On Monday, my fine friends at The District at Prairie Trail asked if I wanted to come out and help set up their awesome 20+ ft tree for this Saturday’s Dazzling in the District.
Moving a giant tree? Absolutely. This can’t be too difficult. #FamousLastWords LOL .
What we thought would take half an hour…turned into 2+ hours…and I HELPED…sorta…I mean, we wanted to get the tree safely to Town Square in the District, and with my skill set, my help is…umm…limited, ha!
Do you know how much a 20-foot tree weighs? I was told by Ashley at Prairie Trail that it was about 1200 lbs…I challenge. It was at least 10,000 lbs.
We had to move the tree from one side of The District to Town Square…and it was going to take a boom/forklift/thingamabob (obviously, I know nothing of construction terms 🙂 ) . To do this, the awesome construction crew, led by Matt…(oh, I shouldn’t say “led by Matt”…he’ll like that too much, haha)…had to use a giant steel beam to stabilize it, and then use tension/ratchet? straps to strap on the top of the tree to keep it from tipping forward too much.
See? EZ Peezy, right?
(that’s me in the hat to the left….doing what I do best in situations like this…staying out of the way…and making smart-aleck remarks)
After an hour of fine-tuning…the tree was ready to be moved…and it begins to lean forward. Shrieks are heard…but …. IT HOLDS!!
It’s now up to Ashley and me to balance out the bottom by pulling it forward so it stays even…look how strong we are!
PULL!!! (and yes, those two guys behind us are really doing 99% of the work…you know me and my delicate hands).
We begin our trek…and like the Grinch at the end of the movie, here I come, bringing Christmas down the mountain to delight WhoVille (and the District)…..
then…after 5 minutes. I quit. Too heavy. Plus, it’s imposing when you look up at 20 foot tree and it’s swaying, and I’m not brave.
I think we topped out at a speed of 1 mph, but finally, we got it to Town Square Park! VICTORY!
Look at how much help I am right now! LIFT! LIFT!!!!!
WE DID IT! (Truth: They did it…I watched).
It looks…AWESOME!
See it for yourself this Saturday during Dazzling at the District at Prairie Trail! It’s the perfect way to really kick-off the holiday season…great eats, great prizes to be won, admission is free, and of course, get your favorite people on your list unique items from the great shops at The District!
Then join Ken & Santa for the big tree lighting ceremony! (and remember, it looks so good because of all the hard work that was put in moving this tree, haha!)
See ya Saturday!
