The Mysteries of Maryhill

July 24, 2012

The sun rises rather early here on the Columbia, so we're up and at 'em...our research leads us to believe that there is much to see and learn about here in Maryhill.

The key to unlocking the mysteries of Maryhill begins with understanding how it got its name. In 1907, Sam Hill bought 5,000 acres of land here along the river in the hopes of establishing a Quaker community. He named the property after his daughter, Mary Hill...not to be confused with his wife, also Mary Hill and whose maiden name was also Mary Hill...really, we're not making this up...

Now, as Sam Hill was planning his Quaker community on the plateau above the river, he also went on his merry (of should we say Mary) way pursuing his other interests. First and foremost Sam Hill was a "good roads" fanatic, meaning he was a proponent of creating good roads to help people travel about. As part of his campaign to promote the potential of good roads, Sam Hill actually created what he thought was the perfect road. Hill designed an all-weather road that would gradually climb from the Columbia River and railroad line at the bottom of the hill to the top of the hill where his Quaker utopian community was to be. Today there is nothing here, and the land is rented out to cattle farmers for grazing...and of course there are the obligatory wind turbines...

So, this is the first Maryhill mystery we're going to tackle today...so we pack up the bikes and take the short drive to the bottom of the Maryhill Loops Road. The Loops Road is 3.6 miles of twisting and turning road (nice and smooth since it was repaved in 1998) and rises 850 feet without exceeding a 5% grade. To achieve this, Hill had to create a total of 25 curves - eight of which are hairpins...all in just 3.6 miles.

It starts out easy enough with a long straight stretch that curves gently under some shady trees...then it is nothing but uphill and turns...

While we're on the road we really don't have a sense of how much it twists, but at a couple points we get a great perspective of the snake we're climbing...

After about a half hour of riding uphill and around corners, we reach the end of the road...and actually the good pavement ended a few hundred yards before this...

Now comes the fun part...zooming down this hill with all of its turns and hairpin corners...it took thirty minutes to reach the top, but only five minutes to reach the bottom...doing the math, that's about 42 miles per hour!

It is easy to understand why the international championships for downhill skateboarding and street luge are held right here on this hill...that was fun!

Ok, so unlocking that mystery didn't really take that long, so what mystery should we unlock next? Well, that sign by the entrance to the loops road said something about the Maryhill Museum of Art...let's see what that's all about...

So we load up our bikes and hit the road to drive a couple of miles south to the museum...Here's the background: After he purchased his 5,000 acres in 1907, Sam Hill formed a land company and began building a town that was to be his Quaker utopia. In 1914, Hill started building what was to be his residence, a large mansion made of concrete (what else would a road fanatic use?!). By 1917 the land business tanked and construction on the mansion stopped. A friend of Hill's convinced him to complete the mansion to become a museum, and Hill's eclectic collection of friends helped gather together a collection. Sam Hill died in 1931, and the Museum was not finished and did not open until 1940, again through the help of friends.

What sort of art collection could be here in Maryhill?! That's the next mystery we're about to unlock...

We arrive right as the museum is opening, so we're the first guests of the day...we have to say one thing for Sam Hill, he knew how to pick a piece of property with a nice view!

On the way to the entrance we're greeted by this shiny steel silhouette of a man that is about ten or twelve feet tall...it caught our eye due to its uniqueness...

...but as we walked around it it got even more amazing...check this out...

The main floor of the museum features quite a collection of furniture, royal gowns, royal portraits, a few tiaras and crowns...rather eclectic at first blush, but apparently Sam Hill became a friend of Queen Marie of Romania and she donated a few pieces to get the museum's collection started...

Some of the paintings are noteworthy...this one is The Funeral of Victor Hugo by Alfred Philippe Roll done in 1885...

On the lower level of the museum there is quite an interesting assortment of collections...there are baskets and tools and clothing from the native Americans from across the country, and this interesting collection...apparently Sam Hill liked chess sets...

Now, we don't play alot of chess around our house, but Michael thinks this would be a great set for him to learn on...bronze overlaid in gold...

Anothe section of the lower level is all pieces having to do with Auguste Rodin, the French sculptor (think "Thinker"...). This is a sculpture of Rodin done by someone else...

Many of the pieces in this collection are drawings that show the idea for a sculpture, and studies done in plaster, as well as a few finished bronzes. Here's an example of a finished bronze vase being held up by four figures, and the museum also has the plaster studies for each of the four figures that eventually were married to create the finished piece...

On the upper level is one of the most interesting things we've ever seen...the Theatre de la Mode. This is a collection of sets and figures used in post-second world war Paris. Paris has always been the Mecca of high fashion, but after the war there was a shortage of fabrics and materials for fashion shows and clothing, so instead of creating fashion lines in real sizes, designers created their fashions in miniature and showed them that way. These shows also went on the road to New York, and other major cities of the world. And the last collection of this form of fashion presentation is right here in Maryhill! Imagine!

