Saturday, June 11, 2011

Wondering About Lost Memories... in Far Country...

Took a short drive yesterday afternoon, up valley. This valley opens up a bit, above Mackay Reservoir, into some wide hay meadows bordered by buck rail fences, with a Cottonwood lined river running through it. It's a beautiful land.

Started aimlessly following a side road, back toward the foothills, following a series of Idaho fish hatchery signs, until we stumbled across a weathered sign, on a single post, for a cemetery. A two track led up past the sign, so I parked the truck, and we got out and walked.

I could see something, up ahead, a 1/4 mile or so... so we walked up the two track, dogs sifting out through the sage... High Snow Capped Mountains back behind us... and up in front, a cool breeze coming off those high peaks; and in a bit, that something, turned out to be a rough little cemetery.

Guarded by a ranch gate and rough wire, a few local families have been putting their folks to rest here, since just after the turn of the last century.

*Ranch Cemetery near Mackay, Idaho*
 I walk through a place like this... and certain headstones always seem to seize my attention...

Where did he go?... What did he see?... What did he endure?


How much history is lost in these plots? How much wasn't recorded? We send men off... Asking so much of them, and then, make so little effort, to make sure, their History, is Never, forgotten...


We can only imagine, how much they ached, how much they worked, how hard they fought... to just come home...

... and how scared they were, that they'd Never, come back to this beautiful, wondrous Valley, again.

*They made it home...*
But they did... and a fine view they've got... and a fine life I think they lived, judging by the ranches I saw below this hallowed plot...


There's so much history just hidden out there in the Mountains... and in the Deserts. It's so sad to me... That so much of it, just gets lost, and fades away... leaving us all, to just wonder...

Just Living in Far Country
Brian

Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

8 comments:

Sue and Doug said...

cemetaries are the window into the community..it is interesting to see who is buried and what their family said about them..and yes, we too wonder about their lives and loved ones left behind.

Glenda Laine said...

Great discovery! Gave me goosebumps!!

Anonymous said...

So true. We just returned from 6 weeks on the road. People ask us about our trip and we often don't have adjectives to explain what we have seen. Sounds trite but most of the time we end up saying that we have a beautiful country and let them figure it out for themselves. Sometimes there is no word for the history that you are seeing, just taking in the moment and letting your memory stamp it is all you can do. But you have it for life. Enjoy the trip.

Unknown said...

Love your last photo -- rail fence, mountains, ranch. A keeper for sure.

¡Vizcacha! said...

Ah, yes, the old Barton cemetery ...

If you want to know a little more about those folks, you can find bits here. Blogger may think this is spam because of the link, but I assure you I am a vegetarian.

Roxanne
The Good Luck Duck

Jeff and Lori said...

Here's another interesting link: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~idcuster/cemetery/Barton.html

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Anonymous said...

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