The Glade 4.0

Rickets Glen park in Pa is awesome.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

Ooh, seconded! I was too busy thinking nature-only. This place is only something like 20 miles away from me (though a 45 minute drive given all the woods and lack of roads in between) and I used to go all the time as a kid. I never really appreciated how special it is, since that was practically all I knew growing up. It's been open forever, it remains family-owned, it's free admission, and despite winning all kinds of awards for decades it still maintains it's sort of... casual, small-time feeling of just some rides, food places, and other amusement park fare spread amongst the trees. All other amusement parks I've been to are just so corporate and... I don't know exactly... sanitized? This place definitely stands out!

As dirty?

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I think "unsanitary" is the word you are looking for.

It's hard to explain! Pictures will do better than words.

This link goes to a thread on some other forums with a bunch of pictures taken by someone visiting Knoebel's. Most of them are blurry, which I apologize for, but in my 10 minutes of searching this is probably the best collection of pictures of the park itself I could find. They give a pretty good feeling for the park. Anyone extra interested can also go to this link for another set, though there is a pretty big focus here on the roller coasters instead of the park itself.

Additional individual pictures:

Every other theme park I've been to has seemed so much less natural, as though they brought in some bulldozers, leveled the entire area to the ground, then built up everything pristine and planned out. Everything's sparkling. I used the word sanitized above in a sort of 1984esque sense. :p Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed my visits to Hershey Park and Busch Gardens (Williamsburg) plenty, but they're a different sort of place. Or rather, Knoebel's is a different sort of place, whereas Hershey Park and the rest aren't all that special.

Bonus picture found in my searching... of pretty much the best shirt ever, especially for an oldish guy:

You didn't say what you like to do and when you'll be doing it but I'll throw in my opinions. I've hiked in over 30 US National Parks and lived in the South West desert and these are my highlights. The south west can be blazing hot (brilliant advice, I know) so it would be best in May or early June.

1) The Grand Canyon is my favorite place in the world. If you don't mind driving a long dirt road (60 miles? I forget) you can camp about 50 yards from where this picture was taken at Toroweap:

If you're by yourself you might feel isolated and you need to be prepared because you're a long way from a tow truck.

2) Zion NP is amazing and has my favorite hike in the world, Angels Landing (Google image search). The most popular hike is The Narrows, a slot canyon with the Virgin river flowing through it:

More Narrows pictures (Google again)
The only problem with Zion is that it can be tough to get away from crowds if you go after school gets out.

Not too far away from Zion and GC are Bryce NP and Lake Powell, both worthy sites. Together these parks make up the so-called Golden Circle. You can stay in Kanab, Utah, at Parry Lodge where old-time Western movie stars used to stay while filming in the nearby canyons.

3) I found Yellowstone to be amazing if you're willing to do a short amount of walking/hiking. 95% of the visitors don't go more than 500' from the roads and boardwalks so you can find some beauty all your own. Yellowstone is maybe our most unique park with geysers, hot pools, and huge waterfalls. If you're into botany you can see how the park has evolved from the huge fires they had 20 years ago. Yellowstone might have the best wild life viewing of any NP.

Just south of Yellowstone is the Grand Tetons (insert juvenile boy snickering here) with perhaps the single most picturesque view in the US:


4) Yosemite isn't my favorite park, probably because I had been to the GC and Zion previously so I wasn't awed as much as others who see it first. Plus it's super crowded in the summer and it's hard to get away from them However, it's one of the most popular parks for very good reason.

If you're making it a long road-trip (which would make me very jealous) I'd also suggest these parks:
- Devil's Tower (Wyoming)
- Humboldt State Forest (Cali redwoods)
- Crater Lake (Oregon)
- Canyon de Chelly (N. Mex)
- White Sands (N. Mex)
- Monument Valley (Utah/Ariz)
- Mt. Rainier (Wash)
- Sequoia NP (Cali)

Sheesh, I'll stop now; if nothing else you've allowed me to reminisce so at least I found this post interesting. The most disappointing park I've been to was Joshua Tree NP in California. I fell asleep in the car.

Joshua Trees look like this



There are a bunch of them and a visitors center. There are some nice rock formations, oh, and more Joshua trees.

Save yourself the trip.

Unless of course, you really like Joshua trees.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Oops! Caught that the first time around, not the second. Carry on.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Thanks for the link Noggel it gives me such happy memories from my childhood and camping there with my family. I guess i should post my pics. I loved the carousel and catching the ring.

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ultimate guardians of their own liberty."- Thomas Jefferson

"Yeah, I'm rehearsing my poker face. I don't handle stupid well. *sigh*" - Farsky