popcorn tub ( if your printer can handle cardstock). The pattern can be downloaded.
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