A trip to Knott's Berry Farm with Wiley

In case you haven't been to Knott's Berry Farm in a while, or have never been there, here are a few snapshots of Knott's today. It is America's first theme park! While it still has kept it's Old West nostalgic charm, it has also become a twenty-first century Mega Thrill Ride amusement park. To make room for more thrill rides, they have packed every possible square inch of space with towering support beams crisscrossing over the old traditional park areas.

 Wiley's favorite theme park attractions are the water features

The water is a Wiley magnet

Wiley + Water = Smiles

The water tower is dripping

More water and new friends

Varmint No. 304: The Ghost Town Jail never saw such a cute prisoner

Old Meets New -- Traditional Indian dance mingled with the latest mega-thrill ride support beam

Wiley loves trains! Knott's boasts three of the oldest, continuously in-service, former Denver and Rio Grande Railroad steam engines, in the West

After getting up the nerve to get on board the "Big Train," Wiley is waiting for his fist ride. The train made it about 20 feet down the tracks before it broke down, backed up and we all had to get out...Oh well...next time

Knott's Turn-of-the-century Carousel. Complete with 48 hand-carved animals, a 4" wide, 16' long leather drive belt and antique drive mechanisms -- zebras, ostriches, pigs, tigers and of course horses (with real horse-hair tails) is a must-do ride on our visits.

Wiley loves the Carousel

The Old West is still alive with the first Knott's Berry Farm attraction -- the antique stage coach ride

Ending our 2-hour visit waiting in line at the Knott's Bakery for a kid's-size sprinkle cookie