Activities

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July08/2010

Geocache Activity 738

FIND 679

IDENTIFICATION

GC2A132

Water tower CARL2

N 49° 41.801 W 112° 48.668

Difficulty 2; Terrain 2; size small; Creator: Joci Date First Hidden: 6/09/2010 Date Last Found: 6/28/2010
Lethbridge

Description It is a small container with pencil and a logbook and trading items in it. Parking close by so just a short walk required. Lethbridge, Alberta builder converts water tower into restaurant LETHBRIDGE, Alta. A local builder always marvelled at his town’s water tower while growing up in Lethbridge, Alta. It was the tallest structure out on the wide open prairies south of Calgary. So, he was shocked when he learned Lethbridge proposed to scrap the retired water tower. He is an architectural technician and developer, persuaded the town to sell the water tower to him and more than $2 million later, he opened it as one of Canada’s most unconventional restaurants. He believes it is the only restaurant in the world built into a water tower 12 storeys above the ground. “The town council fought me all the way on this project,” he said. “They made me jump through some very unreasonable hoops, but on our opening night in 2004 the entire council was there for the free booze and food.” City engineers claim the tower, built in 1958, had outlived its usefulness and it sat abandoned for several years after a new community reservoir replaced it. “The town’s public works feared it was unstable and should come down, but I had consulting engineers check it out and found it was still strong and sturdy The municipal guys wouldn’t even climb up the tower’s ladder to check inside the tank,” said 44-year-old builder. “It’s been an iconic structure in Lethbridge and southern Alberta and if I was going to keep it alive, I wanted to make it a place that the public could visit and use.” He designed the 9,000-square-foot restaurant with two levels for eating and a third as a lounge in the bulbous water tank, which used to hold 500,000 gallons of water 36 feet deep. He had to hoist nearly 1,700 tons of washed gravel into the water tank to replace the weight of the water to keep the tank from swaying in the prairie winds. He cut 32 windows into the side of the tank, plus skylights in the top. A catwalk was built around the outside of the tank, so maintenance crews can wash the windows. An elevator was installed in the eight-foot-diameter central shaft of the tower to carry customers up to the restaurant. Eight narrower legs support the weight of the tower. He added large banners between each of the legs, which he rents out as billboards. A 60-foot-tall transmission aerial was added to the top of the water tower. Everything but the customers and the Alberta beef steaks had to be lifted to the restaurant by mobile cranes. Steel floors were crafted to create the three levels.

Hint In the wood.

Comments

PLANNING

Today was devoted to geocaching. I set up an early morning route for 11 caches in north Lethbridge. I found 10 and was unable to look for the 11th because of muggles. I came home and worked out an afternoon route for 10 caches in south Lethbridge. This time I found 9 caches and was unable to look for the 10th because of muggles. I came home and then set out again in the early evening, this time looking for the two I missed earlier as well as 6 new caches in south Lethbridge. I found one of the earlier muggled caches and 5 new caches and missed one more due to muggles. My total number of finds for today was 25 out of 25 (muggles preventing a search don't count). This is almost twice as many as my previous record for a single day. I doubt I will try to beat this but one never knows ...

OUTCOME

This was my 22nd search of the day, and the 3rd on my early evening route. The container was in a hollowed section of a piece of wood, hanging from a branch.

Here is my posting to the geocaching.com website:

Thanks Joci for the background information. TNLNSL. TFTC.

Here are a few photos:

cache area

GeeCee with top end of hide

GeeCee with bottom end of hide (and container)

I am now 22/22 for today.

Link to 2010 Calendar

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GC2A132	Water tower CARL2	N 49° 41.801 W 112° 48.668
	Difficulty 2; Terrain 2; size small; Creator: Joci Date First Hidden: 6/09/2010 Date Last Found: 6/28/2010	Lethbridge
Description	It is a small container with pencil and a logbook and trading items in it. Parking close by so just a short walk required. Lethbridge, Alberta builder converts water tower into restaurant LETHBRIDGE, Alta. A local builder always marvelled at his town’s water tower while growing up in Lethbridge, Alta. It was the tallest structure out on the wide open prairies south of Calgary. So, he was shocked when he learned Lethbridge proposed to scrap the retired water tower. He is an architectural technician and developer, persuaded the town to sell the water tower to him and more than $2 million later, he opened it as one of Canada’s most unconventional restaurants. He believes it is the only restaurant in the world built into a water tower 12 storeys above the ground. “The town council fought me all the way on this project,” he said. “They made me jump through some very unreasonable hoops, but on our opening night in 2004 the entire council was there for the free booze and food.” City engineers claim the tower, built in 1958, had outlived its usefulness and it sat abandoned for several years after a new community reservoir replaced it. “The town’s public works feared it was unstable and should come down, but I had consulting engineers check it out and found it was still strong and sturdy The municipal guys wouldn’t even climb up the tower’s ladder to check inside the tank,” said 44-year-old builder. “It’s been an iconic structure in Lethbridge and southern Alberta and if I was going to keep it alive, I wanted to make it a place that the public could visit and use.” He designed the 9,000-square-foot restaurant with two levels for eating and a third as a lounge in the bulbous water tank, which used to hold 500,000 gallons of water 36 feet deep. He had to hoist nearly 1,700 tons of washed gravel into the water tank to replace the weight of the water to keep the tank from swaying in the prairie winds. He cut 32 windows into the side of the tank, plus skylights in the top. A catwalk was built around the outside of the tank, so maintenance crews can wash the windows. An elevator was installed in the eight-foot-diameter central shaft of the tower to carry customers up to the restaurant. Eight narrower legs support the weight of the tower. He added large banners between each of the legs, which he rents out as billboards. A 60-foot-tall transmission aerial was added to the top of the water tower. Everything but the customers and the Alberta beef steaks had to be lifted to the restaurant by mobile cranes. Steel floors were crafted to create the three levels.
Hint	In the wood.
Comments