My favorite place on this earth that I get to visit regularly is a tiny unknown yet not abandoned cemetery out in the country somewhere between Sheridan and McMinnville. It lies just off Christensen road in the middle of the country. From the road you wouldn’t even know it existed, there are no signs no way to peek through the trees to see what lies beyond, only a dirt road. Then, even more secretly beyond that dirt road is another smaller dirt road that is about the length of the main hallway in your house. Up an anthill sized hill you pull in and it’s a tiny cemetery. Half the size of a football field. This is Deer Creek cemetery. Although you wouldn’t know it by that name unless you grew up around it. I usually go there in the summer because we own a farm right across the street where you can swim in the creek. When you enter the cemetery it doesn’t feel dark or creepy or like a sad place. It feels hopeful. The air always smells sweet with all the hay that has been harvested around. Around the perimeter of the cemetery are big trees that kind of encase it in a circle. It looks well maintained although I’ve never seen anyone else up there. The sun always lightens it up in the middle of the trees and kind of makes it glow. It’s kind of like a mini plateau surrounded by an array of orchard type trees. You won’t find abandoned trinkets mini statues fake flowers and ribbons adorning these graves, they are much too old. You can expect to find hundreds of tree frogs that lie on top of the cement grave coverings sunning themselves and as soon as you walk by they jump into the cracks of the sunken cement surfaces. There aren’t very many graves here for the space that’s provided. They are very laid out and there are only about 5 different last names to the whole space. Most are old grave markers and are sectioned off by cement blocks on top next to the head stones. Some of the markers are unreadable and broken. I surprisingly think this is a beautiful place for a picnic. It’s not that I make a habit of hanging around in cemeteries it just happens to be a very beautiful place. There is one marker on the lower right hand side of the cemetery that states something like “so and so 1803-1887 and was ready” Then another person has engraved their name into the headstone who shares the same last name as the owner of the headstone. The grass isn’t very green it’s quite short and prickly but it’s better than dirt. On all sides of you is a view of plain fields. There is an abandoned patio table and chair up near where there is space for one car to park.
