This is not a positive posting so to avoid depression close this immediately. We had a major set back last week. Because only 4 1/2 feet of the rock were exposed and we needed at least 7 feet deep. I called in Burt Cox again, the blaster, he, David, Lane and I had a meeting with him and told him what we would like removed some right by the head and then some of the mountain that was protruding out to far to be able to see the monument very well from below. We figured we'd have him do it too as long as we had him there. He explained how he'd use a light charge and pop off the close areas and a bigger one for the other parts. Not sure how it all happened exactly but he blew everything up. David and Lane were very apprehensive about having him back because all his blasts up too that point had been too big but that was when they were searching for a needle in a hay stack but now that he had direction and therefore  thought he would be more careful now. However there are a few things to consider.  Burt said that the cause of the rock splitting was a natural fracture that ran down the center of the rock and there for releasing the dirt on the side released the pressure holding it together and caused the split. David was on the ranch when it happened and he said the blast was enormous not just a little pop. You can see this by how huge the rocks are in the picture. He had also drilled directly into the rock in order to pop off the right corner to help us get the round of her head and did use a lighter charge for that. You can see the black powder marks on the  rock in the picture. This too may have been just enough force to crack the rocks natural fracture. Grandpa and Ralph went up and inspected and they felt it had been a natural fracture and whatever the cause forced the rock to break through it. Grandpa felt however that it may have actually been a blessing because if it didn't break right then it may have done it down the road while we were working on it and someone could have been seriously hurt or worse. Grandpa didn't feel it was entirely Burts fault.
     So here we are back to square one. Grandpa says we've learned a lesson. If we are able to find another suitable rock we need to immediately drill several holes directly into it and epoxy rebar 10 to 12 feet into the mountain to secure it before we start.
     So the big question right now is...Is the rock in these parts suitable for a monument of this size. It seems that all of them have several natural fractures? Do we put the time and expense into locating another rock and hope that it will hold together enough or do we try another route? Should we create a man made made rock? You've seen them...around swimming pools and around Disneyland.
     Grandpa would like to still try and locate a natural stone. I would too but if this begins to prove to be unfeasible the later may be our next best option. Any thoughts?

All these rocks were part of the rock wall that David had exposed with the Excavator. All you can see is the top of the monument... the rest it buried beneath all the rubble. This had been a level bench. 

Well I can definately say that if I were to give these first few weeks a label it would be "Trial and Error". That rock is as hard as a.... um.. rock? We have drilled and drilled and drilled.  We have broken 3 bits already. But we were granted a tender mercy when the Dexpan did indeed produce cracks!!! The stuff worked! So for now we're just drilling holes throughout the day, filling them with the demolition compound before we leave, coming back the next morning and if the rock isn't already laying on the ground we're knocking it off and repeating. There's several layers of rock to work through before we can start to see any facial features begin to appear.  Like I've said before...She's in there. We just have to unveil her. I can see that the pose I chose to put her in is going to be much more of a challenge for a novice as myself. Putting her straight forward might have been simpler but I'm hoping the end result will be worth it. When I finish each day I drop in and report to Grandpa. I just really need to work through these outer layers more quickly so real progress can be seen. Not because I need the project to pass quickly but I just want Grandpa to see her begin to form.


WE HAVE CRACKS!  We have had rocks fall that would have literally taken days to chip out by hand.

Another broken drill bit!  This has got to stop.  Lanes Dad told me that when they get hot they get brittle.  And with the rock so hard they definately get very very hot.  So maybe the trick is to get 4 or 5 and trade them out after each hole to allow them to cool before forcing them to penetrate again.  Any ideas?

Grandma has aquires a few markings of measurements. And a strap holding her in place so we don't risk her falling forward when we stand her up.

          It's official!!! We have finally begun. Wade and I started Monday morning... First thing we did was hook up a Time Lapse Camera that hopefully, if we read the instructions right and programmed it correctly, should take a picture every 24 hours for the next year.  And then we stood, stared and scratched our heads. Finally we looked at each other shrugged and said well let's just start and see where we go from here. For the last 3 days we have been using the Rotary Hammers and have just drilled holes, lots and lots of holes.  I have some stuff ordered that will be here by Friday (hopefully). The stuff is called Dexpan. It is a compound that you mix and pour into the holes and if it goes according to planned, it will expand and break the rock out for us (hopefully right where we want and not were we don't) saving us ALOT of drilling and chipping out. If it doesn't work then we will have to resort to honey combing the rock really close together and then chipping out with a jack hammer.
          Grandpa decided he wanted to build the dirt up against the rock and so we could work from the  ground. He felt this would be more productive so we're trying it out. I wanted to establish the nose and face shape first so David built the dirt up to about even with the mouth and we're going from there. I'll post a pic when there's visible progress happening.

 I'm so lucky to be working with Wade this summer. He will be a senior this year. So i know this is a golden time.  Oh and something we're super happy about...we are in full shade clear until 11! What a blessing!