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FACING PAGE: View east from Griffith Park Photo by Tom LaBonge ranger station and visitor information, so leave the car here and head for the first stop: the Merry-Go-Round. Built in 1926 by the Spillman Engineering Company and brought here in 1937, the Merry-Go-Round boasts 68 colorful and bejeweled horses, all of whom jump happily to the sound of a Stinson 165 Military Band Organ. La Bonge noted that: "Walt Disney used to bring his daughter Diane to the merry-go-round, and he paid the operator a little more so that she could keep riding for longer. She told me personally that he envisioned Disneyland because of the park." If the kids want to ride a real equine there are horse cated to the West, here you can explore the history and stories of people, cultures and events that shaped this region and also relive the myths and thrills of Billy the Kid, buffalo stampedes, wagon trains, western movies and more. Further north east is one of the most famous land- and pony track and wagon rides here, and for kids big and small, this is also where you can find a steam buff's para- dise: a museum and the Griffith Park and Southern Rail- in the park – the busiest in Los Angeles – and if you don't stumble across a film crew you could see Bronson Caves (used in Invasion of the Body Snatchers and e Searchers – both 1956) or the old quarry tunnel that was the Batcave entrance in the 1960s television series "Batman". Inside the Observatory there's the marks in L.A.: the Griffith Park Observatory (you'll pass the Greek Theatre en route towards it). Movie fans will of course recognize it from Terminator, Men in Black and the classic Rebel Without a Cause – there's a bust of star James Dean in the grounds there – and LaBonge calls the park "the back lot for Hollywood. I've even seen hot-air balloons here, when they were shoot- ing a television commercial." Last year there were 346 days of on-location shooting legendary light show in the Planetar- ium, Foucault's Pendulum and exhibits about life, the universe and everything, so even here you can travel some- where: all the way to space. Outside, you can look out over the city and see everything from Downtown to the ocean to the Valley: "The best time to be up here is in the afternoon. The sunset lasts much road. eir miniature scale steam trains have been giving mile-long rides since the 1940s and chug through an old Western Town and a Native American Village. "Also in the north west of the park is the Travel Town Spokes 'N Stuff – ("you could see the park on a bicycle made for two!") while another form or transport – trams – can take you round the main attraction here, the Los Angeles Zoo. Check out bears, lions, elephants, meerkats, rhinos and the new attraction, LAIR – living amphibians, invertebrates and reptiles (that's snakes, lizards, frogs and scorpions). Opposite the Zoo is the Autry National Center and its Southwest Museum of the American Indian. Dedi- Museum, which has the biggest collection of steam loco- motives in the USA. Probably the world!" If you prefer two wheels there's a bike rental shop – The pony rides (above) and the carousel (right) are favorites for kids of all ages at Griffith Park. Photo courtesy of theworldisabook.com SUMMER 2012 / DISCOVER HOLLYWOOD 35