Action Everywhere!

Machines were already at work this morning when I arrived.

The winners of the noise-making contest were in the west lot deconstructing the NuSkin garage.

It was quite exciting.

I'm still mystified as to why I didn't take up watching construction earlier in my life.

I'm seeing a pattern here: Mr. Track Hoe simply removes the problem.

Maybe simply isn't the right adverb.  You can see part of a huge truck in the lower portion of this photo.  Mama Track Hoe loaded rebar noodles and cement blocks into it and was fastidious about getting all the rebar inside the truck.  This truck and his many associates entered the garage lot via First West, were loaded up, and then drove straight onto the south lot, exiting onto Second South.

These tandem trucks entered from the south lot, and then did an amazingly graceful three-point turn before backing down along the west side.  It all looked choreographed.

There is a big pit growing where the NuSkin garage used to be.

The work had been going on for quite awhile before I arrived at 7:30.  There were still lights on so they could see in the early morning hours.  It was also very cold.  I actually had to return to my car for my gloves and then felt sheepish when I saw men working without theirs.

I studied these three pools for quite awhile.  Water enters the pool on the right through the blue hose, but my engineer husband thinks it might be recycled water with sediment from the drilling in the basement. The water drains into the third pool on the left, and there is a green pump, not pictured here, which is either acting as a bubbler for unseen fish or is pumping the water into the basement for the drilling machine.  I could not determine where the original source of water is, although there are a lot of hoses.

This is the wizard behind the curtain, probably making the grout or cement to fill the new casings in the basement.

An R2D2 relative is helping in some way.

This little front end loader raced out of the basement like a sick child. 

He quickly dumped his load of mud at the base of this track hoe, perhaps as an offering.  Who knows what pleases track hoes? 

Once the sun rose, I was able to see Mr. Drilling Machine in the basement.  I watched while he drilled this tall casing into the ground.

He took it all the way down.  Then, lickety split, the workmen inserted another casing into its maws, and he drilled that down, too.

Notice where the two casings fit together.

I love looking at the tabernacle in the morning sun.  I was on my way to the north lot to see what was happening there.

I was baffled to see it all dug up again.  

This new trench goes all around the retaining wall in the north lot.  I could see the east barrier through the stilts from the west side.  I can't explain what is happening.  Maybe next week I will venture a guess.

I also have no idea what this new contraption is.  It's right where a drilling machine was working last week, next to the rebar circles.  I don't think it's a crib for the queasy front end loader.

One of the tower caps has some new holes.  I studied close-up photos but didn't learn anything.

The other two tower caps are right where they've been all winter.

A new rendition of the temple is hanging along the construction wall.  This is a view from the southeast.  The new temple will be beautiful.

Well, actually, it already is.

More Aerial Views, Two Tower Caps Were Moved, and the Garage is Down

My nephew Chris visited the site again this afternoon and took more photos from the NuSkin building.  A lot is happening.  

Mr. Track Hoe was back at work in the north lot.  It looks like more work is needed along the retaining walls.

This hydraulic jack hammer is working with the track hoe.  He appears to be breaking up cement, but I can't explain why anything, after months of work, could have been overlooked there.

This drilling machine is placing a metal casing in the area between the east barrier and University Avenue.  Notice the four rebar circles.  Even my engineer husband had trouble speculating.

Chris never misses an opportunity to wax poetic with his camera.  The crane is in the south lot.  The drill with the casing is in the previous picture.  The boom of a concrete pump can also be seen here.  The aerial view shows the pump before it was extended. 

Let's speculate about the tower caps.  All I can say for sure is that two have been moved.

I know that these tower caps were not in that place  during the winter.  I am guessing this was like a checker game, moving here and there based on the ability of the crane to get the tower caps across the lot.

Horizontal braces were placed through the center of the cap to enable the crane to connect.

The workmen put the size of these tower caps in perspective. 

The NuSkin garage is down and the work now involves removing the concrete.  Directly south of the former garage, in the upper right hand portion of this photo, is the Post Office, still a busy place.  Rumors abound as to its future, but I'm content to wait and see what happens. 

The hydraulic cement crusher was at work today amidst rebar noodles.

Big Mama Track Hoe viciously attacked the concrete.

This view of the south face of the tabernacle shows the demolished garage.  Notice the center entry to the tabernacle.  The width of the original brick can be seen, but also look at the width of the gunite which was applied last fall to secure the exterior shell. 

I had asked Chris to take some close-up pictures of the work in the basement.  He said it was pretty crowded down there.

I love peeking through the shell of the tabernacle into the basement from this aerial view.

Somehow I feel better knowing there are track hoes in the basement again.

This is the drilling machine we saw at work last fall placing the casings for the piers we can see.  

This time he's placing 400 piers below the surface of the slab.

The water is to keep the casing cool as it is drilled into place.

I think I'm seeing the tops of new piers in this photo.

Chris picked a beautiful day to visit the site.  He took a lot of pictures because he knew it was the last time he'd be there for awhile.

He's starting to love the building as much as I do.

I'll be back at the site early next week so I can see what's going on for myself.