2020 Crowdfunding Update #3

Shepperd's Dell Falls and Bridge
Shepperd's Dell State Natural Area. Oregon.
April 18, 2014
https://sites.google.com/site/recreatingthehcrh/historic-columbia-river-highway/shepperds-dell/shepperds-dell-trail

Heading into the final week or so of the website rebuild (www.RecreatingTheHCRH.org), I am finding myself in a position where I need to pass the crowdfunding hat around again to see this work through to the end. (https://www.gofundme.com/f/recreatingthehcrh)

Due to the Covid-19 shutdowns, I ended up having a lot more time to work on the website than I originally expected, and I was able to accomplish a lot more with a lot less income over the last couple months. Because of this, instead of just repairing the site, I was able to add a significant amount of new content as I worked through the pages, and the site is a lot larger, more detailed and, hopefully, a bit easier to navigate than it ever has been before.

Since the fundraiser started, I’ve put in 577 hours, averaging 47 hours per week, and repairing, updating, and/or creating over 800 web pages full of history, maps, photos and information on the Columbia River Highway. I truly hope this is becoming, as highway expert Kirk J. Poole suggested, “the encyclopedia of the highway” and “the most seminal work” on the CRH “in the past 50 years.”

Now that the world seems to be slowly resuming, it is time for me to wrap this phase of the project up as quickly as possible. Moving ahead, after the rebuild is done, there will still be new content being added to the site on a regular basis, more photos, current and past, more stories and histories to be explored, more field work to be done and, hopefully, a lot more video being produced. However, that will be part-time work on the side for me, not full-time work as the site rebuild has been.

So, to everyone who has been able to contribute so far, I thank you very much. The work done so far would not have been possible without your support, and for those who haven’t yet, if you enjoy the content on the Recreating the HCRH Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/RecreatingTheHCRH) and / or the website, I’d ask you to consider throwing a few bucks towards supporting this work. Every little bit helps a lot!

Please check out the website, and I’d love to hear any feedback. It is complete from Seaside to Lindsey Creek now and, for a few more days, a bit more hit and miss after that.  You can go directly to the site and explore (www.RecreatingTheHCRH.org) or go to the progress spreadsheet and click the links to see the recently repaired and updated pages (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JRWxizJp1E6rxhj8Ak4o9BX4F4ugiNIPNzlyJcuYlRM/edit?usp=sharing).

And, once again, here is the link to the crowdfunding campaign: 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/recreatingthehcrh

Thanks to everyone for all of your support and participation in this project!

2020 Crowdfunding Update #2

Moving ahead into this last week of the month, I wanted to remind folks that the crowdfunding campaign is still going on, and I could really use a little support right now since this is my only source of income for the moment.


GoFundMe Link: gf.me/u/xmar2w

I backed off on promoting the crowdfunding campaign for a bit. With the Covid-19 outbreak, I've had plenty of time to work on the website, and am very near completing the rebuild of the Lower Columbia River Highway segment, and have completed a significant amount of the work on the HCRH and Upper Highway Sections.

I am hoping to get the primary rebuild done by the end of the week and to be able to just focus on new content moving ahead after that (and I've got a ton of great stuff on deck that I can't wait to share!). With the extra time that the current situation is offering, I took some extra time on the Lower Highway section to add A LOT of new content while rebuilding that part of the site. Please check it out: 

https://sites.google.com/site/recreatingthehcrh/lower-columbia-river-highway

Since the crowdfunding campaign began, I've put in 262 hours on this project, and the website is not only getting repaired, but updated and reorganized, and will, hopefully, be much more user friendly experience moving ahead. My daily, page by page, progress can be tracked here: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JRWxizJp1E6rxhj8Ak4o9BX4F4ugiNIPNzlyJcuYlRM 

Thanks to everyone who has donated! Even with the extra time this crisis has brought, this work still would not have been possible without the donations made so far! 

Moving ahead, I really do not want anyone to donate if they are feeling like they not surviving financially through these uncertain times, but if you are able to help out at all, it would be greatly appreciated. My finances have been way scaled back, so only a few dollars will go along way towards making it through the next month. Even five bucks will go a long way for me right now.

2020 Crowdfunding Update #1

Abandoned Columbia River Highway fragment in Gilliam County

So we're a few days into the campaign and have reached 10% of the goal.  A nice start!  Thank you very much to those who have contributed so far, it is very much appreciated.

I'm planning on running this sort of like a pledge drive on PBS/NPR, so I'll be bugging folks every day or so on Facebook as this project continues.  If you have already contributed, I apologize in advance for this!

So far, I've been able to start getting some time in today on repairing some old pages.  I'll be posting links as I continue.  Today's work was made possible by the contributions received so far, so things are going well!

And, as always, every little bit helps, so please consider contributing so we can get this website up and running again, so it once again can be a useful asset for everyone interested in the history of the old Columbia River Highway!

GoFundMe: gf.me/u/xmar2w

2020 Fundraiser: Rebuilding the Columbia River Highway Website

Elowah Falls, June 16, 2015
Filming for #recreatingthehcrh

To help rebuild the website, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/recreatingthehcrh

With new construction of the State Trail on the horizon, and the new research coming in from Kirk Poole's awesome Past and Present Views Along the Columbia River Highway Facebook Group, it is time to return this much appreciated resource to a usable state.

Originally, I built this site while I was a stay-at-home father and had a lot of time to work on it, but now it is a very part time job and, at the current rate, documenting new research and repairing the old pages, it will take about two years to complete this work.

Because of this, I've decided to try a bit of crowdfunding to speed the job up. My day job work is very slow right now, and this would be an ideal time for me to work full time on the website for several weeks. 

So, my fundraiser is going to be for covering time and expenses for full time work on the website, and to help fund some new research. How much I can get done and how quickly will depend on the response to the campaign. 

 
If fully funded, I plan on getting the site fully restored by the end of March. However, any contributions will help. 

Overall, this project has been a seven-year labor of love and I have resisted seeking donations in the past, but as circumstances change, I am realizing that I need some help to get this work done.
Once the site is rebuilt, I will also be able to focus more on research and video production, on new content instead of just repairing old content. While I am not sure if a feature length documentary and book are still in the works, time will tell, I do want to resume producing video shorts and fleshing out the history of the highway in more detail on the website.

If you have appreciated the content on the website, the associated Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/RecreatingTheHCRH), and/or the YouTube Channel in the past, I'd ask you to consider contributing to this fundraiser. Any amount will help, and I thank you for taking the time to consider helping with this cause.

One way or the other, work will continue on the site and I look forwards to continue sharing the history of the highway with everyone!

To help rebuild the website, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/recreatingthehcrh