Here are more fantastic scans from some 1973-ish negatives given to me by Mr. X. We're visiting the little mining town of Rainbow Ridge today!
It's Mr. X's "Wonderful World of Color", just look at those rich, saturated hues. They taste as good as they look, just lick your screen and see what I mean! I love seeing the Mine Train returning from its trip through beautiful Nature's Wonderland. Geysers! Rickety trestle bridges! Bears! Battling elk! Mangy beavers! Coyotes! Tumbling rocks! And oh yeah, Rainbow Caverns.
A normal person might have skipped showing this next scan because it is redundant, but... I'm not normal!
The El Dorado Hotel probably had beds made of solid gold. Sure, they're uncomfortable, but who cares. I'll take an upstairs room because I want the view.
If you have time, why not catch a show at the Opera House? The posters tell us that "Lotta, the Miner's Darling" was performing that night, and if we're really lucky, we might get a glimpse of her ankles.
And for all of you who wondered why I didn't attempt to stitch those first two photos together... wonder no more!
Major-
ReplyDeleteOH - that color-! Eye candy personified-! All we're missing is an operating Mineral Hall.
Thanks to Mr. X and the Famous Image 'Stitcher'-!
Major, ha! If you're lucky, you might see a "Lotta ankle."
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful photos - gorgeous colors. Glad you stitched the two together, Major!
Thanks, Mr. X and Major!
"...[J]ust look at those rich, saturated hues. They taste as good as they look, just lick your screen and see what I mean!"
ReplyDeleteMajor, your comment reminded me of this computer screen cleaner:
CLICK HERE!
"The worrrld is a carousel of color! (Color! Color! Color!)". I was sorely tempted to lick my screen, as you suggested, Major. But then I remembered I smashed a bug on it not too long ago, so I elected to pass on that one. But dangit! I really wanted to know what red tasted like! Is it fruity? Spicey? Probably tastes like outdoor latex enamel paint.
ReplyDeleteThese really are bright and vivid photos. In the first pic, the puffy clouds make it especially nice.
Perfect stitchery, Major. I kept that one. Thanks!
Thanks for the cat video, Sue. Cute little kitty. I like the squeegee sound the cat's tongue makes on the glass.
Beautiful images!! I remember well the “uncomfortable” laughter from guests awaiting their train as you heard the very painful sounding tooth extraction coming from the dentist office window above Pat Casey’s Saloon.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered why certain RAINBOW RIDGE buildings were selected for reuse at THUNDER RIDGE. I know the idea of having the town for Big Thunder was an idea late in the plan and Disneyland was suppose to have the geyser plateau like Florida has. I’ve heard that the mine town buildings where stripped of so many of their details … tiny lamps, advertising broadsides and signage - lots of signage - while stored backstage. Also it’s interesting all the re-purposed mine town buildings all feature new businesses or new names EXCEPT one : THE EL DORADO HOTEL.
These are beautiful shots of Rainbow Ridge, Major. In the third shot, we can see the back end and front end of a couple pack mules, up on the ridge above the Ridge.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Major and Mr. X!
I just realized that the pack mules were going to church.
ReplyDeleteSue, I wonder if they put tuna juice on the lens of the camera?
Believed there was something inside those buildings, and it used to be open to the public, but it never was when I was there. Also believed the Pirates of the Caribbean really ended with an explosion like it did on TV, but I was always in the wrong boat to see it.
ReplyDeleteWow! Look at those colors! The strawberries taste like strawberries! The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!
ReplyDeleteNice digital needlework there, Major. It’s like Mr. X had a premonition of the advent of Photoshoppe.
I know there’s been discussion here on whether that structure up the hill with the bell tower is supposed to be a school or a church. There was an adjacent cemetery for a while that you usually can’t see, but I think the cross above the front door in the third shot makes the intent crystal clear. I also did a deep dive into the photos on Daveland (I won’t link any to save you the $50; you can use the savings to get yourself something nice for Martinmas) and none of his photos (mostly from the ‘50s & ‘60s) that show this structure also show the cross above the door, suggesting this was a fairly late addition.
