We departed our sparse hotel early in the morning and headed north toward Wisconsin. Along the way, we stopped at one of the most impressive rest stops we'd ever seen, the Belvidere Oasis, just shy of the Wisconsin border. It spanned the highway and looked more like a large airport terminal, with a tall ceiling, walls of glass and pretty much any type of food you could want. Our destination was Marshall, Wisconsin, about an hour west of Milwaukee, and Little Amerricka. We had last visited the park a decade before and really enjoyed our brief time there. We arrived in the parking lot at about 10:30. It didn't open until noon, but I had forgotten about the time zone change and thought we'd arrive at 11:30. As you might imagine, there was no one at the park except for maintenance crews. We parked right in front of the entrance. The park offered an interesting pricing arrangment. You could purchase individual ride tickets. But they also had four different wrist bands, each with its own color code depending on ride height requirements. I thought it was a clever idea. It made sure that guests, whether children or adults, had no problems with being too tall or too short to get on rides. The air was cool and the sky was dotted with fluffy clouds, so we strolled onto the park grounds. To our right was a nicely landscaped mini golf course. One of the fairways nearest us was shaped like the U.S. We continued onto the concrete midway, and it looked exactly as I remembered it. And that was comforting in a way. The park was frozen in time and looked pristine. There was a rental lift next to the vintage Eyerly Roll-o-Plane. A mechanic was working on the motor. The ride looked brand new, which was remarkable for a 60-year-old machine. Opposite the Roll-o-Plane was the station for the Whiskey River Railway, an impressively long three mile ride. The railway was the original inspiration for the park, which was created by Lee Merrick (thus the park's name). He was a railroad enthusiast and built the Whiskey River Railway as a hobby. He gradually added more rides. The train's conductor was getting the engine and its twelve passenger cars ready for the day. We chatted for a while. He said his first job of the day was to head out to pick up passengers at the Whistle Stop Campground, a recent addition to the park. It would take him about a half-hour. On the wall of the station was a sign encouraging anyone who was interested to apply to be a railroad conductor at the park. We continued strolling about. The vintage Hershell Mad Mouse (which also looked brand new) had an unusual propane-powered motor on the lift hill. The park's vintage Herschell carousel had a small band organ that, curiously, was labeled "John J. Fanelli Amusements (Since 1954)". Fanelli's was a New England carnival company that had bought Mountain Park's Tempest. I wondered how one of their rides had made it all the way out to Wisconsin. Just beyond the Mad Mouse was a Tilt-a-Whirl that for some reason had a large figure of Mario in the center. I was really impressed with the great condition of all the rides, as if they had just been delivered to the park. We next walked into the large red building behind the ticket booths that functioned as the park's restaurant, gift shop, arcade and office. I was delighted to find a vintage Theater of Magic pinball machine in the arcade. The building also had an O gauge model railroad running through the entire building up near the ceiling. We exited through the door facing the ticket booths. People were beginning to filter into the parking lot, along with several buses of schoolchildren. So Karen and I stood next to one of the two ticket booths. Three cashiers appeared and began setting up their cash drawers in the booths. One on the right was all set to go and called us over. We opted for the green wristband at $17 each. Then we headed over for the park's junior wood coaster, Meteor. It was similar to Waldameer's Comet and had the distinction of being the only wood coaster to have been dismantled and rebuilt at two different parks. Since no one was in line, we queued up, guaranteeing us the front seat. The ride operator was talking with another employee, who asked him if he wanted to trade rides for the day. The Meteor operator said no. He tested the ride, letting it run through several cycles. While that was happening. The mechanic on the Roll-o-Plane finished up his work and drove the lift out of view. The parking lot began to fill up and more people began drifting into the park. By the time noon rolled around, the queue at the Meteor was filled. Karen said that the operator was going to let us go around twice. I wasn't sure, since even though it was a junior coaster it was still a sizeable ride. The operator opened the gate and let us in. We plopped ourselves down in the front. After he secured all the lap bars and gave us the usual spiel about keeping our hands and arms inside the car at all time, he released the station brake and we glided over to the lift hill. The ride was enjoyable, like the Comet or Stricker's Grove's Teddy Bear, with gentle dips. As we returned to the station, Karen was right -- he let us cruise through the station and back to the lift. When we returned the second time, he let us glide through again and get a third ride. By the time we got back to the station, a long line had formed. So I