COEUR d'ALENE - The ride groaned to life, shifting slowly from side to side.

The nose of the gleaming pirate ship swept upward, gaining speed.

Higher.

Higher.

Cue the high-pitched shrieks.

"FUN," exclaimed 13-year-old Harli Mills as she and her friends stumbled off the platform.

"It's the best ride," deemed Laine Hamilton, 14.

"It feels like you're going to fall out," said Abbey Horvath with a toothy grin.

The gaggle of Coeur d'Alene girls were among the throngs coursing through the carnival rides, exhibits and performances at the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo on Wednesday, the event's opening day.

Running through Sunday, the fair is expected to draw up to 80,000.

The animals and displays were but precursors to the favorites of Mills and her friends: Moments of fleeting terror on the rides.

"It's just the feeling you get in your stomach," she explained.

Of course, there are a few other experiences to be had.

Sean Karney, 7, tentatively ran his fingers down the stubbled back of an American alligator sprawled on the grass outside an exhibit building.

The 5-foot beast had drawn a crowd, while its handlers watched over.

"Wash your hands when you're done," warned 10-year-old Gus Philips.

This was a fitting transition between a camel ride, seeing a python and a giant tortoise, said Sean's mother, Kris.

"All the things moms aren't going to let you have," she said with a laugh. "Where else are you going to do that? It's a once in a lifetime thing."

Kurt Reese let his 2 and 4-year-old tots hoist themselves onto the fence of a donkey's pen.

Reese was raised participating in 4-H, he explained, and hopes the fair will draw his kids to the same love of critters.

"When I was in junior high and high school, I went to the fair every year," the Post Falls man said. "I want them to have the same experience."

Cayden Bonacci and Brett Haney stood uncertainly with friends as they considered a side show stand, the speakerphone drawling a tantalizing appeal.

"Little Linda is so small, you can actually pick her up in your arms like a small child," the voice announced, promising the adult Haitian princess inside was 29 inches tall.

After forking over some dollar bills, the 13-year-olds peeked into the small stand, and walked out with eyebrows raised.

"I didn't think it was going to be real," Bonacci said.

"It was sweet," Haney concurred. "I've never seen a 29-inch princess."

Lori Jerome and her sister, Kim Shaw, waited as their children ventured a ride that ended with slipping down a swirly slide.

The kids know the kinds of scares they can handle by now, the Coeur d'Alene woman said.

"We've been bringing them here since they were in their strollers," Jerome said. "Now they're 10, 11 and 17."

Everyone has their favorites, she said. The kids love the rides, her sister the draft horses.

And she awaits the ritual indulgence of biting into an elephant ear.

"My daughter will be back tonight with her friends, so it's more social for her," Jerome added. "There's something for everyone."

"Everybody should come," Shaw agreed.

Fair exhibits are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Saturday, and from 10-6 on Sunday.

The carnival is open from noon to midnight through Saturday, and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

For a full schedule of fair performances and events, go to: www.northidahofair.com.