Depart:  Comfort Inn, Selingsgrove, Pennsylvania at 10:29 AM.

Arrive:  Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pennsylvania at 11:08 AM.  Distance From Hotel:  21.8 miles.  Total distance for trip:  952.5 miles.

Located in a wooded setting, I found Knoebels to be a very unusual park.  The amusement park seems to be mixed in amongst cabins and campgrounds, without a really clear distinction of where the park begins and ends.  Knoebels claims to be America's largest free admission amusement park, meaning that it is possible to enjoy the atmosphere of the park without paying a cent.  The general appearance of the park led me to believe that Knoebels isn't really sure if it wants to become a "big time" amusement park, or if it wants to maintain a small-park feeling.  Regardless, it is a quaint park, with lots of character, and really great hot dogs!

Later in the summer, I discovered that Knoebels was voted as the 3rd best amusement park in the world for 2000.  While I enjoyed Knoebels, and really liked the park, I can actually think of quite a few parks that I would rank higher.  Apparently, one of the main factors was a Golden Ticket award for the best food of any amusement park.  Like I mentioned above, they had great hot dogs -- if I'd known of their reputation for great food, I'd probably have tried some other stuff, too!

Seeing the park name, I really expected it to be pronounced with a silent K, rather like "knob."  However, it seems that the folks at Knoebels prefer to make the K known!  The name is pronounced like Ka-No-Bulls.  (OK, so I'm not too good at phoenetic typing, but that's close!)  I also thought it was an apostrophe s at the end, but, upon more careful examination, I've found that there isn't an apostrophe in Knoebels.  Whaddya know about that?  It must be a Pennsylvania thing!  Well, however it is pronounced and spelled, Knoebels is a neat little park nestled in the woods.
 

It's getting a might breezy in here.   Whirlwind is an older-style steel corkscrew coaster, nestled among the trees.  While two corkscrew turns are mild by today's standards, the location and compactness of this ride make it a lot of fun.   Whirlwind:  Steel corkscrew coaster built in 1984, relocated from Rye Playland to Knoebels Amusement Resort in 1993.  Designed by Vekoma International.  Height:  64 feet.  Drop:  48 feet.  Track length:  1200 feet.  Ride length:  1 minute 20 seconds.

Rising from the ashes.  Or, maybe rising from Arizona.  No, wait, it actually rose from San Antonio.  Well, rising from somewhere, it's The Phoenix. The Phoenix is a classic wood coaster.  A sign by the ride indicates that it was selected by Inside Track as the 5th best wooden coaster.  Well, I don't entirely agree, as there are others that I like better, but this one is a lot of fun, and I'm glad it was saved.  Apparently, it was originally located in San Antonio, Texas as The Rocket at Playland Park, but closed in 1980.  In 1985, it made its debut at Knoebels. The Phoenix:  Wood double out-and-back coaster built in 1947, relocated in 1985.  Designed by Herb Schmeck.  Built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.  Rebuilt by Charles Dinn.  Height:  78 feet.  Drop:  72 feet.  Track length:  3200 feet.  Speed:  45 MPH.  Ride length:  2 minutes.