was glad we went early. While it wasn't too crowded, I decided to make another park walk-thru, which didn't take me too long. Then I joined back up with Karen. The Whiskey River Railway was loading, so we walked over to the station and sat in the third car from the engine. The first two cars were enclosed and wouldn't have offered much of a view. The cars were basically wooden boxes that contained smaller wood boxes for benches. They weren't designed for comfort, but they could hold a lot of people. The conductor was in no rush. The school groups (actually summer camps, I think) kept streaming in, and he let the passenger cars fill up. After several minutes he climbed into the front engine's cab (there were two engines pulling all the passengers), sounded the horn and we were off. The train made a big left-hand arc past the kiddieland area on the right. It flew past the side of the concession building, past the mini golf course and then past the go-cart track at the far south end of the midway. On our last visit, the train curved to the left and headed out into a vast field. But this time we turned to the right along a new stretch of track heading out to the Whistle Stop Campground, which was much larger than I expected. There were about a dozen RVs parked there. And there were also several cabins. We circled around counter-clockwise at the far end of the property and stopped next to a swimming hole where a few kids were playing. A couple of people boarded the train and then we continued on our way, heading back to where we entered. Instead of taking a left back toward the park, the track curved right and headed back on its original route into the woods and out by a marsh. We curved around to the left and approached a large farm with geese and ducks wandering about. To the right was a barn, and outside were two zebras. We rode past more fields and eventually turned left and headed back toward the park, proceeding through a long dark tunnel. It was about a 20 minute ride. By then it was about 1:00 and we were getting hungry. So we entered the concession building. On one side was ice cream. The other side had meals, but the selections were really limited: hot dogs, hamburgs or bratwurst. Karen got an order of French fries and I got an order of pretzel bites with a lemonade. We sat and ate as the model railroad circled around above us. Afterward, we checked out the gift shop. They had really nice t-shirts that were reasonably priced. We walked back out onto the midway and turned left toward the station of the Zamperla-built Monorail. In reality, it wasn't a true "monorail" because like a train it rode on two rails. It was just raised up off the ground. From the station we had a great view of the park's tiger slide as well as the spinal rearrangement device known as the Chance Toboggan. The small yellow monorail car glided over to us and we climbed down into it and were sent on our way. It was a relaxing tour of the entire park. When that was over, we queued up for the 16-cab Big Eli Ferris wheel, the same model that I used to run at Mountain Park. Within a few minutes we were seated. The operator was running the ride at top speed, which felt really alarming as we were pulled back and upward so swiftly it almost knocked the wind out of us. But it was still my favorite type of Ferris wheel, providing a sense of freedom and even a little bit of airtime. From the top of the tallest ride in the park, we had a terrific view of the midway below. We watched as the Roll-o-Plane went through its acrobatic maneuvers. After that, Karen wanted to hit the road. We were going to meet up with her sister and brother-in-law in Milwaukee. Before we left, though, I wanted to make sure I took a walk through the park's unassuming and incredibly tiny haunted house. I didn't remember too much about it from our last visit except that I liked it. There were lines of schoolkids attempting to enter it. But each time the girls would let out blood-curdling screams and back out. So I waited for the crowd to dissipate a bit before I entered. The corridors were pitch black and really tight, barely the width of my shoulders. There were raised mats on the floor that were triggers for the various jump-scares, none of which were too shocking. One of them was a cow. But it was the sound that went with it that usually scared the girls, a loud bell or a horn. When I emerged into daylight, I begged Karen's indulgence to do it one more time. It wasn't a Pirate's Cove or a Frankenstein's Castle, but it was unique and a lot of fun, especially given its diminuitive size. And after that, as more people continued filling the midway, we continued on our journey. Even though Little Amerricka didn't offer us a full day of activities, I still enjoyed being there. It was a great family destination, with a little something for everyone. I was really impressed with how clean and fresh everything was. It all looked brand new. The Whiskey River Railway was one of the best miniature railways in the country and was reason enough to visit the park. The haunted house was a bonus. I wished they had a wider selection of food (even if only a cheese pizza). But in any case, I was glad to see that it still seemed popular. There were many big theme parks that could learn a lesson from how Little Amerricka was run.

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