Site & Project Updates
July 18, 2020
Due to both space and Facebook sharing issues, I've split the LCRH pages off onto it's own website.
Hopefully, this will be fairly indistiguishable and seamlessly integrated into the whole www.RecreatingTheHCRH.org deal, unlike the Old Oregon Trail Highway website, I really don't want this to feel like a unique site. It will also give me room for a deeper dive into the North Bank Highway (Evergreen / Wash 14) later...
Finally, I realized that this means that a lot of internal page links might lead to outdated content or dead links in the near future, but over time it will all get sorted out and, in the end, this is going to be the best solution moving ahead for now!
July 16, 2020
9:30 pm
It is finished. Going to pass the hat around one last time! An insane amount of work went into this!
10:30 pm
Well, I started in January and just finished the site rebuild on the Historic Columbia River Highway website... 846 hours later, a lot of new content along with repairing what was broken from data losses and site migrations, I hope this is something to be proud of! And I am going to pass the hat one last time (846 HOURS!)... I'll gladly appreciate some tips, please and thank you! (gf.me/u/xmar2w)
July 5, 2020
Due to space issues, I've moved the Upper Highway section of the website to the Old Oregon Trail Highway website.
Need to rebuild this from the back-up site after the great oops of 3/4/2020. No rush, I am probably the only one who finds it interesting anyway!
Project Updates
December 7, 2013 - With the descent of winter, the time has come to huddle up at home, to work on the web site, and to get through a significant backlog of photos to be edited and posted. Research also continues, at this point mostly focusing on actually pinning down the original HCRH route itself.
I believe that I have explored most of the existing, abandoned segments, though there are a couple, notable exceptions. I've been neglecting the completed State Trail segments (except for the new McCord Creek to Moffett Creek segment), and this is a high priority for me to cover this winter since it is much nicer to stick to developed trails in the wet and cold than to be bushwhacking through the damp brush this time of the year.
However, for the most part, for the next couple months, my focus will be on building this site while working through the backlog of photos that have yet to appear either here or on the Facebook Page.
December 5, 2013 - According to the HCRH Advisory Committee September 24 meeting minutes, some folks from Laughing Deva Productions (http://www.laughingdeva.net/index.php/portfolio) are working on a project similar to this one. It is important to note that the committee refused to offer "exclusive" support.
from http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/HCRH/docs/agendas/Dec2013_packet.pdf
2016 Historic Highway Video
Barbara Briggs shared that she, Ernie Drapela and Marc Berry had met to discuss the value of
the Laughing Diva productions proposal of creating a video and/or book to commemorate the
Historic Columbia River Highway on its 100th anniversary. They had liked the idea of compiling
short video clips that could be coupled with QR codes that could be located along the trail.
However, they acknowledged that the HCRH AC could not provide the funding to do the project
nor could they exclusively endorse the project. They decided to develop a statement of
recommendation to provide the group with support while they are looking for monetary
resources to complete the project. This statement does not commit the HCRH AC to monetary
resources but does state that the advisory committee could commit time and access to historic
resources for the project. Ms. Briggs then read the statement that they had prepared:
The Historic Columbia River Highway Advisory Committee is supportive of the video and book
project being undertaken by Laughing Deva Productions in honor of the 100th Anniversary of
the Historic Highway in 2016. We wish them good luck on the project and will do our best to
respond to requests for Historic resource materials and to provide suggestions of whom to
involve in telling the highway’s story.
The committee will do their best to respond to their requests and make suggestions about who
to speak to in telling the story. The committee can provide them with information but they
cannot be exclusively supportive. Peter Marbach and Michael Friend thanked the committee
for their support. They said that when they meet with funding sources they will inform the
sources that they have spoken to the HCRH AC and received their support. They also have
access to public information and resources through ODOT. Ms. Briggs clarified that the HCRH
AC was ‘supportive’ of the project instead of stating that the HCRH AC are ‘supporters’ or ‘are
supporting’. It needs to be clear that the HCRH AC is not endorsing or providing monetary
resources for the project.
