Here it is almost summer and soon it will be time for fun in the sun. What’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys? Why, Mountaineer Days, of course. Back in the early 2000s (2011, to be exact) Crestline celebrated Mountaineer Days with a carnival on Lake Gregory’s south shore parking lot.
Let me tell you, zipping around and around and upside down while strapped into the notorious “Zipper” rollercoaster with my granddaughters during the first Mountaineer Days in 2011 was a lot like being trapped inside a barrel of monkeys…giggling monkeys at that. And I’m not talkin’ bout the Monkeys on TV, back in the 60s… Davy Jones. Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork.
Last night I took a walk after dark, a swingin’ place called Palisades Park, to have some fun and see what I could see. I took a ride on the shoot-the-shoot, the girl beside me was awful cute. Up like a rocket ship, down like a roller coaster, fast like a loop-the-loop and around like a merry go round. (“Palisades Park” – Freddy “Boom-Boom” Cannon – 1962)
Mountaineer Days, by the way, was the brainchild of the late, great Dennis Labadie, publisher of this newspaper’s forerunner, The Alpenhorn News.
It’s too bad we no longer have Mountaineer Days here on the mountain…I mean, where else would you have it than right here on the mountain? The last time we celebrated Mountaineer Days there were no less than 14 exhilarating carnival rides to choose from and family-friendly games like the three-legged race, a messy watermelon eating contest for kids who like to make a mess, a hungry man’s hot dog eating competition and what’s sure to be a thirst-quenching Slurpee slurp-down, not to mention the perennial favorite Best Pie on the Mountain contest. The last time we did this there was live music provided by Mountain Fifes & Drums and the ever-popular Tyler Steel Band, featuring keyboardist extraordinaire Sean Motley.
But wait there’s more – did I mention food? Yes, food glorious food: popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, smashburgers and more. You know what, this sounds an awful lot like the annual Jamboree Days Community Picnic on the San Moritz Meadow. Perhaps someone could talk to the nice folks at the Crestline Chamber of Commerce or the management at the Lake Gregory Recreation Company, to make this dream come true.
We ate and ate at a hot dog stand, we danced around to a rockin’ band, and when I could, I gave that girl a hug in the tunnel of love. (“Palisades Park” – 1962)
Keep it flyin’,
Uncle Mott
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