Elena and Gever cinch down the Nooi tree belt that will support the main structural elements of the walkway surface using paired screw drivers. This technique (first introduced to Tinkering School during the treehouse project last year) generates incredible torque and tension in the lines.

Anna arrives with her new utility belt - masking tape and a box-cutter - and she’s ready to make lashing lines.

We needed a Piki to walk out on the first cantilever and see if it would hold - with no railings, and no walkway, it was going to be a dangerous job - Sam immediately volunteered.

Though wobbly, newly fashioned structural elements held.

Sam throws away his walking poles and exults. We could all be a little more Sam-like and spontaneously celebrate our lives on a moment to moment basis, I think.

The Nooies are feeling the pressure after watching the Piki’s test their cantilevers, so they get right to their #1 and #2 sized poles (pole sizing follows the International Eucalyptus Structural Elements guidelines, 2007 edition).

Elena takes up the walking poles and makes her way out on the newly minted Nooi cantilevers. Since she only weighs 14 pounds, some of the Nooi wonder if this is a valid test of the structure.

The River King seems to like his new crown, but he remembers ordering a scepter as well…

NPR stopped by for a visit today and spent a couple of hours hanging out with the tinkerers. After looking at how he was dressed, Gever was glad it was radio and not television - at least he shaved.

Fiona and Brenna took Chana (NPR reporter) on a tour of the studio and pointed out some of the coolest features of the pinball machine.

“She’s more eloquent than half the people I work with,” says Bob after listening in on Fiona’s in-depth interview with Chana.

Putting up the walkway requires sitting on the work you’ve just done - this is an aid to concentration. Piper likes the new string color that we are using (as a result of a slight miscalculation on Gever’s part - he would like to know if there is a formula for determining how much line you will need for a bridge of a given length).

Since Anna has gone off to play on Sam’s new zip-line, Max takes over the line cutting.

Nikhil decides that the new Nooi walkway is probably safe, and he climbs up for a look around.

Until there is enough walkway to reach and lash the overlapping spars of the cantilever, the bridge is, shall we say, in a very dynamic state. Elena is nominated to lay in some of the furthest out cross pieces, because: she’s good at tying the line, and, she weighs, like, 3 pounds.

Anna is one of the types of arboreal monkeys which actually sleep in the tree tops. So, naturally, when work slowed down for a little while, she just closed her eyes and had a little nap.

After butt-bruising experiences hanging in the zip-line “chair” (which was just a loop of rope), Piper and Elena decided to make a new seat with foam cushioning.

The foam and board combo works very well.

Piper discovers that the new seat sits a little low for the big kids, and finds her ride cut short when it bottoms out.

With the bridge finished, it is time to unite the long-separated tribes of Piki and Nooi so that they may become the Pikinooi once again. Elena and Anna go first as ambassadors for their respective countries.

Bear witness to the historic moment when the Nooi and the Piki (here represented by Elena and Anna) ceremoniously join their two nations.

The River God had earlier declared that for lasting peace and prosperity to exist between the two tribes, they must all stand on the bridge together, over his head. He was appeased, and lo, peace and prosperity did blossom in the land, like daffodils.

The Pikinooi rejoiced at their great accomplishment, and yet the bridge held.

Unable to restrain himself, the River God took a stroll across the bridge and declared it the best in the land.

Walking across the elevated structure, one is struck by the amazing variability of the workmanship and then doubly struck by how solid the whole thing is. Really solid. You could park a Mercedes up here.

With no aforethought given to the aesthetics, the bridge is surprisingly lovely to look at. Tinkerers pause on their way too and from the studio to look at it, or touch it, or cross it.

From tree to shining tree. The sun emerges for a few minutes in the late afternoon to light up the bridge for a last look.

For bonus points, spot the phone from the kitchen that Gever left outside.