Judy Davis asked if the statement committed ODOT or OPRD to funding the project. Dennis
Comfort said that any information request would have to go through a public records request
at either ODOT or OPRD. He confirmed that the statement did not commit OPRD or ODOT to
provide any funding for the project. Ms. Briggs proposed that the HCRH AC formally adopt the
statement. Marc Berry seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
Site Updates
December 28, 2014: Well, after six weeks and more hours than I'd care to count, the site is finally rebuilt! There's a couple known issues I'll be taking care of over the next few weeks as I start adding new content, but the site is fully up and running now!
December 15, 2014: Work continues repairing photo links and reorganizing the site into sub-pages. It is slow going, but I am getting to write a little here and there, explaining a bit better a few things and telling the story of the road a bit better than before. Still mostly photos and quotes, the real story telling will come much later in this process...
Unfortunately, this repair job is a much bigger one than I'd originally guessed. I am already almost a month into this task, and while a lot has been done, there's still a lot of work left to be done. Unfortunately, before it's done, I'll need to move on from full time work here... Tomorrow (well, later today, at this point in the evening), I am going to put in one last full day push towards completion. After that, I'll be trying to finish one or two sections per day until it is done. Hopefully, it won't take too long, because as I've moved through the site, I've realized how much new content I have to put up, how many gaps need to be filled with material sitting ready and waiting to be posted, and I look forward to adding new material instead of cleaning up and fixing the old stuff.
Over the last year, sometimes it's felt like I haven't done much here, and from time to time I've even considered moving on, but seeing that it is taking a month just to fix the pictures here, coupled with all the time spent out in the field taking the pictures, well... This repair job has reminded me just how much time I've invested in this project so far. While there's still a long ways to go, still a lot to be done, seeing what has been completed already has renewed my spirit and has me fired up to see this project through to the end.
December 9, 2014: Off to the Advisory Committee meeting today at 10 in the Hood River County Commission chambers...
These quarterly meetings are always great to spur me onto to frenzied website building in the week or two leading into them. Unfortunately, this time, it was spent on repair work - repair work that is still continuing!
The first half of the site is pretty much restored and repaired. The second half, not so much. So, for any new folks wandering through: Please forgive the temporarily dead photo links... They will be repaired this week!
November 30, 2014: Reorganization of the site continues, including the long overdue creation of sub-pages. Also, the process of migrating my photos to a new host is ongoing. Bear with the dead photo links for now, since it will be easier for me to rebuild those once the basic re-organization of the site is complete. Research is also happening, and new written content will be added as a part of this process.
November 20, 2014: I am in the process of reorganizing the website before, and as, I add a bunch of new research notes... Please forgive me if things are a little hard to find and, sometimes, just in the wrong place as I work through this process. Still working on the issue with the missing pictures, too, though that fix may take a little longer.
November 18, 2014: Not sure why but a lot of the photos on the website that I've been hosting on Facebook are no longer showing on the website. I'll be working on this, but it may take awhile...
November 2014: Over the next few weeks, I'll be adding material from a number of sources to many different pages. Because of this, recording updates to specific highway sections will be cumbersome and, often, redundant...
2014-09-05:
Added material from the Westport Tunnel blog post...
Added historical photos to several pages.
2014-09-02:
Back to work here after a bit of a pause this summer. Got to travel a bit and to refresh myself with some wonderful, non-HCRH locations, but now I am home and it's back to work on the old highway!