Here you can get a sense of scale...Patty has stepped in wearing her own fashion...we call it Girly Cyclist...

We decide to get out of our cycling duds and into some haute couture of our own...

Outside on the grounds of the museum, several more modern pieces are on display...

Well, that mystery was fascinating...who would have thunk it?! But as we get this mystery unlocked we are preoccupied by another that has been festering in our brains since we got here to the museum...when we looked at that gorgeous mountain view to the west from the grounds of the museum we saw lush green swaths in the otherwise dry and rocky landscape...hmmm, that is a mystery! And we're on a roll so we're going to unlock this one too...so we hop in the Roadtrek and head west to sleuth this one out...

And look what we found...! Imagine us finding a winery! What are the odds?!

Yes, it's the Maryhill Winery...we're familiar with their wines, and now we have the chance to see the winery...

As you enter the winery parking lot you get a view of this stage and amphitheater lawn...it's the Maryhill Stage, and they feature some pretty amazing musicians and bands...we see the scheduled performers on our way into the winery and unfortunately we are here right between Earth, Wind and Fire and Chris Isaak...rats!

The patio outside the winery is cool and shaded by the grape vines growing overhead...a nice place for lunch or dinner before the show...

Inside we are presented with a riddle...the Classic Flight or the Reserve Flight...which to choose to unlock this mystery...?

Well, of course it's the reserve flight...! We tasted a few great wines (and took several with us) and hit the road for one more mystery...

Over the millennia, Stonehenge has baffled scientists...was is some sort of astronomical observatory? Was it a place of religious practice, or human sacrifice, or burial? Was it some sort of landmark put in place by visiting aliens? Well, we're on a roll solving mysteries, so we're pretty confident we can solve this one too...right here in Maryhill. See that up there on the crest of the hill? Stonehenge! And we're gonna ride up there to check it out...

Once we get going up the hill on our bikes we notice two things...first, everyone passing us in a car has a look of wonderment (or worse, incredulity) on their faces...and the second is that this road does not conform to Sam Hill's design of a maximum grade of 5%...this hill is steep!!

What is this...the Col de Tourmalet?! Neither of us will be wearing the red polka dot jersey after this stage...

We can see our campground from up here...!

After what seems like a day of burning legs and breathlessness we arrive at our objective...Stonehenge!

Well, that's kind of anticlimactic...apparently someone already solved the mystery...and put it on a plaque!

This Stonehenge was created by...yes, Sam Hill...and it's made of...yes, concrete. We're quietly questioning the effort it took to get up here...

It seems that Sam Hill paid a visit to the original Stonehenge sometime during the First World War and was told (erroneously) that it was a place of human sacrifice. So he came home to Maryhill and recreated the Stonehenge as a memorial to the men from the local area whose lives had been sacrificed on the field of battle. Each serviceman is memorialized on a plaque on one of the monoliths...you can see a couple on the large arched stone in the center of the photo below...

Sam Hill's crypt is located not too far from his Stonehenge, just down the hill on a ledge overlooking the river below...we take it all in from the monument, and try to deal with the disappointment of a mystery already solved...

This is the final resting place of Sam Hill...and his profile that was on the facade of his mansion...he really was a man of vision and grand plans...

Adjacent to the Stonehenge Memorial is a continuation of memorials for all the men and women from Klickitat County who have given their lives in service to our country...

Now it's time to head for home...we can see our campground in the distance...just shy of that bridge which is the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge...all the green around our campground is orchards, and we're gonna take a little ride through them on our way back to our campsite...

Ahhhhh, some shade...turns out this is a walnut tree...Patty gets off her bike to find a nut...she doesn't realize there's one behind her taking this picture..

We pass groves of apricots and peaches...and these trees are loaded with fruit!

It seems we can't go anywhere without finding a winery...

At the intersection of Stonehenge Road sits an old church that was established in 1888...before anyone had heard of Sam Hill...

...and across the street is an old gas station...maybe this is where folks filled up their cars before driving up to see Stonehenge...

Along the road back to our campground are a series of fruit stands selling fruit just picked from the trees we see all around us...

Row after row after row of fruit trees...and another fruit stand!

After we get back to the campground we hit the showers...50 cents for three minutes...the best two quarters we spent today...then it's time for a well-earned cold beer.

This evening is a little mysterious too, with absolutely no wind at all...in a place that is known around the world for strong consistent winds...but look st this...it's absolutely calm so the river is almost like glass...

...and that makes for great rock-skipping conditions! The beach here has countless flat round rocks just perfect for skipping...

Whew! What a full day, and several Maryhill Mysteries solved! We are ready for a good night sleep and in the morning we head to one of our favorite places of all...Mount Rainier!

 

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