tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67895476180950558302011-04-21T15:02:55.987-07:00Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-31001188848713795212009-03-02T23:05:00.000-08:002009-03-04T07:54:07.941-08:00

Today was another great day! It's cold, but not too cold. Had to use the "Hoties" in my gloves and boots because my finger tips and toes got so cold they hurt. Those things work better than a hot potato. The wall is starting to look like a wall and the totum spires are getting put up. You will see a picture of a block in the slide show, notice the cracks. Those cracks weren't there when we

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-43201562979265436062009-03-01T22:54:00.000-08:002009-03-03T10:26:43.505-08:00

We are off to a great start. Not quite as far along as we hoped, but the ice is fracturing. We had to scrap a block, but can request one replacement. The second block we set-up in the same place fractured on a diagonal. This piece is the bottom 6 feet of a 12 foot totum. If we stacked the second block on top of it, it could all slide off down the slope of the fracture line. We salvaged

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-25023192046355337872009-02-28T22:43:00.000-08:002009-03-02T22:52:55.439-08:00

Well, tomorrow is the big day; the day the Multi-block begins. In preparation, Donna did the laundry, JQ put up the tool tent, ran errands, and did some sculpture site preparation. Jake helped a bit at the carving site then went for a walk around Fairbanks. Raul's flight from Seattle to Anchorage was cancelled so he sat around the airport waiting for a later flight. Too bad that he didn't find

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-3542797449739905052009-02-27T22:00:00.000-08:002009-03-01T17:53:50.421-08:00

Today is "Waiting Day." We wait for the judging results. We wait for team members to arrive. We wait for the Multi-block site numbers so we can start setting up. But while we wait, we play. I had a very relaxing and interesting time at the Chena Hot Springs. I found the snow crystals around the pool very beautiful and fascinating. Some of them were growing like fronds on algae. Others were many

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-65039833319337978342009-02-26T23:59:00.000-08:002009-03-01T17:55:32.326-08:00

Well, it is finished. We were able to complete our "Ancient Discovery!" I am really proud of the two of us. We worked together as a team, we did our best, we pushed ourselves, we learned, and we had exhausting, body building fun! I also ate fewer donuts than last year! We had to change where the upper bear was positioned, he was just too heavy to hang on the wing. The changes worked for the

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-85800776317857271332009-02-26T06:31:00.000-08:002009-02-28T07:54:38.712-08:00

This had been a day! We are up early to eat a quick breakfast and catch the first shuttle over to the ice park. So many of the pieces are coming together beautifully. We are in doubt of even finishing and all hope of really being contenders seems lost. We are just too far behind our schedule. There won't be time for all the finish work that is needed to properly clean the sculpture. Today,

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-92170118865395880252009-02-25T23:19:00.000-08:002009-02-28T09:56:21.184-08:00

Another day finished and boy are we tired. Had a little trouble today learning how to to 90 degree welds. We had to make the sculpture taller and can not use the heavy lifting equipment; it all has to be done by hand or chain hoist, which we don't have. It took longer than we planned and put us a little behind schedule. To help make-up, we worked until 9:00 p.m. Uftah! We're tired.When doing the

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-29935477355730188252009-02-25T07:23:00.000-08:002009-02-28T08:48:03.002-08:00

We took a moment to walk through part of the park today and take some photos of the Kids' Park. They make these great slides and tunnels out of the ice - burr - cold bottoms. There are also these bowls that you have to have help to get out of and tops that you sit in and people spin you around. They are hard to get out of too! I climbed in one last year and could have won the "Funniest Home

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-72254684741922130572009-02-24T20:56:00.000-08:002009-02-26T07:26:21.773-08:00

Wow! What a day. We came a long way with JQ doing most of the work. I am helping make the wings, being the gofer (go fer this, go fer that), and helping with clean-up and set-up. JQ is plotting, planning, and carving. What a great job he is doing! It is fun to watch the other carvers' works coming along too. There are going to be a lot of great carvings.The temperature is perfect. It was close to

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-690245179713502882009-02-24T10:02:00.000-08:002009-02-24T22:00:33.159-08:00

Good morning! It's day one and we are raring to go. All the tools are assembled and waiting. The electrical is hooked up for the grinders, heater in the tent, hot pot for the glue (warm water), and of course the electrical chan saw. We mostly use the Stihl gas saws, but it is so cold that sometimes gas saws freeze. Duct tape over the cooling vents helps prevent this. The saws are starting --- so

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-1023950352503901282009-02-22T18:22:00.000-08:002009-02-23T10:09:05.037-08:00

As JQ and I are prepareing to leave tomorrow morning, I am greatful that we will have a loved and trustworthy house sitter to watch over our home and carving yard. The dogs have been a bit edgy sensing that something is different. We have gathered our tools and sent the saws ahead. Stihl Northwest was so kind to barge them up to Alaska for us where they are being held by the saw shop in Fairbanks

Joaquin and Donna Quezadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14409420359148766864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789547618095055830.post-12520126419415955942009-02-22T13:17:00.000-08:002009-02-23T10:07:22.373-08:00

Joaquin carved Sleeping Beautys' Castle over Father's Day weekend, 2007, in Reedsport, Oregan, during the annual Echo Cup competition. It took 21 hours to carve, sand, and apply the wood preservative. He did all this from his head! He absolutely amazes me in his abilities. I guess that is what 30 years of dedicated experience and a God given artistic talent can do. He placed second in this event

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