It happens once a year. Okay, sometimes twice. Or sometimes three times. Who knows. It happens enough so that I'm completely confused as to what the count is. I'm thinking that I should Microsoft-ize the Metal Magic Mountain versions... instead of I, II, III, etc. I should just label it by year. That being the case, welcome to the official photo gallery of Metal Magic Mountain 2003 version 1.0. Or something like that...

Our adventure began where most of our adventures END, at Denny's. It was strange seeing Denny's in the sunshine, nonetheless partaking of their daytime menu. The restaurant was packed, and the waitress couldn't bring the caffeine fast enough to keep me awake. I was operating on three hours of sleep, having played a show the night before. But, as I always say, sleep is highghghhghghhllyyyy overrated. I wasn't going to let a little thing like sleep deprivation ruin the fun.

Here's me, Doug, Gary, and Amy in front of Denny's.

Fro was running a little late, so Gary took advantage of his absence to get in on that wolf-action.

After meeting up with the rest of the posse, we rode the new ride, Scream, a few times, and trekked over to X. If you remember last year's Metal Magic Mountain, we were heartbroken for not being able to ride it (it was closed for months for repairs and alterations). Yet, somehow in our eagerness, we stopped for a full-posse picture.

Last year's Metal Magic Mountain consisted of 18 Mountaineers. This year, we had 12: (top, left to right) Ron Vander Dussen, Anna Yost, William "Fro" Rustrum, Michael Grant, Denis "The Moshking" Recendez, Dave Scott Chedrick, Gary Thornburgh ; (bottom, left to right) Karla Salazar, me, Doug Kasper, Chris "Drumslut" Silva, and Amy Thornburgh.

The line for X took over two hours of standing in the hot sun. Some of our group slipped away to ride Viper, others fled the X line out of fear. But those who waited in line and rode the ride swear it was the weirdest and best damn thing ever!

Dave Scott's "OH" face captured by the Vipercam.

After riding X, everyone's hair was tossled and everyone's teeth were exposed by huge grins. Here, Drumslut's fro has been enhanced by X.

Goliath is always another big hit at Metal Magic Mountain. Unfortunately, all the KNAC stickers left by Solomon last year were no longer there. There was, however, the graffiti'd names of Chris and Karla everywhere. Coincidence? Fate?

We actually got to ride Goliath twice. The first time we waited in line with everyone else. The second time, we were able to come thru the Fast Pass line like a bunch of wanna be rock stars. If looks could kill, the people who had waited in line for the first six rows were ready to stare us dead as we jaunted in front of the line like VIP bastards.

Another customary picture... with our biggest fan in the batcave of Batman: The Ride.

Our failed attempt to ride X again before the park closed turned out to be a relief to sore feet. Here, the survivors of the park (11 out of 12) pose in front of the barren entry gates. We contemplated Denny's but ended up at In & Out Burger, where the crew had to struggle to keep from falling asleep in our greaseboxes. A great end to a great day!