by Karen Frazier
Paranormal Underground

(click on any of the images to view it larger)

Highway 14 in Washington State is both desolate and stunning. On one side are golden rolling hills filled with orchards, crops and wind farms.

On the other side is a verdant valley through which the mighty Columbia flows.

Tucked into the middle of all of this scenery in the tiny town of Maryhill, Washington sits Washington State’s very own Stonehenge.

Built in the early 1900s by Sam Hill (what in the Sam Hill? Yeah – that guy) as a memorial to WWI soldiers from Klickitat County who died in the war, Washington’s Stonehenge is a full-sized, near exact replica of the original. Walking through its symmetrical layout and peeking at the crops that show between its pillars, one almost expects to see a crop circle.

The drive and the views are gorgeous. The wind is ferocious (hence the wind generators, I suppose). If you need more than scenery and a roadside oddity, you can also stop in Maryhill and visit the Maryhill Winery and Maryhill Museum, which is Sam Hill’s former mansion on the Columbia. The museum is (as many mansions are) rumored to be haunted.

Maryhill Winery

Maryhill Museum

More images from the area:

The view into the Columbia River Valley from Stonehenge

One almost expects to see a crop circle in the surrounding crops

Jim and Kevin check out the structure

Jim and Kevin love having touristy pictures taken by crazy ladies with cameras

Matthew braves the wind

The backside. Unfortunately, even Stonehenge isn't exempt from graffitti.

crops in the river valley

Why teenagers hate their mothers (Matthew, Kevin and Tanner in a shot they never wanted to pose for)