Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Washington Stonehenge

This past weekend, I escaped to a weekend women's retreat in Molalla. The retreat was wonderful, but short on writing time. On the way home, though, I did stop at the American Stonehenge, which sits overlooking the Columbia River by Hwy. 97. As you can see below, I let my attempts at artistry get the better of me!

Stonehenge, in Maryhill, WA, has been sitting on that hill for 80 years. It seems strange to build a replica of Stonehenge overlooking the Columbia River, but it's actually a war memorial in memory of the Klickitat County soldiers who died in WWI. The builder, Sam Hill, was a Quaker pacifist who visited the English Stonehenge in 1918. When told that the site had been used for human sacrifices (which probably isn't true), he said, "...the flower of humanity is still being sacrificed to the god of war." He returned home and started construction on the cement, full-scale replica that same year. It was completed in 1930.


Stonehenge from across the parking lot...or do I mean the "car park"?


Yes, I warned you about the artistry!


More artistry.


The view east from inside the monument.


The view of the Hwy. 97 bridge across the Columbia to Biggs, OR.
...

No comments: