Clynn and I had heard about the Stonehenge replica in Eastern Washington. That was all we knew about it when we stuck it on our bucket list.
What we didn’t know, was that it is also a World War I Memorial Site. Inscribed on plaques mounted to the concrete are soldiers who were residents of Klickitat County, Washington. A few hundred yards in the other direction is a memorial site for residents of Klickitat County who also died in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan.
The site was funded by A wealthy entrepreneur, Sam Hill. It stands in Maryhill, Washington overlooking the Columbia River.
Clynn and I were drawn to it because the original Stonehenge in England is known to be a very mysterious yet insanely accurate structure.
It clearly had intention, but what it was to those who originally constructed it is a complete mystery to the modern age. There are many hypotheses. Many even claim to “know”….but we don’t really know.
We do know that the altar in the original structure is flawlessly placed to align with the summer solstice sunrise each year. We also know dimensions within the structure have insanely accurate distances that (not so) coincidentally match measurements within our solar system to a T…things we have no clue how they knew.
The original structure also uses architectural methods the modern age can in no way replicate perfectly. We just don’t have the power. None of our machines or men can do what they did when building the original Stonehenge. Even our replica, is beginning to fall apart where the one in England stands strong.
Sam Hill believed the original monument to have been a sacrificial site. He commissioned the monument as a reminder that “Humanity is still capable of being sacrificed to the God of War”. Check out more on that HERE.
At the risk of offending every one who reads this:
Clynn and I found the monument doubling as a memorial to be….annoying. The history of the original structure is unknown. We wanted to explore, take our own visual measurements, make our own predictions, and create some art while we were there.
Taking a massively historical monument and placing meaning on it that is entirely hypothesized is a bit insane. We’re all for memorial sites and honoring the sacredness of them…but we don’t even believe that altar was used for human (maybe not even animal) sacrifice. The memorial was built on a concept that is entirely made up.
We visited just a week early of the summer solstice which will take place this upcoming Friday, June 21st.
We took a few photos inside the monument and moved out side of it to really play with our cameras to honor the part of the monument that was dedicated on possibly false pretense. It is what it is.
We definitely recommend taking a trip! Our kiddos loved playing hide and seek in the stones and running the circles within circles. Definitely keep young ones within an arms reach as there are drop offs not insanely close, but not that that far from the site, either.
As a Veteran myself, I celebrate life and am saddened by those who die in violence. This, however, is a replica of Stonehenge. Something Clynn and I believe was used as a calculator of sorts and possibly a celebration monument rather than a violent one.
The kiddos watched some shows in the car after tiring themselves out and Clynn and I caught the last few moments of soft light before heading home.
Concerning this set: The day before we took these portraits we found inspiration in a recent copy of The Wall Street Journal magazine. We wanted to get a little funky. A little creative. We wanted to see if we could find more inspiration in editorial fashion photography.
The boys and I had been out adventuring Eastern Washington for a while and my hair was dirty, straw-like with a layer of sunscreen sprayed into it over the course of three sunny-hot days. We decided to roll with it. In a strong way.
I hope you enjoy this creative set!
Sincerely, Jaclynn & Clynn
When Clynn told me this set would be stronger if I took my shirt off.
He’s not wrong, but we’ll leave that up to the hired models for now. 😉
Thank you for sharing in depth the story behind this architectural piece! I had no idea this replica existed in Washington State. I throughly enjoyed your straw – like hair, it really added depth & dimension (;
Yay dirty sunscreen hair! It felt very Vogue. hahaha