As soon as my wife got home from work that evening; I immediately sought her company for a trip to the other cemetery Chris had told me about. The one that was hard to get to. As it turns out, he wasn't kidding in the least bit. My wife readily agreed and off we went in search of the hard to get to cemetery. At first we drove right by the entrance and kept going down a country road till we came to a stop sign. We had gone to far and turned around. As we did, I called my brother in hopes of getting some more directions. He half scolded me and said in a stern voice, "I told you it was down a narrow lane between two houses. He was still grumbling at me when we approached the lane that we had just driven by. "I think I've found it", I told him. "Now drive through the corn field a ways and you will see it" he said. "Got it, thanks bro", I said and we ended the call. As we proceeded down the lane between the two houses; I was quite sure that at any minute somebody would be running out of either house with a baseball bat screaming at me to get out of their field. Nothing like this happened and we slowly drove forward allowing the field to swallow us up in hopes of coming out safe on the other side.
My wife and I just looked at each other as the corn was groping at the mirrors on either side of the vehicle. The terrain was hilly filled with big puddles of standing water leaving very little choice but to drive through them. The last thing I wanted to do was to get stuck in a place like this with a pregnant wife. After driving for about a minute I asked her if we should stop and back our way out. She just looked at me the way wives often look at husbands when stupid ideas tumble out of their word factories and past their lips. She followed up the look with sage advice, "We have come this far and you cannot back all the way out of this field", she chided. My feeling could best be described as being a little scared, and I was annoyed that I felt that way. It was a mixture of feeling like we had been chewed, swallowed and were now on our way to the stomach to be digested. Just ahead I could see that the corn rows were widening to each side and thankfully we approaching a clearing. The path we were on went up and to the right through a large stand of trees on either side. It didn't feel like being swallowed this time as I could see the entrance to the cemetery. Very slowly we approached the fenced gate, stopped, turned off the engine and stared. My wife informed me that she was not going out with me and that she would stay comfortably in the vehicle. Reaching behind me into the back seat; I grabbed my gear, opened the door and stepped out on the soft grass.
If a horse and buggy had pulled up at that point; I would not have been surprised. The place looked like it was frozen from that period and just placed here by some benevolent being. My senses were tingling in anticipation of what I would find on the other side of that fence. My hand reached for the cool metal latch and I pushed the gate open to step inside. Up ahead about fifty yards a huge Owl winged off from some unknown perch into the trees that surrounded the cemetery. My heart was in my throat as I marveled at all of the old limestone monuments all sitting perfectly in place watching over the departed. It was clear that this man Chris had restored this place and it gave me hope to think of the cemetery I had visited the day before would one day look like this too. My camera was on my tripod and I began to walk around composing shots. There was a towering Oak tree in the middle with a white bench sitting under it and it became today's photo. The tree was at least one hundred years old by eying its girth. What a wonderful place for such a stoic old Oak tree to be still growing and watching over everything. Although, I had not seen this place before; I remembered Chris telling me about the transformation this place had taken. It was simply beautiful to behold, and I was glad to be there with my camera to witness the finished product. With the light beginning to drain from the sky; I closed up my tripod and headed back toward the entrance. Stopping just before I passed back through the gate; I ventured a glance back over my shoulder for another look. "Timeless, just timeless", I said out loud and headed toward the vehicle. My wife had fallen asleep and I let her be. As I drove back out I said to myself, "There is a photo project here amongst these old stones and someday, Lord willing, I will be back to start telling its story with my lens".
Happy Shooting.
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