Hanging Out at Santa's Place!

The year was 1967. It was June. I was but a lad of four when I found myself at the North Pole! With SANTA! How cool is that???

Ok, so this North Pole is a bit farther south; Colorado, to be exact. My family took a trip to Pikes Peak that year and my folks and grandparents decided to take me to The North Pole- Santa's Workshop for the day! Here is what our friends at Wikipedia have to say about the place:

Santa's Workshop is an amusement park that opened on June 16, 1956 in Cascade, Colorado, just west of Colorado Springs at the base of Pikes Peak. Modeled after the Santa's Workshop in Lake Placid, New York, the park features a charming North Pole village complete with specialty shops for boys, girls, Christmas ornaments, and candy. The village is also home to Santa's Workshop itself, where children can meet with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus year round. Many of the park's staff get into the holiday spirit as well, and children will find Santa's elves hard at work in admissions and the many shops around the premises.

Here is a little photographic evidence that I was actually there!

My mom, dad and myself in front of the large entrance sign. I like the painted illustrations of the attractions....If only we could get a closer look...

There! That's better! 

Apparently, my mom was a hit with the baby goats...or maybe it's that bottle...

I'm not sure what an Indian tee-pee has to do with Santa, but there it is! My grandfather and grandmother pose with my dad and myself. I like the Thunderbird symbol (not related to the car...)

My grandmother is tapping deeply into her Cherokee ancestory at this point. Actually, I seem to remember that she did archery in college, so this wasn't a stretch. Her stance seems good. 

This is a bonus "not in the park" picture. That's me discussing weighty issues with Chip...or Dale....I can never tell them apart in real life.

So there you have it! I wish I had more pictures, but these are enough to bring back some memories. By the way, it seems that when we visited, the park was exactly 10 years old. The cool thing is that you can STILL visit this park! It's nice to see that it's still going strong!

Merry Christmas!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!