5/15/07

Surviving the Silverwood Fifth Grade Field Trip

Assignment: Help Chaperone Group of Fifth Grade Students
Destination: Silverwood Theme Park, Athol, Idaho
Mission: To Make It Through the Day With Sanity


Start off the day cruising "Thunder Canyon" with your daughter and her friends.Next time, share your tried and true Silverwood wisdom with fellow chaperones. DON'T WEAR JEANS TO SILVERWOOD, especially on the water rides. One word...CHAFING!!!
Check out the water bumper boats from above from the Parasailer.

More great views from the Parasailer, except for the evil roller coaster.
Visit the main attraction to the park, Roller Coaster Alley.
Be patient when your daughter says she wants to ride on the Skydiver "one more time".
Okay, I'm sorry if you are a ferris wheel fan. But, as you see, I am not riding on this ride. Roller coasters scare me to death. The rocking on the top when you have stopped is the WORST.
Okay, kids, please DO NOT MAKE ANY OBSCENE GESTURES at the camera while riding on the roller coaster.
I passed this test. It was close, but I refrained from being an idiot and standing up on the roller coaster. The seat belt and secure bar were also a bit of a deterrent. Make sure you read the stats on the roller coaster AFTER you ride it. Did you know that this roller coaster is named Timber Terror. (It was previously called Grizzly and changed to Timber Terror in 1996 so as not to conflict with Paramount's Great America and Paramount's King's Dominions Grizzly coasters.) It is a wood, sit down coaster that is 2700' long, and is 85' high. Riders reach a speed of 55 mph and it lasts 1:32. I survived this coaster by keeping my eyes closed for the majority of the ride.
According to ultimaterollercoaster.com, If you were to take a wild twister and shake it up with the airtime of an "out and back" coaster, the result would be Tremors, designed by Custom Coasters. Its very first drop plunges deep into an underground tunnel, crashing back above ground through the floor and ceiling of one of the park's gift shops. Four underground tunnels swallow riders as they traverse the path of Tremors reaching speeds of 50 mph. This coaster is 3158 feet long, and 85 feet high. Tremors has a 99 foot drop, and riders reach a top speed of 50 mph. The ride is 1 minute 40 second, and the G-Force is 2.5 G's. I was more familiar with this coaster, so my eyes weren't shut quite as much.
The Log Flume is a fun water ride. See how much fun the girls are having.
Up, up, up we go to make the plunge on the log ride.

Here is another plunge at the park...The Panic Plunge. I didn't get a chance at this ride. But it was fun talking to kids who did, and how thrilled and excited they were to experience the 140 foot drop from the top.Fifth graders feast on "elephant ears" at the end of the day.
Chaperones need funnel cakes.
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Mission Accomplished. Kids were great. A perfect weather day for a day at Silverwood.
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Sanity Still Here. (Well, to some that may be debatable.)
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Just standing by for my next assignment.




3 comments:

Christy Woolum said...

Wow.. what a day. Too bad Mom and I couldn't have zoomed down to Silverwood between gardening centers on our field trip. Those funnel cakes look good!

Anonymous said...

well, you got fresh air! ;-)

I learned a while back about wearing jeans on water rides and chafing. I thought the skin on my inner thighs was going to peel off. I don't do roller coasters anymore, I don't enjoy the feeling of my brain being shaken around inside my skull. And I would go on Ferris wheels when I was a kid but not anymore. The mere thought of getting on one and stopping at the top is enough to make me want to go lie down. I like to walk around and people-watch though, even if it is an expensive way to people-watch. Glad everyone had a good time!

Pinehurst in my Dreams said...

I'm amazed the 5th graders get to have a field trip to Silverwood. The only field trip I remember was the 4th grade (educational) field trip to Cataldo Mission. After that, they kept us in our seats, until we reached High School and they had the first E-Day.