Aerial Antics: Cliff's Amusement Park

Google now has some nice 45 degree images of Cliff's Amusement Park, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The small park is home to a decent sized wooden roller coaster, along with a nice selection of other rides.

Since the park is located on a fairly compact plot of land, you can get a whole view of the park in one shot with relative ease.  You an reach for the sky on the Cliff Hanger free fall or loop around and around on the Super Fire Ball if you're in the mood.  The park also has plenty of less intense rides as well.

Cliff's big coaster is this wooden ride, known as the New Mexico Rattler.  It was actually Custom Coaster International's last ride, and they went bankrupt in the middle of building it for the park.  Happily Cliff's continued on with the work and were able to finish the ride on their own, though a bit later in the 2002 season than they wanted.  The 80 foot tall ride features some twisted curves along its 2,750 feet of track and includes an underground tunnel.

The park's other roller coaster is a production model Galaxi which was added in 1976.  This shot also shows off the park's log flume, Rocky Mountain Rapids, with the SideWinder thrill ride in the middle of its lagoon.  Over on the right is the park's latest addition, the WaterMania! play structure.  Complete with slides, tipping buckets, and tons of other fun activities, the space creates a water park experience for visitors.

To zoom around the park on Google's aerials, click here.