After Lotta, Ada Isaacs Menken is scheduled to appear in the touring version of MAZEPPA. In the show stopping scene she wore a flesh colored body stocking giving the illusion of full nudity, and was lashed to a real horse which galloped through theatres to the roaring approval of the audience, which included Mark Twain, who saw the act in 1861. Tonight Ada will be lashed to a Pack Mule, giving the crowd a still longer look.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason these views are IB Technicolor heaven: they look to be after a SoCal storm which cleanses the skies; the flag above the Rainbow Ridge Clarion has whipped around the pole.
Thanks to Mr X and Major for these lip-smacking pix!
These are the Skittles of Frontierland, Taste the Rainbow Ridge!
ReplyDeleteChuck, you have settled the Church vs State question, definitely 3 churches in Disneyland.
I notice a sign in photo 1 for “inkslingers ornamental writing”, something calligrapher? Never spotted that before.
Major, when you stay at the El Dorado, always pay extra to get sheets, it’s a first class place, after all.
Lots of bright new info, thanks Major and Mr. X!
JG
Just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you Major and Mr.X.
nice shots of rainbow ridge. i like how the El Dorado Hotel has a welcoming upper deck set up for guests... who were expected to climb out thier windows to get there
ReplyDeleteAh 1973- MY Disneyland! I remember loving this attraction! It was my one and only time to experience it, but at least I was able to! This and Pirates are my fondest memories of that trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks Major and Mr. X!
Nanook, I agree, there should always be a shop full of fluorescent minerals. I don’t understand why they don’t have something like the old Mineral Hall in Frontierland today
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue, if I saw that ankle, I might faint. Obviously we can’t let children in to see such smut.
Lou and Sue, HA!
JB, in many countries, bugs are an important source of protein. So lick away! Be not afraid! I’ve read that some ants are lemony, while others are peppery. Mix them together, I say. I wonder if any are chocolatey?
Mike Cozart, at some point I found the isolated audio of that dentist pulling the tooth, it hurt just to listen to it. I figured if anybody would know why certain buildings were reused for Big Thunder, it would be you! I assume that even the reused examples were actually built from scratch, since timbers age and rot over time. Maybe not, though? I’m glad that at least the El Dorado Hotel is still there.
TokyoMagic!, oh yeah, I see the mules! Didn’t notice them before.
TokyoMagic!, pack mules are very devout, everyone knows it. “Tuna juice”, yuck.
DBenson, when they saw you coming, they lowered the blinds and cowered behind closed doors! You shouldn’t have worn that black hat. And yeah, that bad explosion effect from that Disney TV show, WHY?
Chuck, who ever heard of a snozzberry? I only wish Mr. X had taken his photos so that I wound up with an even bigger panorama. Yes, I’d say that cross above the door makes it pretty clear that that building is a church… not sure if it was always so obvious though.
Stefano, I like to wear a “flesh colored” body stocking everywhere I go. I get the looks! What the heck is “Mazeppa”? Is it a cholesteral-free shortening? Of course Mark Twain saw Mazeppa, he was sort of the Lindsay Lohan of his era when you think about it. Ah, rain storms, I remember those. Some say they never happened, but I remember one time… well, that’s for another day.
JG, I think that Disneyland should have more churches. Or even ALL churches. How about a ride where all of the Disney characters go to church? At the end they can all gather in the back room for orange drink and Chip’s Ahoy cookies. Hmmm, I never saw that “ink slingers” sign before either, it sounds like a tattoo parlor. I have stayed at hotels where the sheets were so gross that I just slept on top of the bed. Long story. I wrapped the pillow in a towel.
DrGoat, you are welcome!
LTL, I would be happy to hang out on that balcony at the El Dorado Hotel. I’d eat watermelon and spit the seeds over the edge of the railing (while wearing my flesh-colored body stocking).
Stu29573, I’m sure that in1973 I assumed that Disneyland was on the decline, ha ha. “This place has really gone downhill compared to when I was seven!”. I was a tough customer.
I've had Edgar Allan Poe's "Eldorado" stuck in my head since I saw this post. It seems only fitting that the Hotel El Dorado should be the only ghost with its name intact left of Rainbow Ridge.
ReplyDeleteA colorful town
Of fine renown,
With more sunshine than shadow,
Had a church with a bell,
And a fine hotel,
By the name of El Dorado.
But it grew old—
No longer bold-
Its colors dimmed to shadow-
Its winding streets
Pale as the sheets
At the Hotel El Dorado.
