Also at the top was some entertainment.  A trio of pickers played and sang in the silence of the natural surroundings. 

I could have sat on the mountaintop for much longer than we did, appreciating life and all that it allows us to do on this earth.  Sometimes we think we have to be moving to appreciate vacation time, and we fail to stop to enjoy this fantastic gift of life.

The tram at Ober Mountain in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, was walking distance from our hotel.  We strolled over, first thing one morning, and boarded. 

On the way up, we saw some beautiful scenery but also some unexpected items.  One was a house built to resemble Barbie's dream house.  It's not pink any more, but I think people could stay there on vacation. The other was a large black bear on one of the black-topped roads below us.

We looked forward to a different kind of day once at the other end.

We can all agree that the larger room is more appropriate to the task.  It really opens everything up, and the students are going to be shocked and excited when they return in August.  We saw some of them at Green Valley Bible Camp shortly after they had seen the room, and they were all smiles, thrilled to be able to talk to Mrs. Hoggatt about the new, expanded Hoggatteer classroom.

With the summer fully engaged, some of the stores are blanking out large areas of floor space for their Back to School blowouts.  Teachers really don't like to see that any more than kids do, and it's kind of amazing to see it happen quicker and quicker as one gets older.  I can't believe how fast the years go by.  I mean, we're already over halfway to another Christmas.

Reality sets in for all of us.  As schools prepare for a new year of instruction, administrators are busy deciding what pointless professional development their teachers will need to face students in the fall.  OK, that may be a little bit of editorializing by this particular author as I found professional development to often be pointless and not the least bit helpful to my needs.  They are often packaged by companies that want to make a buck, and they tend to be canned in such a way that they are addressing only new teachers.  Or they are intended to address research-based needs nationwide and do little to consider local or individual needs within a school.  And even though they address research-based needs, they themselves are not research-based.

I try to break those patterns when I address teachers.  I want training to be upbeat and positive.  I always want it to be worth their time.  I know what teachers are thinking as they approach the training:  they would rather be preparing materials and lessons.  They would rather be preparing their classrooms.

When I discovered Fred Jones' Positive Classroom Discipline and Positive Classroom Instruction while pursuing my Master's degree, suddenly things made more sense to me.  I had read what Harry Wong said, adopting the Assertive Discipline approach to things, but things were left lacking when I approached my classroom with it.  Positive Discipline and Instruction were more meaningful and useful for me.  And there is comfort in the fact that Assertive Discipline is still not thrown out the window with Jones' approach:  those things are still in the back pocket and ready to be used as a backup plan.

In addition, Assertive Discipline takes the teacher's mental health into account, keeping him/her calm.  It also keeps students on their toes, wondering what is going through the teacher's head and s/he breathes deeply throughout the process of training a child.  Teachers tend to invest their own health in stressful situations throughout the day, and they shouldn't have to.  Perhaps we can do some good at Neosho Christian School with this day of training, one month from today.  

On top of it all, I'm going to add some Resilience Training to the mix.  It will blend well to help teachers (and principal) pass on some important methods to students who feel offended or bullied.

Now that we're finished with the national park and Dollywood, it's time to do some more exploring.  When I'm on vacation, I tend to wake up earlier, and I don't want to stop seeing new things.  Unfortunately, the family doesn't have the same inclinations:  some would rather sit in the hotel watching TV, while others prefer visiting the pool.

I headed out on my own, one evening, to check out the tourist district of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  While there, I only took a few pictures before dusk.  It's interesting to note that on two separate occasions, I was compelled to be a sounding board for friends who were experiencing some depression, anger, and helplessness.  I was saddened by what they each had to tell me (two very different situations), but I am happy to have been able to help them in their time of need.  It did not take away from my experience, but it reminded me that I am not the only one in this world. I hope to always be available for people who need me.

This year alone has added ten roller coasters to my list.  These are the last ten coasters in a list of fifty.

