Ready to ride!

As soon as Hailey saw the routed Carousel sign she called dibs on putting on the paint. Others of the crew also volunteered to do the task but Hailey was first. So Hailey's it was. Over the last week, between other tasks many layers and colors of paint have been applied - all by Hailey of course. She did a wonderful job too! The sign provides just the right feeling to introduce the guests to the magical Carousel attraction. 

The Balloon Adventure sign will be finished in the next day or two by Jenessa along with the twisty, magical tree that holds them up. Stay tuned for the finish pics...

-grampa dan

Carpentry done - now on to the rock work

The trestle got more fiberglass reinforced concrete applied and sculpted, finishing off the timbers. The piece looks incredilble! Only the stone columns remain to be mudded. Chris and I knew from the start we wanted some type of tall piece in this section of the park but hadn't defined it until a few weeks ago on our trip to Florida. Now it will be a fabulous centerpiece and the gold panning will add another fun and interesting activity to the kids area of the park.

The rockwork pillars will be done Monday and then we'll turn our attention to the water tower and tank. By the end of the week we'll be into final paint and another feature will be ready to go up to the lake. Up at the worksite the crew there is working on the needed retaining walls and footings to accept this cool feature. Stay tuned to see it come together...

-grampa dan

Basket case

With the snow now gone the balloon basket was loaded onto the flatbed trailer this morning in readiness for it's journey up to the lake. We had to get creative in order to tie it down without the straps rubbing the paint. Our lifting beam bolted across the top proved to be just the ticket.

Once up at the lake Chris' crew wasted no time to hook it up and swing it into its place. It was a simple matter of bolting the pedestal onto the waiting base.

Then they climbed into the basket to unhook the chain. As quick as that another feature was home.

Next week they will bring in a larger crane to lift the balloon into place above it. It's going to look very cool! stay tuned...

-grampa dan