By the Opera House,
Quiet as a mouse,
One tourist met a shadow—
‘Shadow,’ said he,
‘Where can it be—
The Hotel El Dorado?’
‘Over the Mountain
Big as Thunder,
The ghost train, with bravado,
Ride, tourist, ride,’
The shade replied,—
‘To the Hotel El Dorado!’
"Also believed the Pirates of the Caribbean really ended with an explosion like it did on TV, but I was always in the wrong boat to see it."
I used to think the tap room was where my father went to tap dance.
Oh how I want to crawl into the last photo. The colors are so brilliant. Reminds me of a Fall day with a light Santa Ana wind which cleared out the smog and haze. Favorite time of year. Who knows, that could be me sitting on the tender. It was my recollection that many of the structures pictured that are here today were rebuilt as they were termite infested. Now if only they had done that with Big Thunder mountain. Spent many a pleasurable lunch on a picnic table placed on the peak of the hill behind Thunder Ridge surrounded by the tall pine trees. Usually would grab a burger and fries at the back door of Carnation Plaza and walk up to enjoy the peacefulness while hearing the sounds of Disneyland around and below me. It was a pretty cool experience. KS
ReplyDeleteChuck, you just know that Augustus Gloop is busy licking his screen, as we speak!
ReplyDeleteJG, I liked your Skittles/"Taste the rainbow (Ridge)" reference. It works well with these photos.
Major, "I don’t understand why they don’t have something like the old Mineral Hall in Frontierland today". That's because it's difficult to make a plushie out of a rock. The textures tend to conflict.
It's been my experience that bugs tend to have a bitter taste. As for ants, I accidently ate one a while back. It tasted like Windex. They smell that way too, when you squish 'em. Not a fan.
Melissa, that's an excellent adaptation of Poe's poem! You've retained the same emotional impact as the original.
Oh, I forgot to thank Mr. X for these photos. Thank you!
Hmm. In my haste, I forgot to check off the "I am not a robot" box when I posted the above comment. It posted anyway! Maybe the box is only for show?
ReplyDeleteJB, ha! Now I’m wondering if that “Pick out all the squares that have motorcycles” is just for show, too. Annoying. Especially when a dot of a motorcycle is touching another square...does it count, or not...
ReplyDelete—Sue
Melissa, I feel like I am getting an education all over again. Poetry! On GDB! Who woulda thunk it. I love the idea of your father having a dedicated room for tap dancing.
ReplyDeleteKS, I like the Fall days you mentioned, and depending on the month, the days still might be a good length. I loved days in February and March too, though of course you could theoretically get some weather. I am not surprised to hear about the termites in Rainbow Ridge - all that old wood was just made for munching. Sounds like you liked to eat right where Mr. X did when he was a CM (early 70s)!
JB, I have a few old souvenirs from the original Mineral Hall, they put tiny chunks of various minerals on a card with a plastic bubble holding the rock. There were many different minerals available, though I think I only have two examples. Why not get kids interested in minerals and geology? I guess the park has no interest in education any more.
JB, hmm, I always thought that the box was functional, but maybe you’ve discovered a dark secret.
Sue, one of our fellow Junior Gorillas informed me that those “pick out the traffic signals” or “pick out the cross walk” things are specifically designed to train Google’s AI for self-driving cars. Or something. He can correct me, because I’m sure I got it wrong!
Major—and WHAT is Google AI doing on GDB, ‘pray-tell’?!
ReplyDelete—Sue
Maybe after ticking the Box numerous times, Blogger knows who we are and that we are not a robot.
ReplyDelete"I guess the park has no interest in education any more."- Disneyland has turned into Pleasure Island! (Time to bring back the donkeys.)
Oh, JB, there already ARE donkeys.
ReplyDeleteI’ll leave it at that.
—Sue
JB, I can confirm your conclusions on bug flavors.
ReplyDeleteAs a younger man in grade school summers, I used to drive a Sperry-New Holland hay swather, big purpose-built gadget for mowing alfalfa hay, almost exactly like this.
https://www.loc.gov/item/ncr000337/
The drivers seat was on an open deck (long before enclosed cabs with air conditioning and CD players). The machine moving across the hay field kicked up all manner of bugs right into your face. I drove wearing a bandanna over my face like Black Bart, and even then unavoidable to not eat a few by accident. Job was pure h*ll when allergic to grass.
