|
-------------------------------------------------------------------- FEB 7th and 8th, 2012 The
Skytrail aerial gondola will be closed for a scheduled line inspection.
  Babe's Head It happened on 12-05-2007:
Babe was built in the late nineteen-fourties, from a kit, by Ray Thompson. His head originally moved up and down and steam blew out his nostrils. When he was moved to his current location in about 1982, his head was removed and replaced after the move. At this time he was given an internal skeleton of I-beams that run in his legs and are connected inside the body. The head mechanism was left as is except that his head was locked into one position. The steam feature had been deleted many years before because it scared little kids. The structure holding his head on was basically 2- two by twelve fir or pine boards on edge. There is a seam between Babe's body and his neck, the seam is covered with a piece of painted tarp. Somewhere in the last few years the tarp began leaking and the drip rotted one of the two by twelves. It finally failed, the head swung sideways and broke the remaining good board and the head then fell off and landed in the courtyard. Not something we ever expected to see and a sad time indeed. We have moved his head to area where repairs have already begun. The repairs are being accomplished in steps, the first and most important step is to re-brace the inside of the head and provide a mounting point to connect the head to Babe's body. The next step will be to cosmetically restore the stucco surface, remount the horns and ears and repaint him. The damages are: The top of his head is pushed in. The fringe around his neck is crushed. His nose was smashed in, one ear came off, the other ear is just hanging. Both horns are still attached but loose, one in about the right postion, the other tipped backwards. There are numerous cracks in the stucco surface. We have recieved lots of email from folks wishing Babe a speedy recovery and we sincerely thank you for those. His repair and restoration are ongoing right now. We are shooting for the first week in January at the earliest, but will take whatever time is needed to fix and restore him correctly. The all new Christmas Light show is now running every Friday and Saturday night through Christmas eve from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. (Current show runs 5:30 to 6:00 with cannons & Santa. 6:00 to 9:00 show only) It is all new equipment, LED lights and is quite spectacular if we do say so ourselves! The show is choreographed to music, stop in and we'll fix you up with a free cup of cider or hot chocolate while you watch the show. 
_____________________________________________________________________________ We are open every day except Christmas, even in the winter! Skytrail is also open and runs every day. If it is raining, or if you want to give your feet a break, we have a no-extra-charge shuttle that can take you to the Skytrail and back. Stop in and see us!
|
