At long last, it was time to deliver and install my Buffalo for Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Monday, September 18, Dereck Sheroan from JBB, Inc. of Hardinsburg brought their 23 ton crane to the studio to load up the sculpture. We had a very pleasant surprise when it was weighed by the crane - it only weighed 9,200 lbs. That was a lot more stone removed from the 22,000 lb. block then I'd guessed.
We had decided to load up the day before, so that we could get an early start to beat the forecasted afternoon rain for the next day.
All 3 of the major weather forecasters on the web got the forecast wrong. It rained even before we got there - and it's raining in this picture (which is why no one is smiling...). We unloaded it into a gravel area near their maintenance shop at the distillery. At least it was safely delivered: Step One.
On Monday, September 25, Dereck and I drove back to Frankfort to try for the installation. There was a steep hill to go down (and get back up...) but there were no problems.
The people at Buffalo Trace gave a LOT of help getting the sculpture safely installed. They used their skid steer to build a level site that would support the crane on the steep hill (and away from some overhead power lines).
The sculpture is installed in its new home. I hope that it will be a part of the Buffalo Trace Distillery for many, many years to come.