Lacewings are the worst tasting things on the face of the earth, half a century can't erase the memory of that flavor.
Talk about "Tasting the Rainbow Ridge".
KS, I love those memories of yours.
JG
Major, that's a sad story about that hotel room. Sounds like a flesh-colored body stocking is really the only solution.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, another hit poem. How do you do it?
Next thing, they're going to tell that no one makes soup in a broth(el).
JG
Sue, I used Blogger to create/publish GDB, and Blogger is a Google-owned platform!
ReplyDeleteJB, the cameras that are watching you at all times saw that it was really you, and not a ‘bot.
Sue, I like to pet donkeys and give them sugar cubes and apples.
JG, I am happy to report that I have never eaten a lacewing. But, as my dad always said, “Don’t knock it ’til you try it!”. Even though farming is hard work, I am sure that it has given you a perspective on that sort of labor that most people lack. My aunt would always put us to work when we visited her Wisconsin farm, and while it could be grueling, it was kind of satisfying too. They never did let me drive their old tractor though, darn it.
JG, it was a Motel 6 in Morro Bay! Really awful. Don’t ever stay there!
CHUCK: that structure is indeed a church. It’s blueprints describe it as that. Sign documentation shows a Bulletin board with the reverend’s name and service schedule for church and Sunday school! The church structure is plastered Adobe on the lower level and board & batten siding on its eves. It’s based a real church that once existed in Sonora California during the gold rush.
ReplyDeleteMAJOR: the “saved” Rainbow Ridge buildings that were re-used were mostly intact originals from Nature’s Wonderland …. But had some repair and of course new paint schemes and signs to go with their new business. The Thunder Ridge/ Rainbow Ridge structures that are there today are ALL rebuilt new structures from the last giant BTM RR rehab …they are mostly built from synthetic material and will melt before they rot. Disneyland did a pretty could job and reconstructing them …. But there are problems …. I think because the architects and engineers were not familiar enough with 19th Century architecture …. This shows up in mistakes like the corbel brackets protrude beyond the “cap” cornice of the EL Dorado Hotel’s false-front. Another incorrect feature: the cap cornice of the false-front of The Gold Pan Hotel front is shorter in length than it’s supporting wall. Other changes made in the recent rebuilds include extra window mullions added making sone of the windows more 18th Century looking than 19th Century. Now you can say “ well , the guests won’t notice….” And most probably won’t … but Disneyland was successful partly because imagineers researched things and did them correctly knowing that most guests would not know. But it made for a authentic design and a better “product”. They avoiding tacky concoctions like the Emporium Annex … or the Main Street Medical building …. The tacky “cake-frosting sculptures of “wood” and out-of place pirate galleon wrecks on Tom Sawyer Island … or seating areas like Pelican Pointe that looks like something for a regional shopping center and not something from the 1840’s - 1880’s ……….individually it may not seem that important…. But a bunch of dreadful Imagineering ultimately makes a BIG design mess … and you turn Disneyland , Walt Disney World into a Six Flags amusement park where theming is a parody or a cheap charactature of something.
A note: the rainbow ridge church wasn’t actually constructed with real plastered Adobe on its lower level … only made to look like it was was. The original Rainbow Ridge El Dorado Hotel was also “plastered Adobe” on its first floor, but in 1979 during refurbishment for Thunder Ridge , it became clapboard ( technically novelty siding -popular in the 1860’s into the early 1900’s)
ReplyDeleteMajor, I know that motel, I remember when it was new. Never stayed there.
ReplyDeleteJG
I tried licking the screen, but it just tasted like coffee. Unrelated, I sprayed coffee out my nose when I laughed at a joke in the comments a few days ago.
ReplyDeleteI think there's no more fluorescent minerals at Frontierland because they were all used in the hilts of light sabers in wookie world.
I'm not a robot
ReplyDeleteThe actress playing Data nailed the facial expressions. Thanks Melissa.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike. You are always a font of amazing information, detail, and perspective.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks, Everyone Else. You’re 78.35% of why I show up here every day I can.
Major...now you have me interested in who Mr. X is. I might have worked with him!! KS
ReplyDelete