Tag: Road Trips

Winding down for Winter

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The leaves have almost all fallen and the icy weather is making its cold return. Winter is almost here!

It’s been a great summer and fall season for cemetery visits. I hit my target and surpassed it—visiting over 100 cemeteries! But, I am not a fan of winter and trudging around in the snow, so I mostly hibernate in winter. I plan on taking full advantage of cozy-couch-time to catch up on my reading; the AGS Quarterly, back issues of Markers, and my ever-growing to-be-read-pile of fiction and non-fiction. Now that I have a better handle on my blogging and social media schedule, I want to take advantage of this downtime and introduce some new things on the blog.

For one, I would like to start a book review series, featuring reference material and cemetery-related books. I’ll take a look at some of my favorite past reads and reference books, as well as document what I am currently reading. I am always looking for recommendations as well, so feel free to post them in the comments!

Secondly, I also want to take this time to do some much-needed portfolio updates. I have collected a lot of new photos this year, that need sifting through and editing. I will flag these updates on my social channels when there are new photos up. I may also play with the layout of my portfolio section on the website—we’ll see!

  • River Road Cemetery, Massey ON ©2021

Thirdly, I will be planning more road trips for next year! I have gotten into the habit of using Google’s My Maps to create maps for cemetery road trips. I love researching areas and discovering abandoned and hidden cemeteries, as well as roadside attractions and oddities. All this research may spawn some blog posts along the way as well.

Speaking of which, expect more posts on the blog! I have a lot of posts on the back burner right now. Many were started months ago but were put aside because I was busy with road trips or personal matters. Many posts are half-started, or just bare-bones at the moment. Some are just ideas floating around in my head. I had planned a few spookier posts for the Halloween season, but unfortunately, they never came to be. October is always super busy for me, and those posts just got away from me. I’m hoping to get those specific posts polished and ready for next Halloween season.

If you have any blog topics you would like to see me cover, please send me a note or post in the comments. I am always looking to hear feedback from readers.

Thanks for joining me on my cemetery adventures!

Cemetery Road Trips: Sault Ste Marie edition

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I have been thinking about road trips a lot lately.

During a normal year, my friends and I would be discussing plans for our next one. I have been itching to research locations and plan travel routes. But alas, just like last year, it looks like it will not be happening this year.

Cemetery road trips are one of my favorite things to do in the summer months. We all would pile into one vehicle, chit-chat, and listen to music while cruising along to our cemetery spots. We usually pick a city or town and stop at all the cemeteries along the way. After visiting the cemeteries within that city’s limits we would also explore the outskirts, sometimes finding hidden cemeteries that we didn’t find in our research. These are great ways to spend time together, make memories and explore our backyard!

  • Bruce Mines Cemetery, Bruce Mines ON ©2019

The last road trip we did was in 2019. We visited Sault Ste Marie. Normally this trip would only be about a 3-hour drive, but it took us a whopping 6 hours! We made so many stops along the way and took our time exploring. We visited some very old cemeteries, full of the history of the town, as well as some newer ones. Lots of discoveries were made, including one of the largest cemeteries I have ever visited before! We visited 11 cemeteries in total that day. We didn’t beat our record, but it was a very good attempt. Our record so far is 13!

  • Forest Lawn Cemetery, Thessalon ©2019
  • Old Green Wood Cemetery, Sault Ste Marie ON ©2019
  • Queen Street Cemetery, Sault Ste Marie ON ©2019

We also took time to do some sightseeing, and visit some of the historic museums there; the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre and the Ermatinger Old Stone House. We heard some interesting ghost stories from the staff at the Old Stone house and it prompted some interesting discussion and exploration while we were there. We did not find any ghosts though. It’s a beautiful house with some really interesting history. Getting in some sightseeing was a bonus for that trip.

We have also gotten into the tradition of visiting any Starbucks that we can find, and always end the day at the local Casey’s for supper. A favorite restaurant that we no longer have in our own city. It’s a great cap to the day, followed by a much quicker drive home while we debrief on the fun and experiences of the day.

So for this year, instead of grand travel plans, I will stick close to home and visit my local cemeteries. Re-visit my favorites and take more time to explore those that I have not been to for a while. There is always something new to find and photograph! 

Update: After writing this blog post I did just that! I had a mini road trip adventure this weekend. I’ll have a new post coming soon with some new photos.

Thanks for reading!