001 - LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY
033 - HCRH - MOSIER TO CHENOWETH
009A - ALEX BARR ROAD
009B - PALMER MILL ROAD & UPPER BRIDAL VEIL
001 - LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY
036 - SHERMAN AND GUILLIAM COUNTIES
2014-06-20:
036A - MARYHILL
037 - MORROW COUNTY AND UMATILLA
2014-06-06:
029 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION H - RUTHTON POINT TO RUTHTON PARK
034 - CHENOWETH & THE DALLES
2014-06-03:
002 - PORTLAND TO TROUTDALE
2014-06-02:
017 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - EAGLE CREEK TO CASCADE LOCKS
026 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION E - VIENTO TO MITCHELL CREEK
017A - EAGLE CREEK
2014-05-30:
032 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - HOOD RIVER TO MOSIER
2014-05-21:
Map KML updated
009 - HCRH - LATOURELL TO BRIDAL VEIL JUNCTION
014 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - JOHN B YEON STATE PARK TO MOFFETT CREEK
020 - HCRH - HERMAN CREEK TO WYETH
021 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION A - WYETH TO SHELLROCK MOUNTAIN
022 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION B - SHELLROCK MOUNTAIN TO SUMMIT CREEK
2014-04-25:
Going to be busy with other projects the next week or two. While I may get a little done here and there on this site, it is pretty much on hold for a couple weeks. See you in May!
2014-04-16:
Added historical maps from the HCRH / I-84 interchange to the Hood River / Wasco County line.
2014-04-11:
Wow, it looks like we are going to have some spectacular weather the next few days, so I'm planning on spending three of the next four days out in the Gorge finishing my "survey" of the old highway route.
Then it is a lot of desk time, editing the photos (not just from the next few days, but from many previous trips, as well), finishing the map, and adding a lot of research notes, finishing the "rough draft" of the website.
A year into this project, and it is starting to feel like I've accomplished something!
2014-04-04:
006 - HCRH - STARK STREET TO CHANTICLEER POINT
005 - STARK STREET
2014-04-01:
036 - SHERMAN AND GUILLIAM COUNTIES
037 - MORROW COUNTY AND UMATILLA
035 - HCRH - THE DALLES TO THE DESCHUTES
2014-03-31:
I am seeing the need for a major structural overhaul on the website, and I will be doing this in about a month. By then, I should have most of my current research and photos up, and that will be a good time to restructure the "virtual tour" of the highway.
Until then, I ask for some patience with the long pages, especially as they grow between now and then. Because this site is first and foremost a tool for my own use, it is live, warts and all, through alpha and beta phases where most web sites would not be live to the general public...
It's not a like a book that goes through drafts and revisions before being released to the public, it is all going up and live in real time as I put all the pieces together.
2014-03-28:
Many changes to many pages, but most of my time over the last couple weeks has been spent bushwhacking through some old, abandoned highway sections and spent organizing my data onto the map. It is still incomplete, but I should have it filled in as well as I can at this point by the end of next week.
2014-03-28:
Many changes to many pages, but most of my time over the last couple weeks has been spent bushwhacking through some old, abandoned highway sections and spent organizing my data onto the map. It is still incomplete, but I should have it filled in as well as I can at this point by the end of next week.
2014-03-21:
I've made a decision. Up to now I've been using the Facebook page to host the images for this site, but the compression they use there is just mangling the pictures. For now, I'll be switching to Google... They just seem a little less garbled coming from that host.
001 - LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY
2014-03-16:
001 - LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY
020 - HCRH - HERMAN CREEK TO WYETH
2014-03-13:
001 - LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY
016 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - TANNER CREEK TO EAGLE CREEK
035 - HCRH - THE DALLES TO BIGGS
036 - BIGGS TO BOARDMAN
037 - BOARDMAN TO PENDLETON
2014-03-11:
Many changes to many pages... Click around and see what you notice!
