Status of Bear-ytales.blogspot.com

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the status of this great little blog, which started off as The Knott’s Berry Farm Information Center in the mid 1990s. At the time it was the first internet fan site to solely cover Knott’s Berry Farm, and one of the first theme park fan sites, period. Some years later it became Bear-ytales.com, and then moved into the hands of Westcoaster.net for a while, before coming back as Bear-ytales.net. As life took me away from the computer more and more, I was looking for a quicker and cheaper way to update the site. Thus Bear-ytales.blogspot.com was born.

It’s no secret that this can no longer be considered an active site. I have a wonderful wife and daughter, and we are looking forward to our first son. Work and family life has drastically reduced my internet time (not to mention theme park visits), so priorities have moved away from my online world. I still lurk on fan sites and marvel at the efforts that their staff goes through in order to bring weekly updates to you all. I did that for a long time and loved doing it, but I can no longer support that sort of effort (and I'm really glad I don't have to ride DCA's Fun Wheel every single week, week after week, after week, after week). My hats off to them for keeping the fire burning!

There is a lot of good stuff to see here at Bear-ytales, and I have no intention of taking this blog down. I’m proud of the pictures I’ve taken over the years, and how I’ve represented the Farm. There are many more pictures in my archives that I hope to repost in the future. I’m glad that these photos and stories have a place online, and thanks to search engines and the constant thirst for knowledge, the pictures will be seen by new eyes for years to come.

I will pick at this blog from time to time, but regular updates are long over. It’s been a great hobby, but family life has called for a while now, and I’m more than happy to answer.

 

May your funnel cakes be warm and your berry punch ice cold,

-Bob

Halloween Haunt from the Past

"Scratches on the old wooden railings, shrills and shrieks in the night, and a thick layer of fog that envelopes Ghost Town. These are the images, sights and memories that fans of Knott's Berry Farm's world famous Halloween Haunt call up year after year."

This quote openned my coverage of Halloween Haunt 2007 back in the bear-ytales.net days. Life changes and 2007 was the last Haunt I've been able to attend. However, some great pictures and fantastic memories are contained in the images of those days, images that haven't been online for a few years.

Over the next short while, I'll be revisiting my coverage of the Haunt from 2007 back to 1997 or so. Image quality will deteriorate noticeably as I go back in time, but such is the case of digital photography. Haunt is a tough monster to photograph, and when digital photography was in its infancy, the quality of images were nothing like what we have today.

That said, I thought it better to revisit what I have, no matter what the quality. Not all coverage is equal. Some years I was able to do more than others. But at the end of the day, something is better than nothing. I hope you agree.

I'll start with Halloween Haunt 2007. Other years will be posted as I get the opportunity. I hope you enjoy!

Knott's Icon Bud Hurlbut Dies

It is with great sorrow that I report on the passing of Knott's historical ride designer, Bud Hurlbut. I think back to the time when I worked at Knott’s in the mid to late 1990s. I saw first hand now the Log Ride and Mine Train made a day at Knott’s something special for the guests. Young and old would line up to ride them, as they appealed to kids and adults of all ages. Even in these days of digital entertainment and complex themed attractions, the simple scenery in both rides are classic and timeless gifts that will never be outdated.

I never met Bud Hurlbut, but having known people who knew Bud, and owing a big part of my love for the theme park industry to his work, it’s easy to know what a talented and unique individual he was. Without Bud’s vision for quality themed entertainment, the industry we love so much might look totally different today.

May Bud's impact always be felt at that little berry farm in Buena Park.