In my grandparent's day and even in my parent's day, people
would take Sunday Drives. However, I take into account three
things in this day and age:
1. Life is too short to wait for Sunday
2. Our car gets good mileage and GJ gas is "fairly" reasonable
3. Trips don't have to be long...in fact, they can be in the vicinity
A small trip we take occasionally is on B /4 Road to 26 3/8 Road,
which turns into 26 7/8 Road. Yes, the naming of roads in the
Grand Valley is semi-mundane, but it does make it fairly easy to
get around. Anyway, along this road is the myriad of cemeteries
(Catholic, Oddfellow, Masons, etc.). Lynn likes to take drives through
cemeteries and look at the dates and imagine what kind of lives
the people resting here had. Just down the hill is the Department
of Energy offices. All gated and "secretive". At this point, you turn
onto 26 3/8 Road. Paved at this point, there are large bluffs on
your left and the Gunnison River on the right. There is a Potter's
Field on the left. This is a cemetery for indigent people who
apparently couldn't afford a "proper" burial. The last person
was buried here in 1936, so I wonder where indigent people are
buried now? Just a few yards away is the City Police Department
Firing Range. Maybe that's why people aren't buried in Potter's
Field anymore since they wouldn't get any rest. As 26 3/8 Road
veers and becomes 26 7/8 road again, we've seen a small
waterfall flowing from the top of the bluff on the left. Not so
today though as it's hot and dry. Before the last stretch of road
leading to the Redlands Dam, you cross the Union Pacific train
tracks. We've seen these before farther down the Gunnison in
Dominguez Canyon, but I can't help but wonder each time I
cross these tracks, where they end up headed south. At the
end is the BLM boat ramp into the river. There are sometimes
cars sitting along the road, some with people in them and
sometimes not. Today we saw someone sleeping in their car.
Adds mystery to the area I suppose. This isn't the best Sunday
drive in the world, but it's away from the traffic and one pretty
much has the whole road to one's self.
1 comment:
Since Lynn likes cemeteries, maybe we do have a reason to meet. I give cemetery tours in Rifle--mostly to school kids, but also to anyone who asks. Holler if you're in the neighborhood (it's summer--I'm off from school).
jlcrook at rof dot net
In our cemetery, they abandoned potter's field because no one kept records of who was buried where.
Post a Comment