I saw the next feature

I love to tell a good story and one of the ways is to do it visually. If the story is based on fact it becomes much more believable. In the case of WhistlePunk Adventure Golf I did my homework. Each of the features was based on research and historical photographs. We designed the features to be 'passively interactive'. This means our guests will be able to role play and pose with the features. Hopefully this will allow them to get great photos as a rememberance of their time there and also to share with friends and family. After playing a round of golf with their family it is also my hope that they will also be a little more knowledgeable about the way logging was done in the good old days.

One of the features the guests will encounter as they play a round of golf is a giant forked log to play their ball into. On the top of the log an old whipsaw is part way through. Obviously we couldn't use a real whipsaw for safety reasons. Instead we had our friends at Clearbrook Iron to cut us a sturdy saw shape from half inch thick plate steel. A special thanks to Neil Schellenburg for rushing it through so fast! it looks GREAT! The teeth of the saw are rounded to keep things safe. We'll weld a handle to both ends. Welded firmly into the structure, our guests can tug on the saw all day long for years, without budging it an inch.

I'll bet this feature gets a real workout.

-grampa dan

Full steam ahead

Moving the logging truck went so well I was still in the mood to move large things when I got home. I decided to grout the tile in the bathroom floor in the new house first and then reward myself with something a litle more grand. I fired up the neighbor's forklift and hooked up the steam donkey. Since the trailer was still hooked up to the truck it was the perfect time to load the next feature.

Slow and easy was the order the the day and things went perfectly. In minutes the steam donkey was up on the trailer and ready to be secured for transport.

Tomorrow we'll apply the last of the glazes on the steam donkey logs. A few more details and this piece will also be done. It goes to Squamish on Friday. Pretty soon it will be time to golf.

-grampa dan

Exciting but uneventful

Delivery days can be stressful at times but today was my favorite kind of day. Exciting but uneventful. My dad rode shotgun today as we drove to Squamish. I value his vast experience on days like this. He tends to stand to the sidelines but he's quick to offer suggestions when needed.

The Squamish owners and crew were hard at work as we arrived and all smiles as we drove in. In the last week they had got an amazing amount done. Many truckloads of soil and gravel had been hauled onto the site and carefully (and skillfully) placed. What had been a flat piece of ground a few weeks ago is now a large hill with the serious beginnings of an adventure golf course winding through it. I had to drive to the backside of the property for the unload. Jeff and I measured up the truck, did a little digging and packing and then hooked up the lifting beam to the truck and excavator. Jeff carefully lifted the heavy load and then backed up over a hill and then swing the truck into position. The tricky operation only took a few minutes but I think Janice went through a full set of fingernails as we did. Jeff carefully lowered the truck into position.

Everyone in the small crowd breathed a sign of relief as the chains went slack. The logging truck was in place without a scratch. I climbed up to unhook the chains.

Janice and Jeff jumped in the cab to celebrate the smooth move with a test drive :)

It was after all a very enjoyable day for a drive!

-grampa dan