Sep 3, 2008 3:04 pm US/Mountain
Steamboat Business Digs Up Fun
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) ―
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Guests drive heavy equipment at "Dig This" near Steamboat Springs.
CBS
An entrepreneur near Steamboat Springs has used people's fascination with heavy equipment to create a profitable business.
"I've found that subconsciously," Ed Mumm said, "we never grew out of our sandboxes."
Mumm's company Dig This puts tourists behind the controls of equipment like excavators.
"We pass construction sites all the time. I can guarantee you that probably 30 to 40 percent of the people who drive by just look at the equipment being used on those sites and say "Man I wish I could just have a go at that,'" said Mumm.
That's a thought Doris Peterson has shared. "I've said to my husband, 'Wouldn't that be a blast! to get in one of those machines and did a hole?'"
Peterson's husband, Jim, took her comments to heart and took her to Mumm's "Dig This" for her birthday.
First she needed a few lessons on how to run the 15-ton Caterpillar excavator. Then she was ready to go in a natural sandbox in the Dig This location west of Steamboat Springs.
Peterson and other drivers who have a go at Dig This discover the professionals make running the equipment look easy.
"I would say that is not nearly easy as I thought," said Peterson. "There's just a lot of eye-hand coordination."
One of the instructors explains driving the machines requires multi-tasking abilities.
"You basically have three things to think about at the same time. It's a question of getting the right amount of pressure and timing with how you get the bucket in in relation to the ground."
Guests at Dig This can choose several machines -- from an excavator to a skid loader. And for many of the guests, the chance to drive one of these vehicles just whets their appetites.
"The next thing I want to try is one of those giant cranes," said guest Tom Reuter, "And hoist a big I-beam into place."
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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