Old Cemetery

The kids were bellyaching for someplace to go today, when I remembered a coworker telling me about this old cemetery in a quaint little nearby town. I was unsure of exactly where it was, but we set out with directions to 3 different cemeteries in and around the town. As I was unsuccessfully searching for the most likely candidate, I realized their was an extra light on on my dashboard display. My gas light was glowing amber, letting me know that I was on my reserve fuel which, when the car was new, was about 2 gallons. I am guessing that almost 90K miles later, the reserve is less than 2 gallons, and full of "stuff" I don't want running through my engine!

Did I mention this quaint town is in the middle of cow country? Yeah, I was unsure of exactly where I was, so I headed down what I suspected would take us back to the small village, bypassing the circuitous route I had been on. Fortunately my internal homing device/compass was working well, and we found the village rather quickly. Of course, being in the middle of nowhere, I had 3 fuel choices: Mobil (I'd rather run out of gas than go there), Exxon (isn't that Mobil too?), or Sunoco. The deciding factor, of course, was price (and anything but Mobil). Well, all 3 were "competing" at $3.129 a gallon. I put in 3 gallons and went to the cemetery. No, I wasn't going to die...we found it on the way to the gas station.

Incidentally, the cemetery was not anywhere near any of the directions I had. So much for the Internet being any help at finding the place! Anyway, as we drove in the kids got nervous, as there was a sign indicating that the cemetery is NOT a public place and anyone cleaning a site was welcome during daylight hours. It didn't really say anything about the rest of us, but I figured they had put it up to keep out youths and troublemakers. So Joe and the kids and I went for a walk in the cemetery. Yes, I took the dog...some people just have no respect! I didn't imagine the dead would mind a small dachsie sniffing around...

Here is the front part of the cemetery. Looks like most cemeteries I've been to, just small.












The real treat however, is the "old cemetery." The little white sign on this green building says "Old Cemetery" and has an arrow pointing up the path.












As you walk along the path, the trees make a covered walkway. As we started down this path, it began raining, but very little rain fell on us due to the dense tree "canopy" over us.












There were tons of bushes bearing bird berries, raspberries, and pretty flowers.






































This swampy creek was (flowing?) along the path. It made for a pretty picture, as well as lots of flying bugs!












After following the path for about .2 or .3 miles, you come to a tunnel that runs underneath a railroad track. Inside the tunnel are several paintings of various religious looking symbols. Some of the paintings were of things with which I was not familiar, and seemed a bit disturbing.

































Once you pass through the tunnel, the clearing you come into is breathtaking. It is the type of place that I would like to be buried when I die.

























According to this marker, this little, six acre, cemetery was purchased for $900 dollars. About 350 parishioners of the church are buried in it. Many of the stones are nearly smooth with age and weathering, but some bear dates from the mid to late 1800's. It was almost like stepping back in time. In the old cemetery, you cannot hear the sounds of modern life, except the occasional airplane in the distance, nor can you see any "modern" structures. I was in awe as I walked around, looking at the very old headstones lovingly etched with memories.































I was a bit annoyed with my rowdy brood, but then I remembered that they ARE kids and I was the only one bothered by their noise and playfulness. As we were leaving we passed a couple walking along the path toward the Old Cemetery, and I was glad that we were not there at the same time. I can't really explain it, it's just one of those places you want to go alone...not too alone though as it is REALLY secluded.


When we left the cemetery, none of us was ready to return home, so I found a public parking lot and we checked out a "canal" path. I am not sure where the name came from, since there is no canal along the path.
This boardwalk was really neat as it overlooked what appeared to be a dry streambed. At the end of it, there was an old railroad bed. To the right it went over the creek, and to the left it led down a long path.

























First, we checked out the view from an old railroad bridge. As we were standing there, a young boy jumped into the water and retrieved the rope hanging from a tree. After bringing it to shore with him, he climbed up a tree and swung out over the creek. I caught a picture of the scene just after he went into the water. He is definitely more brave than I. That water looked gross!

























Then we followed the path in the opposite direction for quite a ways. Along the way, I found interesting things to take pictures of...




















































We finally decided it was time to head back when the bugs got too thick. We hopped in the car and headed towards home, content that we had found new places to explore, when suddenly there appeared on the side of the road...












CHICKENS!












Apparently these "free range" chickens roamed through the brush and down to the road. They seemed to understand that the road was dangerous, but I guess the pickin's must have been good along the roadside.