The dream lives on

Almost exactly twelve years ago we dreamed of expanding Giggle Ridge in a very ambitious fashion. Our lofty plans, drawn in 2001 included a railway circling the property, a large bumber boat pool and a giant mountin, inside which we would hide our home and studio. The plans were drawn and we even began the process of renaming our business to Giggle Ridge Studios. But it was not to be. A while later we decided instead to buy property in the nearby town of Yarrow and we instead built our dream shop there. Fast forward more than ten years and the dream house was also built.

When we sold Giggle Ridge we shared our dreams with the new owners, who decided to build our the park in a slightly modified and much more ambitious form. Those old dusty plans still served as prime inspiration for the new park and many of the elements I drew so long ago are now seeing the light of day once more. The giant mountain survived but now will house a variety of functions to serve guests in the new park. It looks an awful lot like the mountain of old.

In the next while I'll reveal more elements from those old ideas as well. It makes me smile for the dream lives on!

-grampa dan

Giddyup.

Every project we tackle takes us into uncharted territory. This is what makes my job so challenging and so very much fun. With a good portion of the park having a western theme we are having to come up with a wide variety of ideas that fit into the available space. With some of the rides and attractions actually overlapping in the vertical space it is challenging to say the least. In the western portion of the park  flora and fauna will resemble desert. Still, we want to create a comfortable space. An oasis stream, complete with a water wheel and mining artifacts is just the ticket. Height restrictions mean an overshot wheel isn't possible. A little research allowed us to design a Pelton undershot wheel to solve the probem and stay accurate to the time period. In looking at the drawing after I postedit I noticed I drew the buckets on backwards. I'll fix that tomorrow.  :)

The wheel is to be all steel construction and will be fun to build.

Photo opportunities also need to abound through the park. These days people love to pose, take pictures with family and friends and then post them to facebook or wherever ... advertising our customer's park in the process. In the western section it begs for a horse and wagon. I was happy to oblige.

As I design and draw each idea even more ideas constantly pop into my head. So many ideas... so little space...

-grampa dan

Playing house - in a tree

Who would have ever thought that a fellow could make money building a tree fort? The new Kid's Adventure Park we are planning includes some swing bridges to a tree fort that is positioned inside the golf we built more than a decade ago. Kids and adults climbing through will watch golfers play before heading on to other adventures and attractions - all from high up in the trees. It is going to be a cool feature. This for will be plenty strong, built entirely of structural steel with a sculpted concrete skin. It will only look like it is rickety, home built and a little precarious.

Swing bridges will connect the tree fort to other platforms and some caves as well. Kids (and adults with a kid still inside them) are going to love it.

Each day of late I've been very busy at my design board cranking out idea after idea. Today, Phoebe was in my studio and she watched me draw for a while before the questions started. She did a quick review of the concept art and declared it to be a VERY cool project! Stay tuned for much, much more...

-grampa dan