Dollywood
After all these years, we finally made it to Tennessee's Dollywood.  Considering its place in the Herschend family of attractions, which includes our beloved Silver Dollar City, Dollywood, I thought we would have made a trek to Pigeon Forge much sooner than this.  After all, our season passes at SDC earn us half-price admission.

Our first ride was on the wooden Thunderhead, which was surprisingly smooth compared to the older ThuNderaTion at SDC.  A short walk then took us to Dragonfly, a low-flying, suspended coaster that doesn't really intimidate.

Mystery Mine was next.  We thought we would get a similar attraction at SDC many years ago, perhaps themed to an ice house, but it never came to fruition.  This coaster is not a train, but a single car that holds a dozen or so people.  Because of this, it can take tighter turns and sharper hills.  The theme is more developed on the indoor portions, with audio and video elements added.  Even a hot blast of fire explodes in riders' faces.  We enjoyed the ride simply for the more immersive theming.

The newest coaster at Dollywood is Big Bear Mountain, just opening this year.  This is another low-lying coaster, but incorporates some speedy hills.  Riders board "jeeps" to hunt for the notorious big, black bear that seems to be tormenting the area.  On-board audio with music and narration could have been louder to get the full effect.  All in all, this was a neat, little ride that adds a bit more to the Smoky Mountain flavor of the park.

​Tennessee Tornado is one of the older coasters in the park.  I guess this used to be another runaway mine train, but it has been converted to a mine that has been struck by a twister, making it a pretty unique theme.  At SDC, the area would have been broader and the theme emphasized more, but with its landlocked footprint, the theme seemed to be pretty limited.  I doubt many people even noticed the theme at all.

For the last several years, this park family has focused quite a bit on first responders.  SDC has Outlaw Run, looking at law enforcement and an entire area dedicated to firefighting, called Fireman's Landing.  Of course the classic Fire in the Hole is the one that started in all some 50 years ago.  Dollywood continues the obsession with two rides.  Blazing Fury is their version of FitH, even following the same track design.  Many of the same features are replicated on this more modern track system, including the scenery and fire effects, all of which seem to still be working, including the fantastic covered bridge on fire, which collapses just as the train is ready to cross. While FitH's life is coming to an end this year (with FitH 2.0 - we anticipate - coming on board next season), Blazing Fury still stands strong.  Unfortunately, BF's theme is generic - a Smoky Mountain village on fire - it does not have the deep historical theme of vigilante Bald Knobbers.  That single element in FitH is what has connected the ride to us, and Blazing Fury misses the mark by being generic.

The second homage to firefighters is called Firechaser Express.  This is somehow a firefighting train that takes riders through a short track of turns and suddenly stops inside a fireworks factory that is, yes, on fire.  An explosion then blasts the train backwards through another series of turns and hills and returns it to the station.  This is another attraction we thought might be coming to Silver Dollar City a few years ago, especially when they built Fireman's Landing to replace the garish Geyser Gulch.  Thankfully, it did not fill the space, making it possible for the huge, new building with Fire in the Hole​'s replacement to be added to the area instead. 

Lightning Rod is the most extreme coaster I can remember riding.  It is similar to Silver Dollar City's Outlaw Run in that it is a hybrid wooden coaster, but it has no full inversions.  Lightning Rod is built on the side of the mountain and uses the contour of the land to its advantage.  The theme is a souped up hotrod.  The restraints are also similar to Outlaw Run, with nothing on the shoulders, but with the added seat belt and ankle restraints.  I knew I needed to make myself bigger than I was in order to keep the ride operators from pressing down on the restraints so hard that it would limit my breathing (That happens on OR all the time, and it makes for a miserable, uncomfortable experience.).  The maglev launch makes this the fastest wooded coaster in the world, and I don't think it ever slows down.  About a quarter of the way through, I was ready for it to be over, and yet it kept going.  All I could think was, "I want to get off."  I think it's too much - especially for a park family that prides itself on its attractions for the entire family.

