When you find this cache, the building
before you is the home of the Eau Claire Curling Club (ECCC) from
October 15 to April 15. Curling is an indoor sport played on
artificial ice. A 40 pound polished granite
“stone” is carefully slid down a 138 foot sheet of ice
towards a target or “house”. The ice facility
first opened at this location in January 1996 for the Men’s
“Bonspiel” tournament. This building is also used
as part of the annual
"http://www.uwex.edu/CES/cty/eauclaire/4h/about4h.html">Eau
Claire County and 4-H Youth Fair during the summer.
Many other activities take place here as well. During the
summer months, take some time while you’re here and enjoy the
beautiful work of
"http://www.eauclairemastergardeners.com/">Eau Claire Master
Gardeners. This cache is NOT located in any of the
Master Gardeners’ flower beds so please do not disturb any
plantings!
As part of this cache, a series of 4
ECCC Curling Pins will be released as Travel Bugs over time to help
spread awareness of curling. The Eau Claire Curling Club was
established over 50 years ago and for many years utilized the
County buildings on Fairfax Avenue in Altoona. The original
facility used “natural” ice in a building whose floor
sloped 5 inches resulting in extreme challenges making level ice
for curling. During the late summer and fall of 1995,
club members banded together and worked evenings and weekends,
providing hundreds of hours of donated labor to construct the
238’ X 78’ facility before you.
In PHOTO 1 you can see some of the 700 feet of stud walls
that were built.
The contractor then installed the roof trusses. Curlers
followed by nailing over 600 sheets of plywood for the roof –
PHOTO 2.
Four weeks were spent building up and leveling the substructure for
the flooring of the ice area. Two layers (4 inches) of
insulation plus “chairs”, rebar, and lengths of
one-inch tubing set 4” apart -PHOTO 3- were sealed
layed out and covered with steel mesh by members prior to the
contractor pouring th 5” thick concrete floor.
The club members also attached the exterior siding, fascia and
soffit –PHOTO 4.
The exterior walls were insulated and wafer board skin applied to
the inside – PHOTO 5. Interior stud walls were
assembled and the electricians, plumbers and sheetrockers performed
their trades to finish the facility. Ice in now readied in
less than one week thanks to modern ice making equipment and a
floor that is extremely level.
The curling facility has 4 sheets of ice with video observation
capabilities. Curlers and guests can also observe the game
through large windows separating the heated club room from the ice
area. A large flat screen TV and fireplace help to create the
informal atmosphere in the clubroom.
To learn more about curling check out
the ECCC web site where additional sites are listed.
"http://eccurling.blogspot.com/">Eau Claire Curling Club
Introduction to curling as well as the
basics of the game and more can be learned from videos at the
Milwaukee Curling Club website.:
"http://www.milwaukeecurlingclub.com/curling-basics/video-intro/default.asp#ERS">
Curling Basics
This cache is on Eau Claire County property and permission was
officially granted for placement. Seekers should know that Eau
Claire County’s stated policy on geocaches anywhere on County
property is “enter at your own risk” as per GC234A.
.
********** Congratulations to cdnajn the FTF!
**********
This cache placed by a member
of:
"http://www.wi-geocaching.com" target="wga"> |
| "http://www.wi-geocaching.com"
target="wga">(click to visit our
website) |
