Rattlesnake Canyon

The current expedition includes tweens, teens and a desert environment.  So of course there needed to be a side trip to a kitchy entertainment complex.  Welcome to Rattlesnake Canyon.  No actual rattlesnakes included.

The Old Prospector theme is not entirely inapt, there were historic mines in nearby hills.  Now?  Mini golf, ice cream, rides, that sort of thing.

And Bumper Boats.  Assorted younger members of the extended family were waved over by a beloved and trusted Aunt...

That'll teach 'em!

And also....

With most of the rides I was more interested in examining the mechanical parts.  Wonder how many psi on those hydraulics?  What gear ratio does it take to run that helicopter ride?  And so forth.

There was also an arcade.  I've not been in such a place for years.  No doubt inspired by the just released Alien movie I found this.  Not sure what happens when it's Game Over Man.

A nearby pinball machine has a bit of a history lesson in it:

And a bit more detail including more creepy aliens.

I wonder how many people playing this even recognize the band named Foo Fighters.  And of that small number, how many know that the term actually goes back to the final days of World War Two where pilots reporting strange lights and aircraft dubbed them F****** Foo Fighters! 

Some of these of course were the various German jet and rocket powered fighters that were secretly developed late in the war.  From the Foo Fighters arose the mythos of UFOs.

Marvelously, the squadron most associated with the story of WWII Foo Fighters was deactivated post war, then reactivated as a classified unit operating out of Groom Lake, testing and later operating the top secret F-117 Stealth Fighter!