Pipe dreams

There are some superbly detailed pieces throughout the park although not all are front and center. A few are hidden, tucked into corners and reserved for guests who really look around.

A small pond and waterway feed the waterwheel with power. The creek then pools before going into an old wooden culvert that goes under the Windmill Drop ride platform and out the other side where it drops into another pool before going under a timber bridge and down a windng path to a large lower pond. The culvert could have been a simple hole in the stone wall but we wanted to create something much more interesting. And so we did.

In years past the culverts were wood, bound together with riveted metal straps. We fashioned a cartoon version of one of these old culverts using sculpted concrete over a large PVC pipe. When we paint the sculpted concrete the pipe will get a dark color to hide the blue.

It is the counless small details like this that give the park it's rich feel. Guests may not conciously see all we have done through the park but they will feel the quality and it will enrich their experience.

-grampa dan

Marty the mixer

With up to twenty prople hard at work on our site each day a lot of work gets done. Each does their work, switching tasks as needed. Some have specific skills, others are well rounded and able to do virtually anything. One of my go-to guys is Marty. He brings a broad range of skills (learned previously to our employ) to the job. Marty loves to go all out and tries his best to set personal records at every task. If I need a mile of pencil rod cut into lengths, Marty will do it faster than anyone else, by far. I've never seen Marty stand and wait for direction, he will find a task to do until I have time to direct him or give him instruction.

Mixing concrete looks to be a task that just about anyone could do but we don't want to leave this job to chance. Each load of concrete needs to be perfect and consistent. There are only four parts to our cement mix. Water, sand, cement powder, and the special MAGIC powder that contains the fiberglass and other ingredients. A teeny bit too much or too little of any one part and it is hard to apply. A good mixer can look into the mixing drum and can immediately tell what needs to be added and how much. The mixed concrete also needs to be delivered exactly when and where we need it. Too long in the wheel barrow or bucket and it needs to be remixed before it can be used. 

In all the years we've been doing this work I've found only two employees who could mix the tons of concrete we need daily and do it consistently perfect every single time. Marty is the very best yet. He also holds the record for the most mixes in one day - by a wide margin.

While mixing concrete isn't a glamourous task it is very important. Thank you Marty for doing such a great job! Peter and I appreciate it each time we trowel on a scoop of the marvelous mix.

-grampa dan

Last but not least - Dudley

Tonight the last character of the Skallywag pirate gang sprang to life on my drawing board. Perhaps slithered is a better term. Rumor has it that Captain hook was done in by an alligator and that the Gruffles only plundered other pirates. They were the Robin Hood gang of the high seas. That being the case we needed a alligator type character on the crew. So Dudley is the last member of the crew.

Now Peter and I will design the rest of the color scheme for the ride. Stay tuned...

-grampa dan