Stonehenge II and Easter Island Moai in Hunt, Texas - 2008-05-27 02:05:35
<<< Previous - Love of Peanut Butter, and Confessions of a Picky Eater | Next - Nothing I Love Like A Book Meme >>>I've been meaning to blog about this for some time as these are some of my photos on Flickr that get the most views, which means someone out there must be interested!
First of all this is Stonehenge II, and it's located just outside of Hunt, Texas, near
Camp Stewart and Ingram, Texas. Here's the Google map of
Hunt, Texas - further directions at the end of the post.
My parents live in San Antonio, which is just to the east of Hunt. This is one of the many areas in the Texas Hill Country that we've taken road trips to, just to drive around and sightsee. We were actually going to Hunt so that my father could see Camp Stewart again - he had attended the camp for several years as a child and had many fond memories of the place. Driving along the road you come around a bend, and there it is...
First of all these are huge concrete sculptures...
My parents and I have now visited Stonehenge II about three times (once we didn't have time to stop, so just drove by), and each time it's been fun to see the way the landscape has changed - but even better, there is now a sign that gives the full history of the statues.
Previously this was the only sign that was outside the fence:
The sign reads:
Stonehenge II
Conceived by Al Shepperd and Doug Hill
Constructed by Doug Hill
The original, located on the Salisbury Plain in England, was built over 3500 years ago. Its purpose is unknown... and, perhaps, unknowable.
The last time I visited the site (July 17, 2006) a new sign had been erected, with the history of the sculptures:
Stonehenge II
A project by Al Shepperd
Designed and Constructed by Doug Hill
In 1989 Doug Hill tipped on end a massive limestone rock onto Al Shepperd's field. After looking at the rock and joking about it for months, Al and Doug decided to build an arch behind the rock to make it more visable to passers by. When the arch was built, Al was reminded of the original Stonehenge in England. He commissioned Doug to design and build a stonehenge. Stonehenge II is not a replica; it is about 2/3 the size of the original, and it is not oriented to the sun, as is the original. It is, however, Doug Hill's impression, in steel and concrete, of the nearly 5,000 year old circle of stones on the Salisbury Plain.
Construction took nine months. Doug and his assistants, Jose Navarro, Jesus Contreras and others, built the pillars by sinking steel rebar into concrete footings, wrapping the rebar with metal lathe and then applying cement.
The Easter Island statuary, for Al, was a natural partner for Stonehenge II. He had visited Easter Island and now thought the mystery of the construction of those magnificent statues was a complement to the mystery of Stonehenge.
Al Shepperd died in 1994; since his death, his family, with the help of great neighbors, has maintained the statuary and grounds.
Your contribution will enable this maintenance to continue for the enjoyment of the many who stop here.
I want to add that if any of you do manage to visit this site, please be sure to donate a few dollars. When I was there I noticed several piles of beer cans and broken bottles - which makes me think that the family not only has to maintain the grounds but also pick up a good deal of trash. Sadly we Americans are somewhat notorious for littering any tourist area. They don't sell souvenirs or anything of that sort, so it's only your donations that will make it worthwhile for them to keep these statues open to the public.
One of the reproductions of the
Easter Island heads known as moai. These along with some of the "stones" in the stonehenge are made of fiberglass. Note that in this image you can see the owners' house in the background, to the left of the statue. Which means that living there you'd wake up to a great view of stonehenge (it's on the far left, outside of the frame of the photo) and the moai. I can only imagine how fun that'd be - not to mention a tad surreal.
This photo shows a reproduction of the more complete type of moai, which includes a headpiece:
If you look to the right of that statue you can see yet another moai.
Though the stonehenge and the heads all look fairly close together in these photos they're actually somewhat far from each other. And in the Texas summer you'll find walking around the field to be a bit hot. Be sure to bring plenty of water as there's nowhere nearby to purchase anything to drink. Nearby Kerrville has many good places to eat, so I'd recommend finding lunch or dinner there.
From the best website to check reguarding all weird attractions,
Roadside America has good directions:
Stonehenge II and Easter Island Heads
Address: FM 1340, Hunt - Kerrville, TX [Show Map]
Directions: 80 miles west of San Antonio to Hunt. I-10 exit 506, Hwy 39 to Hunt, two miles west of Hunt on Farm Road 1340.
Hours: Daylight hours.
This site is free to visit (or was as of 2006), but again, be nice and donate a little something.
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