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March
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John Martin watches as Brad
works
over the cement that has been
sprayed on the wall. I
think at this
point he isn't quite sure it
will all
stand up.
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Well, as you can see, the
cement is standing up, as the first section of the wall has been completed.
A specially designed nozzle mixes air with the cement. The mixture
is sprayed onto
the wire frame.
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Now both Brad and John need
to get into the cement to keep up with the cement. The day turned
out to be perfect for the project, no rain, and just a little sunshine.
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The hose handlers seem patient
as the last part of the wall is sprayed. A novel technique was developed
to get just the right texture to the rock. The cement was sprayed
through a screen panel before it goes onto the wall.
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Now it is time to clean
up. Here John
just can't believe they really
did it, and ohhh what a mess.
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The wall has been curing
for several
days and now the finishing work
will begin.
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Gravel is brought in and
spread as a foundation for the dome which is soon to be constructed.
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At last, the dome has arrived.
All the pieces will be unloaded in preparation for the actual construction
work to begin.
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A tractor is needed to help
unload the aluminum bar which weigh approximately 30lbs each.
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DOME
DAY
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The day has finally arrived
and everything is laid out for the work to begin.
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Staff and interested visitors
gather early in the morning to watch and perhaps even help!
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Here you can see John and
one of the docents begin putting the base pieces together.
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Once the 20 sided base is
together everyone available helps to line up the domes elephant door in
the correct location. This is the last chance to make any adjustments.
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Quickly the first row of
bars is bolted into place. This area will have several of the cross
bars removed once the dome is up allowing a 14 foot entrance for the elephants.
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High atop the cherry picker
a record is being made in time lapse photography. You can see the
dome wall in the lower left corner of the picture.
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Our Red-Ruff lemur visits
the sight and checks out the climbing on an aluminum bar!
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Here he goes to check out
the bolts on the first section of the wall.
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It is still mid-morning
and as you can see things are moving along pretty quickly. I think we're
going to need some taller ladders!
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The first level has been
completed, and now we are beginning to go around with the second course.
The dome had to be moved about a half foot to make room for the backdrop.
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| We are about half way around
on the second level. It is at this point that we noticed that we
had one piece wrong, which made the one we are working on now not fit.
We had to back up and exchange 3 different struts that had been wrong.
This really showed how important it is to get it right. It was really
hard to remove a strut once it is in place. Debbie, our
plan reader said "I didn't do it".
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The size of the dome is
now becoming apparent. The crew is becoming more efficient at this
point, and are becoming in awe of the size of the project.
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This shot shows how complex
the design is. Not all of the struts are the same length, and they
go in at unique angles. The struts are labeled A, B, C, D, F.
If there is an E, I haven't seen it yet. As we go higher, each level
has fewer pieces until the last level which has only 5 pieces.
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The second day of construction
has the crew working on the third level. Even though there are now
fewer pieces the height and size of the ladders being used slows the process
down. It will be at least one more day till the dome frame is finished.
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The dome as seen from the
Drive-Thru area shows how predominate it will be in the Safari Village
sky-line when finished.
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Here you can see some of
the local wildlife keeping a close eye on the work.
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