2014-03-10:
002 - PORTLAND TO TROUTDALE
005 - STARK STREET
007 - HCRH - CHANTICLEER POINT TO CROWN POINT
008 - HCRH - CROWN POINT TO LATOURELL
009 - HCRH - LATOURELL TO BRIDAL VEIL JUNCTION
018 - CASCADE LOCKS
032 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - HOOD RIVER TO MOSIER
033 - HCRH - MOSIER TO THE DALLES
2014-03-04:
018 - CASCADE LOCKS
027 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION F - MITCHELL CREEK TO MITCHELL POINT TUNNEL
MISCELLANEOUS
032 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - HOOD RIVER TO MOSIER
2014-03-02:
012 - HCRH - MULTNOMAH FALLS TO HORSETAIL FALLS
013 - HCRH - HORSETAIL FALLS TO JOHN B. YEON STATE PARK
016 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - TANNER CREEK TO EAGLE CREEK
2014-03-01:
MISCELLANEOUS
007 - HCRH - CHANTICLEER POINT TO CROWN POINT
008 - HCRH - CROWN POINT TO LATOURELL
009 - HCRH - LATOURELL TO BRIDAL VEIL JUNCTION
010 - HCRH - BRIDAL VEIL JUNCTION TO WEST MULTNOMAH VIADUCT
011 - HCRH - MULTNOMAH FALLS (INCLUDING VIADUCTS)
012 - HCRH - MULTNOMAH FALLS TO HORSETAIL FALLS
025 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - STARVATION CREEK TO VIENTO
2014-02-27:
002 - PORTLAND TO TROUTDALE
013 - HCRH - HORSETAIL FALLS TO JOHN B. YEON STATE PARK
2014-02-26:
001 - WEST OF PORTLAND
01-13-2014:
While I've got a ton of photos for sections 002 - 018 that are well overdue for posting, I will be focusing, for the week or two, on getting through my backlog of pictures from the Milepost 2016 segments. After that, I will go back to the beginning to fill the rest of the segments in with new material.
01-09-2014:
For the next week or two, I will be adding so much content to so many pages that it seems counter-productive, not to mention potentially overwhelming (both for visitors and for myself), to do a daily, page by page update.
I will resume that practice once the rate of site building decreases a tad. I've been collecting photos and research since April and, for the next couple weeks, I am focused on getting as much of that material posted as rapidly as possible so I can start moving ahead with the next stages of this project.
01-07-2014 -
023 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION C - SUMMIT CREEK TO LINDSEY CREEK
01-06-2014 -
002 - PORTLAND TO TROUTDALE
004 - HCRH - TROUTDALE TO STARK STREET BRIDGE
005 - STARK STREET
01-05-2014 -
001 - WEST OF PORTLAND
01-01-2014 -
007 - HCRH - CHANTICLEER POINT TO CROWN POINT
12-30-2013 -
025 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - STARVATION CREEK TO VIENTO
December 30, 2013 - As the first year of this project wraps up (sort of, I started in April), I've finished migrating the content I've collected so far from the Segment albums on the Facebook Page to this website. It's not pretty yet, just a massive info dump, and it's pretty sparse in some areas. I'll spend more time on formatting later, but right now it is mostly about getting as much information up as possible.
My next priority is to spend the next couple weeks finally getting through the large back log of photos I have from the Spring and Fall, editing and posting them here and on the FB page, before moving on to more research about what I've found along the highway so far.
There is much to come, much, much more work to be done, but I am happy to end the year with the site up and running. Now I just need to fill it up with pictures and research!
December 7, 2013 - After filling up the Facebook page albums to the point where the organization is becoming unwieldy, I've started some more serious work on building this site. Right now, it is pretty skeletal, but I am busy migrating content here from the Facebook page and doing some slight reorganizing of the material I have collected so far.
For now, the focus of this project will be completing this migration and editing the remainder of the photos from the Spring and Fall.
Of course, this site is very rough right now, and there will be much polishing over the months and years to come...
December 6, 2013 - This site is still being built. Nothing here yet. Patience!
