Homestead Museum, Fort Rock

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From the archives: A few photos from the Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum, near Fort Rock in remote Eastern Oregon. These were taken during the Great 2007 Mini-Roadtrip. On the map, above, the museum is the area on the left with a sort of loop road around it.



The museum wasn't open when I was there, and I'm not sure I would've taken the time to visit if it had been. I'm not really that fascinated by pioneer and homestead history, quite honestly. But there's a real visual appeal to weathered buildings in the desert. This is common knowledge among photographers, to the degree that it's hard to take a really original photo of weathered buildings in the desert anymore. I do kind of like the big scary signs for the security fence, which make for a fun contrast with the buildings from the rugged, independent Old West.



Despite what you might think, no social commentary is intended here. Irony, maybe. And even then, I can see a legitimate practical argument for the security fence, in that the buildings would probably be picked clean by vandals and souvenir hunters if there wasn't a fence. Also, when the zombie apocalypse comes, the fence might make this a good place to hole up for a while. Sort of like Resident Evil: Extinction, come to think of it -- which I just happened to watch last night. Although if you expect a long siege by the legions of the undead, you'd probably want to move the buildings and security gear over to Fort Rock itself if possible. Just sayin'.