Still welding

It was another day on the work site spent under my welding helmet. I was working on the lower section of the mountain wall from the stairs up to the second floor. By day's end the bulk of the wall is complete. Pictures of the project at this stage don't look like much but there are miles and miles of bar now shaped and welded into place. This will determine the shape of everything to follow.

Peter and Marty worked on the lower level welding the pencil rod from the pool edge upwards. From the ground level looking up it does look like  mountain if you can imagine all of the space filled in between the rods.

One more full day next week will allow us to complete this stage. The owner's crew will then install the drainage and sprinkler systems in all of the planters before we return to apply the mesh to the frame. The fiberglass reinforced concrete will follow that giving the mountain its skin.

-grampa dan

Above the freezing level

We live in a mountainous region. The weatherman often talks about the freezing level. That is the distance above sea level that it freezes. Below that it does not freeze.

This morning there was no frost on the windows as I warmed up the truck. I drove to the site (higher elevation than our home) and the work site was clear of frost as well. But as I climbed to the roof to finish the welding up on the top there was definitely frost up there. The top of our mountain was above this morning's frost line.

By first coffee break the temprature had warmed up significantly and the frost was gone. By lunch time I was working in my shirt sleeves and enjoying every minute. The top of the mountainside is now welded and I am working my way quickly down.

Before I came down at the end of the day I took a few shots of the project from the bird's eye vantage point. To the west we can see the saloon. The ferris wheel peeks in on the side and belowis the lunching pad for the Windmill Drop. To the right are the two ride circular pads for the Carousel and the Balloon Adventure. The clubhouse For Giggle Ridge Adventure Golf is visible behind.

Here's a wider angle panorama shot in the same direction.

From the other side of the roof we look down into the Wilderness Adventure. The pillars for the swing bridges are visible to the left as is the gold panning water tower. The giant log is in the bottom middle.

Swinging to the right we get a good look at the Wave Swinger pad which is about 12 feet above Bucky's Bumper Boat pool. The lighthouse which is more than twenty feet tall looks pretty puney from way up top.

Here's a panorama of the whole east side of the park.

We still have a long way to go but with the nicer weather we are making good progress on site! Stay tuned for more developments.

-grampa dan

A first time for everything

Through the years we have built a lot of fanciful things. I remember when we were just starting out I was wandering through the local hardware store gathering pieces I needed for two projects. The owner, a friend, soon got very curious as I went down isle after isle and picked up all sorts of bits and pieces from just about every department. My friend eventualy couldn't stand it any longer and asked me to tell him what it was I was building for the things I had in the buggy didn't make much sense. I informed him (with a straight face) that I was building two things - a space ship and a submarine. The parts I was gathering, although not authentic, were capable of playing the part - all in the interest of telling a story. My friend had to come and see for himself that yes indeed I was actually building a space ship and submarine in my basement shop.

These creations were but the start of countless happy and fantastical adventures. We've built a lot of fun projects since including steam trains, mountains, castles, wagons, cars, trucks, fish boats, pirate ships, all kinds of animals, deep sea divers, paddle wheelers, planes, outhouses, logs, trees, sunken treasure, steam donkeys, more space ships and submarines, and a hundred other things too.

This past week we created something new. In the western area of the park is the Windmill Drop. The sign for the ride is nailed to the top of a tall cactus. Perched on the sign is a vulture. But the story needed a little more embellishment. So we'll add to it by placing the bleached bones of an old steer in the planter underneath. The skull for the carcass was shown a while ago in the blog but there is more of course. The rib cage of the cow will be partially buried in the dry dusty soil. Sage grasses will grow through the bones.

I imagine there will be many more firsts before we are done.

-grampa dan