As of December 30, 2013, the following pages are updated to be current with the Facebook Albums:
001 - WEST OF PORTLAND
003 - TROUTDALE
004 - HCRH - TROUTDALE TO STARK STREET BRIDGE
007 - HCRH - CHANTICLEER POINT TO CROWN POINT
008 - HCRH - CROWN POINT TO LATOURELL
009 - HCRH - LATOURELL TO BRIDAL VEIL JUNCTION
010 - HCRH - BRIDAL VEIL JUNCTION TO WEST MULTNOMAH VIADUCT
011 - HCRH - MULTNOMAH FALLS (INCLUDING VIADUCTS)
012 - HCRH - MULTNOMAH FALLS TO HORSETAIL FALLS
013 - HCRH - HORSETAIL FALLS TO JOHN B. YEON STATE PARK
014 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - JOHN B YEON STATE PARK TO MOFFETT CREEK
015 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - MOFFETT CREEK TO TANNER CREEK
016 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - TANNER CREEK TO EAGLE CREEK
017 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - EAGLE CREEK TO CASCADE LOCKS
018 - CASCADE LOCKS
020 - HCRH - HERMAN CREEK TO WYETH
021 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION A - WYETH TO SHELLROCK MOUNTAIN
022 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION B - SHELLROCK MOUNTAIN TO SUMMIT CREEK
023 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION C - SUMMIT CREEK TO LINDSEY CREEK
024 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION D - LINDSEY CREEK TO STARVATION CREEK
025 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - STARVATION CREEK TO VIENTO
026 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION E - VIENTO TO MITCHELL CREEK
027 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION F - MITCHELL CREEK TO MITCHELL POINT TUNNEL
028 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION G - MITCHELL POINT EAST TO RUTHTON POINT
029 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION H - RUTHTON POINT TO RUTHTON PARK
030 - HOOD RIVER
031 - HCRH - HOOD RIVER LOOPS
032 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - HOOD RIVER TO MOSIER
033 - HCRH - MOSIER TO THE DALLES
034 - THE DALLES
035 - HCRH - THE DALLES TO BIGGS
036 - EAST OF BIGGS
PIT STOPS, REST AREAS, DETOURS, & SIDE TRIPS
LATOURELL
2013-12-30 - The following pages are updated to be current with the Facebook Albums:
021 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION A - WYETH TO SHELLROCK MOUNTAIN
022 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION B - SHELLROCK MOUNTAIN TO SUMMIT CREEK
025 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - STARVATION CREEK TO VIENTO
027 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION F - MITCHELL CREEK TO MITCHELL POINT TUNNEL
028 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION G - MITCHELL POINT EAST TO RUTHTON POINT
029 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION H - RUTHTON POINT TO RUTHTON PARK
030 - HOOD RIVER
031 - HCRH - HOOD RIVER LOOPS
032 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - HOOD RIVER TO MOSIER
033 - HCRH - MOSIER TO THE DALLES
034 - THE DALLES
035 - HCRH - THE DALLES TO BIGGS
036 - EAST OF BIGGS
2013-12-29 - The following pages are updated to be current with the Facebook Albums:
007 - HCRH - CHANTICLEER POINT TO CROWN POINT
008 - HCRH - CROWN POINT TO LATOURELL
009 - HCRH - LATOURELL TO BRIDAL VEIL JUNCTION
010 - HCRH - BRIDAL VEIL JUNCTION TO WEST MULTNOMAH VIADUCT
011 - HCRH - MULTNOMAH FALLS (INCLUDING VIADUCTS)
012 - HCRH - MULTNOMAH FALLS TO HORSETAIL FALLS
013 - HCRH - HORSETAIL FALLS TO JOHN B. YEON STATE PARK
015 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - MOFFETT CREEK TO TANNER CREEK
016 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - TANNER CREEK TO EAGLE CREEK
018 - CASCADE LOCKS
020 - HCRH - HERMAN CREEK TO WYETH
2013-12-10 - The following pages are updated to be current with the Facebook Albums:
LATOURELL
2013-12-10 - The following pages are updated to be current with the Facebook Albums:
024 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION D - LINDSEY CREEK TO STARVATION CREEK
2013-12-09 - The following pages are updated to be current with the Facebook Albums:
017 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - EAGLE CREEK TO CASCADE LOCKS
023 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION C - SUMMIT CREEK TO LINDSEY CREEK
2013-12-08 - The following pages are updated to be current with the Facebook Albums:
001 - WEST OF PORTLAND
003 - TROUTDALE
004 - HCRH - TROUTDALE TO STARK STREET BRIDGE
014 - HCRH STATE TRAIL - JOHN B YEON STATE PARK TO MOFFETT CREEK
026 - MILEPOST 2016 - SECTION E - VIENTO TO MITCHELL CREEK