Memorial Day: Photo Walk At The Idaho Veteran's Cemetery

For Memorial Day I thought it would be a great idea to head out to the Idaho Veterans Cemetery. I'd never been there before. I'm told that Idaho was the last state to establish an official, contemporary veterans cemetery and this place was completed in 2004. There was a big ceremony that day but I decided that I wanted to arrive afterwards. It was my intention to photograph the place, not the crowds. I parked down the street from the cemetery since there was still plenty of people still there, many in uniform. I was in the navy back in the 80s and for a moment the feelings of the people, the mood of the environment and the sentiment the people were there to express did bring more than a tear to my eyes. But then I set to work to take pictures of the grounds, the monuments and of course the people who wished to express their thanks and remembrances of those who risked their all for our country.












Towards the back of the cemetery the bluff rises up and they've built a wall and a plaza on the top. The road the winds up to the top was a bit longer than I first guessed before I hiked up there with my big camera bag and carrying my tripod.



The view of the main cemetery below the bluff.


The Scatter Garden.







The view of another cemetery below the bluff.





When I got done shooting at the top, I started back down the road back to the main cemetery. Of course that's when the downpour began and I had to stuff my camera underneath my jacket. Some very nice people stopped and offered me a ride down. We had a nice chat and as if by magic, the rain stopped as we reached the bottom of the hill.

Shooting at the Idaho Veterans Cemetery on Memorial Day was a wonderful experience and I'm glad I did it. For a closing image, here is the main gate to the cemetery.