So last Thursday was weird. I lost some work in the closing minutes of work and then was deeply distracted and had to lug a big heavy book back to my truck I hadn’t been planning on. So I ended up not feeling like retracing my steps and biking back along the path the way I usually do. I started to drive home, but the weather was so nice, I felt incredibly guilty about it, with the weather so nice and all. So I ended up deciding by the time I got home that I would attempt something I’m not going to do again anytime in the rest of my life.

A really long time ago, back when I was a teenager with energy, a friend of mine and I biked down the road I live on about two miles to a particular intersection. Just a few yards from this intersection is the entrance to one of the cemeteries I pass every day when I go to work. I keep meaning to go in there, and yesterday I thought, “Hey, nice day, it’s only about two miles, I know there’s some hills, but I’ve done it once before, it can’t be that bad.” Ha bloody ha ha. Did I mention I live in the Himalayan Mountains? I didn’t think I did, but now I know better. It took about an hour to go the two or three miles that is because I had to get off and walk about five times from the hills. I was so exhausted when I finally got to the cemetery that I thought someone might as well dig me a hole and put me in it. So appreciate these pictures.

Mt. Caramel Cemetery--The Gate

 Mt. Caramel Cemetery is associated, I assume, with the Mt. Caramel Friends Church which is located immediately across the street from it. It was established in 1833.

It’s located on CR-130. The nearest settlement is a little burg known as Kennard. To get to the cemetery, say you’re driving north on US-68 (toward Bellefontaine). You’ll want to turn right on Herr Rd. When you reach the intersection of Herr and Clark–conveniently the location of Hell Cemetery–keep going straight. You are now on CR-130. It twists and turns a lot, but stay on it. You will need to turn left on CR-223, which merges with 130 for awhile; turn right on 130 to stay on it (which will briefly turn into Champaign St.) The cemetery is on the right side of the road. Hey, I never said it wasn’t remote. Remember what I said about living in the Himalayas?

However, it’s a nice cemetery. It is very well kept up. Old and new burials are pretty well mixed together, and there are quite a few very pretty stones. Also, up by the shed, there is an intensely creepy statue of a saint of some kind over an un-tended flowerbed. Other than that, there really aren’t any statues, although I’m pretty curious by the flock of sheep. There is a ram and a lamb or ewe at each entrance pillar. The lamb is kind of cute and soulful but the ram kind of looks like it wants to eat your soul. I doubt if they are representative of the sheep and goats referenced in Revelation, soo . . . Yeah. Anyway, the grass was very wet and I was exhausted, or I might have more for you concerning this, but, well, I doubt it.