Finally, Wild Eagle was another first for me - my first wing coaster.  Sitting off to the side of the track rather than over or under it, I expected this to be a really cool experience.  After the wild ride we had on Lightning Rod, I wasn't keen on anything with wild in the title, but Wild Eagle was something I wanted to try out.  As the name implies, the initial hill lifted us high above the park.  All in all, even though it is impressive to look at, it was a pretty uneventful coaster.

Ober Mountain
The last new roller coaster I have ridden was a mountain coaster.  ​Ski Mountain Coaster at Ober Mountain in downtown Gatlinburg is one that starts at the top of the hill.  Guests have to traverse the steps to get to the top, where single-passenger cars await.  Sitting low to the track and holding two handles that brake the car allowing the rider to control the speed, the car then rolls down a track that looks more like some homespun engineer might have designed.  This kind of coaster has popped up in several hilly locations in the country.  I enjoyed the smooth ride and the ability to speed through the natural woods of the area.  The only thing that could have made this better would be an actual bear-spotting, though the rider would be helpless if one of the giant creatures actually approached the track or laid across it.  Such is fodder for nightmares.  I enjoyed this ride and the other attractions at Ober Mountain, and it has the distinction of being the 50th in my list.

Well, that's a wrap.  Even if it's not a list that will impress some coaster enthusiasts, it has to be impressive that I even remembered as much as I did.

We have a couple of defunct parks on tap for today's post about roller coasters I have ridden in my life.  After that, we'll head over to Orlando for a few rides.

Celebration City
The Silver Dollar City folks bought another small park, closer to Branson, a few years ago.  Actually, the history of this park goes further back than that.  Originally, Celebration City was a small location called Mutton Hollow. Mutton Hollow paid tribute to the age-old story of the Ozark Hills - Shepherd of the Hills by Harold Bell Wright.  The park was then quaint.  It was craftier, more home-strung.

Somebody had the "brilliant" idea that the sweet and endearing Mutton Hollow would be more profitable as a street carnival.  They brought in carnival rides and small roller coasters and plopped them into the park.  After a while, the Herschend family bought this Branson USA park and turned it into Celebration City.  It was marketed as a sister park to nearby Silver Dollar City, but I don't think many people bought into the idea that they should pay for admission at a "daytime" park (SDC), and then pay a second admission to enter the "nighttime" park (Celebration City).  That was just a ridiculous marketing scam all along.

Anyway, the Herschends brought in a wooden coaster from another location and renamed it the Ozark Wildcat. This was a decent little ride for the substandard park and a sizable investment, but it wasn't enough to make Celebration City feel permanent.  Let's face it, this would never be a second "destination park" for the Branson area.  Other coasters in the park included Thunderbolt, Jack Rabbit, and Zyclon.  Again, they add to my coaster count, but they aren't really worthy of more than a mention here.

Carousel Park
Back home in Joplin, Missouri, some folks planted a touring carnival in town for a while.  We took our school classes to Carousel Park as reward for their efforts on state testing (Otherwise, I would never have visited.).  The two coasters in this park - Tiger Terror and Go Gator - were basically kiddie coasters.
​
Magic Kingdom
The big leap to Orlando takes us first, naturally, to the Magic Kingdom.  For decades, the only coasters Disney touted were Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.  I wasn't impressed with the former when I rode it at Disneyland, and I just can't recommend it now, either.  I even gave it multiple shots at winning me over, but it failed every time.  My favorite thing about it is that the meteors that fly overhead in the queue were actually Chips Ahoy cookies.  Them special effects was amazing!

Big Thunder, however, was impressive.  Disney does a great job of giving guests an immersive experience, and while Space Mountain carries a pretty good job of delivering the future, Big Thunder is a great "runaway mine train" roller coaster.  Others have tried to copy its theme, but none have delivered the National Parks theme as well as this one.  The train doesn't just use the existing terrain but is actually a manufactured trip across the U.S.A. through many natural phenomena that beautify our landscape.  One does not recognize that he is still in a theme park, but is too busy finding major landmarks.

