This week has been unseasonably warm for these parts - in the high 20's C (low 80s F) - pretty awesome for mid-May! It is great weather to paint and do concrete work with a little sweat. I've been so impressed with our crew as they push hard to get this project done on time. With only six weeks to go the pressure is on!
Yesterday and today, we have been working in the Wilderness Trail concentrating first on the 'dirt banks'. Marty gave the new mixer a real workout with well over a hundred batches of concrete mixed in only two days - a record! Fletcher and Jeff have worked up a sweat as they wheeled, loaded buckets and carted in more than 500 buckets of mud to Peter and I to trowel onto the lath. Then the crew has sponged the surface smooth and Kendra has sprayed on the texture. The walkway walls down into the lower area are now largely finished.
Today's task was the small mountain inside the play park as well as the planters around the pond. There is a lot of surface area on this feature! Peter and I stayed late for the final bit of detail work and cleanup. In this shot he is detailing the lower rocks on the waterfall.
Matt has set the pace for the mesh crew, working hard to keep ahead of us as we apply the mud. They finished off the wiring in the wilderness area and are making good time in the rocks and fences of the western area.
Up on the trading post the painting crew is working hard to finish off as much as they possibly can before the concrete slab in that area gets poured on Friday. The whole lower side of the building is now finished with the front portions well underway.
Hailey and Janis have been working hard to keep everyone supplied with everything we need to do our work, including paint, mesh, wiring supplies, tools, rags, rubber gloves, watermelon and a whole lot more!
As always, it is a team effort of monumental proportions. Through all the hard work and sometimes very tough conditions the crew has remained cheerful and helpful to each other. They make my job pretty easy. In recognition of their dedication and hard work it was officially declared Watermelon Wednesday. Afternoon coffee break featured plenty of cold watermelon.
Tomorrow we'll blast away one more time with the paint before the next concrete deck gets poured on Friday. In the Wilderness Adventure it will be the last day of dirt banks and then on to a ton of posts and woodgrain. Our hope is to be substancially finished the concrete in this area this week.
-grampa dan