In the third of my Schlitterbahn series I'm going to touch on some of the awesome points of how Schlitterbahn is greener than all other waterparks! Schlitterbahn was born on the banks of a river and has always been a steward of the water in the park. 98% of the water is recaptured, filtered and reused all season long.
After the 2011 fire in Bastrop, Texas:
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| Near my in-laws house in Bastrop. |
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| My husband took this as he drove into Bastrop |
In September 2011, a major wildfire raged through Bastrop County, Texas. Three separate fires started during Labor Day weekend and by the time it was under control, it destroyed 1,691 homes and burned over 34,000 acres of land including the vast majority of Bastrop State Park's 5,900 acres of Loblolly Pines. The Lost Pines Forest, thought to have originated in or before the Pleistocene Era, was also heavily impacted. The fire hit pretty close to home as my husband's parents lived just outside of the fire evacuation line. Had the fire moved anymore to the left, they could have lost everything. We do know people who lost everything in the fires. Schlitterbahn tried to make the best of a bad situation though.
For safety reasons, the burned pines has to be removed. The scorched trees were destined for the grinder who would have turned them into mulch. Jeff Henry at Schlitterbahn offered to take the trees. He then had them milled and thus began the process of transforming the pines from scorched wood to the dramatic feature throughout the Schlitterbahn Beach Resort at South Padre. Here's where you'll find the Bastrop Pines at the South Padre Waterpark Resort:
- Rooms: In most rooms; the cabinets, coffee tables, nightstands and headboards are made from the Bastrop Loblolly Pines.
- Dining Areas: Large tables are made from the Loblolly Pines.
- Lobby: The large tree stump tables by the doors leading to the heated pool are from the fire, as in the siding along many of the interior walls.
- External: The siding on the outside walls of the resort are made from Loblolly Pine.
Ropes: Over 3 miles of 3-inch mooring ropes of dozens of former ships have been painstakingly wrapped around giant concrete structural poles in their Sea 4ever 10,000 square foot patio.
Green House: The retractable roof over our indoor waterpark was built from a large greenhouse - an old Schultz nursery.
Lobby Check-In Counter: Built from salvaged walnut trees which were pulled from a road project in Kansas.
Parapet Walls: The hatch covers cam off a famous US Troop carrier the John E. Pope and are used on parapet walls and also to make tables. Over 500 are on site.
Chandeliers: The beautiful chandeliers hanging in the Sea 4ever event patio were salvages from an aging Vegas hotel. Schlitterbahn's team glued shells to them and hung in the ceiling.
Waterslides: Yes even some of the water slides were recycled. The water slides came from a park in Cleveland, Ohio and were salvaged, refurbished and re-installed.
Handrails: An old Dutchman Downs Stadium was the source for all the handrails.
How many waterparks can say all that??