Hollywood Studios
Stay on Disney property, but head over to Hollywood Studios.  I was here on my honeymoon over 30 years ago, and the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was fairly new at the time.  In fact, the entire park was brand new back then, but was known as the Disney/MGM Studios.  We took some great backstage and special effects tours that aren't available anymore, and we fell in love with the "impromptu" characters in the streets.

As for the one and only coaster at the time, the Aerosmith-themed Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was touted as innovative.  Completely indoors, this was Disney collaboration that flew through a variety of objects and scenery, but I just didn't understand the purpose.  It just wasn't the super ride I thought it should be.
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Animal Kingdom
One of our favorite rollercoasters is called Expedition:  Everest.  Sitting all the way in the back corner of Disney's Animal Kingdom park in Orlando.  It is the only coaster in the park to date, but it's well-themed, which is what I love the most about Disney's approach to its attractions.  Disney is the master of dark rides which are really my favorite, but they have delved into the coaster world in the past couple of decades where they have demonstrated that a coaster can be themed better than in name alone (Are you reading this, Herschend Family Entertainment?).  This one was the most expensive coaster when it was constructed ($100 million), and it shows.

Visitors are greeted in the queue with the setup to the theme - expeditions searching for the infamous yeti.  It looks as if you are seeing actual expedition treasures, maps, and campsites.  Scientific journals and photographs abound, and I believe some of the evidence in the queue must be from actual studies.

The ride itself appears to be a rickety old train.  It climbs Everest - a huge, forced-perspective mountain rising from the wonderful zoo of Animal Kingdom.  A series of twists brings riders to an icy cavern.  Looking through the translucent wall of ice, riders spot an angry monster ripping out the tracks on the other side.  Presumably, that's the track you're supposed to travel on next!  Continuing, the coaster storms through more turns until it stops cold at the busted track, which is bent straight up and is clearly disconnected from the continuing route.  Suddenly, the train moves backward and finds itself on a new section of track, where eventually (and very quickly), an animatronic yeti roars its disapproval face to face.

Epcot
Universal in Orlando outdid the money from Expedition:  Everest when they built a Harry Potter coaster based on Hagrid's motorbike.  Their big draw came at a cost of $300 million.  However, in 2022, Disney built something at a much higher price At a half-billion dollars, it reigns as the most expensive coaster in history.  The company built its first and only roller coaster in EPCOT.

I wasn't excited about yet another ride in the world that was based on superheroes.  I'm not a fan of the Marvel world, but since I was there on the first open day of the ride got me excited about the experience.  I an one of only a few people who got a chartered ride on Guardians of the Galaxy:  Cosmic Rewind.  I rode it after hours, no waiting, with the creator of the ride, Zach Ridley.  Much can be said about this very special ride, but I've already written descriptions and reflections based on it.  Find these links for more:

The last of the 50 rides are coming soon, so stay tuned.

​The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
​
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
    He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their     operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
    He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people        
        would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to
        tyrants only.
    He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of
        their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
    He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the
        rights of the people.
    He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative
        powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining
        in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
    He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for        
        Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the
        conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
    He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary
        powers.
    He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of
        their salaries.
    He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat
        out their substance.
    He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
    He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
    He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by
        our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
    For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
    For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the
        Inhabitants of these States:
    For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
    For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
    For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
    For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
    For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary
        government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for
        introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
    For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our
        Governments:
    For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all
        cases whatsoever.
    He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
    He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
    He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation
        and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous
        ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
     He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to
        become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
    He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our
        frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all
        ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

In this report of the roller coasters I have ridden, I focus exclusively on a single theme park.  Often voted in most popular lists and heralded by national media on numerous occasions, our local park Silver Dollar City has a charm like no other.

I have a couple more posts to go before we exhaust all of the roller coasters I have experienced, so stay tuned.

Today, in an ongoing effort to record all of the roller coasters I have ridden, we delve into three more theme parks - one in Oklahoma City and two on opposite sides of Missouri.

We're just getting started in the record of the coasters I have ridden.  I'll get the rest posted in the near future.