Travels With Connie #57 Stonehenge
Sometimes I know exactly where I am going. In that case it’s easy, pick a route and go.
More often I have an idea where I’d like to end up, and generally speaking a direction to go.
.
Once in a while I just follow the front wheel and see where it takes me.
Mysterious Stonehenge. The very name conjures up visions of Druids and Kings and mysterious powers. I'm glad to finally get to see it right here in South Central Washington.
What? Stonehenge in Washington state, not England? This is thought to be a relatively exact copy of what the one in England looked like when it was all there.
This was built by Sam Hill, a wildly successful businessman and Son-in-Law of Jim Hill, owner of the Great Northern Railway. Sam Hill was a Quaker and pacifist who built this replica as a memorial to the men from Klickitat County that were killed in WWI.
As it happens, I have a great, great uncle (my greatgrandmother's brother) who was killed in WWI but he lived right across the river in Wasco County Oregon. So far as I know he is not remembered anyplace but a single cross in France.
This replica is made of cast concrete and if you don't look too closely it actually looks like hewn stone. The dimensions and alignment to the compass is precisely that of the original. It is even very close to the proper Latitude.
All in all it is an impressive monument to the folly of war. This is only a small part of the money that Sam Hill poured into the Columbia River Gorge. His Father-in-Laws railroad runs between Stonehenge and the river, and he built a mansion about 3 miles away that is now a fairly impressive art museum.
Sam Hill loved the area, and his tomb is just over the edge of the shelf from Stonehenge, which is probably his most famous project. But the Columbia River Highway, a completely paved road, was probably his best legacy. It's still in use and an incredibly beautiful drive.
This is the view from Stonehenge downstream on the Columbia. That bridge is what brought my Great Great Grandfather to the area. He arrived as an engineer on the project and decided to stay so he homesteaded in Wasco County, Oregon. They raised 13 children there, one of which was my Great Grandmother who lived to 98 so I got to know her fairly well. I've heard stories of the region.
Thanks for coming along for the ride.
All words and photographs in this post are mine. For better or worse
You want some real motorcycle travel? Check out Velimir. That’s some kind of motorcycle writing.
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Beautiful environment.... Hope you enjoyed ur trip
Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. And I'm not anywhere near home yet :)
Well, that's an interesting place to visit for anyone, but if you have a bit of family history in the area as well it's even more magical! Awesome trip you're making Tom, whoa, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself these weeks.
Awwwww. Thanks Soyrosa.
It is truly my 'ancestral homeland'. That part of earth that I know the best and it's related to me through family that has lived and died there.
That's astonishing! I wonder how he did it - when he travelled to England, did he take photos and measurements, or actual casts of the stones? I don't think you'd be allowed to do that today! He sounds like a fascinating character.
He was a real character! I'm sure he had enough pull to get all the measurements he needed from official sources. The whole thing is cast concrete made to look like the stones. It's pretty impressive, and was done in the 1920s.
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I guess when you have the kind of money old Sam Hill had you could build anything you wanted, I don't think a replica of Stonehenge would have ever made my" to build " list though. I could think of a lot of other things that would though.
Those are some nice shots of the river from that spot for sure, very scenic indeed.
Yep, old Sam had a couple of bucks. Nothing like his Father-in-Law Jim Hill, but he made a fair piece of money in the Pacific Northwest. He just loved the River and this area in particular. He developed a road paving system that is related to what we use today. In the days when there were a lot more horses than cars.
Sam was a pacifist. He traveled to Europe and saw the carnage of war and the 'other' Stonehenge in the same trip. I'm guessing those two things are related.
Thanks for stopping by. I have more than a few pictures of the river in the gorge that will show up pretty soon.
The architectural design is fascinating, it is a very good photo, you are very fortunate to be able to travel and see this design
Well, the design is pretty ancient, but the execution is pretty darn impressive. I am incredibly fortunate to be able to travel and see stuff like this.
You are very fortunate that you can travel and know this type of architectural structure, I would like to do the same but unfortunately I am in Venezuela, and well as most of the world will know the situation of the country does not lend itself to doing that kind of thing @bigtom13
I have never heard of this place, but wow how cool is that thanks for sharinf with us
It's just astounding to me. This is just an impressive piece and it's located in the sparsely populated Columbia River Gorge. It's a long ways to anywhere, and on the wrong side of the river for 'real traffic' but still gets quite a few visitors. I'd guess 50 people came and went during the time I was there.
@bigtom13 its kind of a shame that such a cool place has so few visitors
What a cool replica of the real thing!! I live that it was built as a memorial for fallen soldiers. I can imagine it is a great tourist attraction. I would come just for that view of the river from up there. So picturesque!! The places that front wheel and Connie will take you. The freedom and adventure of the open road continues!! Keep taking is on that ride my friend.
Oh. I really couldn't figure out how to work it in to the post, but I watched my first total eclipse of the sun there in 1979. Pretty cool viewing area, I was there with a whole lot of people...
that sounds so trippy x
Wow, these pictures are amazing! Ive always wanted to go to stone hedge, I hear the energy around it is something else. I don't know what it is about stuff like this that really intrigues me, I guess I feel it has a story to tell that one day we may unlock.. Thanks for sharing..
I would really like to be there for sun up on a solstice. I have visited other sites on those days, but never this one. I'm guessing that even this replica would feel pretty special.