I can admit to myself and to everyone around me that I am a lover of history. I love reading about historical events, I have my favorite historical time periods and historical figures, and I love to take trips to see historical places in real life. One of the reasons I loved spending time in Europe this past spring was the sheer amount of history that was built into every street and around every corner.
It is something that we are not afforded in the United States seeing as how this country has only been around for about 250 years. The history that we have and we remember in this country is special and should be treasured. We should protect the short amount of history that we have been able to create in the past and not be rid of it for any reason, especially the history on the state level, and not just the national history of our independence.
I began thinking about all of this as I was planning a nice day trip with my boyfriend. I had heard about Vance Creek Bridge (also known as "That NW Bridge") from several friends, and of course the way it blew up on the internet. As I began researching where it is and how to get there the other day, I came across a disturbing article.
The Vance Creek Bridge is being dismantled by those that own the property it sits on.
The Vance Creek Bridge is the second highest railroad bridge ever built in the United States sitting at 347 feet above Vance Creek and spans 422 feet across. It was originally built in 1929 and the bridge was eventually abandoned. However, in recent years it has become a large tourist location thanks to the beautiful, jaw-dropping views the bridge offers and the way social media media was able to capture this and inspire others to visit this destination.
Of course, since this bridge is such a popular destination on sunny days, the owners of the property have been reporting problems with visitors. There have been reports of littering and fires, as well as the graffiti which can be seen in many of the photos posted on the internet.
I am a lover of history, and this bridge is a piece of Washington State's past. I do not think that it should be slowly taken a part so no one remembers the significance of the Vance Creek Bridge anymore. Though the only significance the Vance Creek Bridge can boast is that of its height and what it was created for: a way to aid the logging industry, it should stay standing and in tact. Nothing can become historical or centuries old if all we ever do is destroy what we have been given by our ancestors.
Do I think that means visitors can do whatever they want when they go see this bridge? Absolutely not. The Girl Scout in me believes that if you visit this historic site then you should treat it with care by picking up your trash, not doing any damage, and leaving the location better than the way it was found.
Unfortunately, it seems as I will not be taking in this piece of Washington history this summer. I have my fingers crossed that by the time the weather gets nicer next summer that the owners of the property have worked out a way to safely allow visitors to take in this historical marvel.
