Tag:

Travel

Cherry Hill Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup

ferns, headstone, tombstone tourist

After camping last month, Jeff and I both were basically dragging our feet home. We camped about three and half hours away so the drive home felt a little like a mini road trip. Just enough of that open road feeling to tease you, and make you want so much more. I love every little detail about trips in the car. Watching out the window for hours, gas station snacks, and being in new small towns. We haven’t really been anywhere since our fourth annual road trip out west and the urge to just explore something new is strong.

All that to say, we were both not so subtly trying to extend the drive home. We visited a state hospital and it’s cemetery (where I got a creepy photo!), looked for geocaches, and stopped for snacks. There were so many interesting looking little cemeteries along the route but if we’d stopped at them all we might not have ever made it home. One finally caught my eye that I could resist. The sign said “Cherry Hill Cemetery. Rest in Peace” I shouted about how cool it was but denied the need to stop when Jeff asked. I rambled on about it for another minute or so before Jeff asked again “are you sure?” To which I replied “Yeah, maybe you should turn around”

headstone, cherry hill cemetery, pa, graveyard cemetery blog, taphophile

‘Rest in Peace’ is one of those things, similar to skulls, that despite being thought of frequently in correlation with cemeteries isn’t actually seen very often – at least not in this part of the United States. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a single time I’ve seen it in English in a real cemetery. So Cherry Hill Cemetery looked decent from the road but it was the sign that really drew me in. The sun was out in full force and with all the trees the lighting was pretty spotty so I didn’t plan on really taking any photos other than of the sign.

As it would turn out, I hated the photo I got of the sign but ended up getting drawn in to a shady corner where lots of smaller headstones were and the lighting was perfect! Small, old headstones are my favorite, especially when surrounded by slightly overgrown greenery. Even more than that, we had been camping somewhere that had a lot of ferns. On a hike through the ferns the day prior I got to talking about how awesome a cemetery covered in them would be. While this place wasn’t covered, it was kind of funny to find a little area abundant with them after just mentioning that.

While I darted around the cemetery taking photos, Jeff found a geocache so it all worked out wonderfully. I got to photograph a neat little cemetery with ferns, we got to log another cache, and we made it feel a little bit more like we were actually on a trip by checking out somewhere new.
xoxo

Fellow taphophiles, get your fill here.

 

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2017 doolan family camping trip

by Kaylah Stroup

The weekend before last my family and I went on our annual camping trip. Well, our kind of annual camping trip. We try to go every year but you know how it goes… Anyway everyone took off work on Friday and we all headed up to the Allegheny National Forest. Instead of booking a cabin or even a spot at a campground we opted to rough it. My brother had a really neat map of places you’re allowed to just set up camp and set out early to find us a rad spot in the woods.

We ate, we hiked, and we just hung out around the fire. It was a blast. I took so many photos over the course of the weekend. I edited a little bit differently than normal and I feel like they really capture the camping vibe. I wish I could crawl into these photos and stay for a little while just to soak up some more time there.

My five favorite things from the 2017 Doolan family camping trip.

  1. My hammock. Gosh, I seriously adore that thing. I love lounging in it every chance I get, and getting to sleep in it is the coziest. Jeff and I are slowly but surely turning my whole family on to hammocks too. It was a blast to have a little community of hammocks with Jeff, and my nephew. Honestly, money well spent. I paid thirteen but apparently the one I have is only five bucks now. Also – hanging string lights above your hammock makes sleeping in it even more magical. Highly recommended! I will never camp without them again!
  2. Geocaching with my brothers. There’s a huge age gap between them and I. Geocaching together is the one time when I feel like it totally disappears.
  3. Mushrooms… upon mushrooms… upon mushrooms! I can’t tell you how many mushrooms I photographed over that weekend. I may not blog about them as regularly as I used to but that doesn’t mean I’m not still super excited about them!
  4. Food cooked over the campfire. I’m a burger snob. I live for fancy burgers but DAAANG, a burger cooked over a camp fire hits the spot especially with lots of relish. I could totally go for one right now.
  5. Family time, duh. Hikes. Sitting around the fire. Trying to master the art of saying things backwards.* We don’t do enough of it!

eastern spotted newt, eft

camping in hammocks

I’m already looking forward to next year’s camping trip!
xoxo

*You guys, download the app ‘Voice Changer Lite’ . Record yourself saying a short phrase slowly. Listen to it in reverse enough times until you feel like you’ve got it memorized then record that and listen to it in reverse again. It is SO funny. Jeff and I regularly play with friends but I got my brothers in on it too on this trip. It’s great family fun.

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La Jolla

by Kaylah Stroup

It feels strange to still be posting about May’s road trip but I still have things I need to share. Our stop in La Jolla is one of those things. Before heading down into Southern California, we had made a handful of stops at the ocean. There were a few things I was really looking forward to seeing including sea lions, seals, and tide pools. The last time we drove a portion of the Pacific Coast Highway I fell in love with tidepooling. I’ve been impatient waiting for the day I’d get to do more of it.

Well, we just kept striking out. Let me take that back. We weren’t striking out. I was still very much enjoying the ocean but the stops we made weren’t the kind of place you could play around in tidepools. And the seals and sea lions? They just kept eluding me. In Monterey I could hear them but couldn’t seem to get close enough to see them. (I did eat my first fish taco on that pier though, aaaand that may have trumped sea lions.) With only a day left in our trip I had basically come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t going to get to explore tidepools or squeal over how cute seals and sea lions were.

san diego, california, seal, children's pool san diego, la jolla, children's pool

…Then we went to La Jolla. To say I loved La Jolla would be a massive understatement. Everytime I thought “holy cow, how could get this better?!” It would get better!

The thing that originally caught my attention was Children’s Pool Beach. I found it while searching online for locations that would basically guarentee me the opportunity to see seals and sea lions. We managed to find a parking spot super close by and almost immediately after shutting my door I could tell I was going to get my wish. I saw a crowd gathered and speed walked my way over to them.

SEALS! They were so cute! They’re just like lazy water dogs. I loved watching them wiggle around, and arch their backs tobrace for the waves. I didn’t realize how smelly seals would be but they were every bit as cute as I had thought they’d be.

I was super pleased after getting to watch all the seals. We still had a bit of time to waste before we were able to check in the hotel so we decided to keep wandering around. After a few minutes we stumbled upon an area where I could see that down below people were on a beach. It was a gorgeous day and I’m always down to dip my toes in the water so we headed down the stairs thinking it was just regular ole’ beach. I got to the bottom and realized that the only other people down there were staring at the rocky ground an awful lot. I casually wandered over their way and realized I’d get to explore tide pools after all!

I’m not super versed in tide pools. I’ve explored a few on both the west coast and the east coast but always have the worst luck. I’m really really great at finding dead things (which I’m not going to lie, is still interesting) This was easily my most successful attempt. I have never seen so many live crabs in my life. I was kicking myself for not bringing along my macro lens – not that that would have helped me since every time I spotted one I let out a little squeal of excitement which prompted them to scurry away.

la jolla, sea lion

When the tide started to come back in I figured it was time to move on. We continued walking along the path a little more and eventually found the motherlode! Sea lions galore! They were out on some cliffs that weren’t surrounded by fencing meaning you could literally go a close as you’d like. The 70-200mm lens really came in handy at this stop. I was able to keep a safe, respectable distance and still get awesome shots. It was SO awesome, and so incredibly smelly. It was really exciting to be able to see so many of them in their natural habitat.

I loved visiting San Diego so much that I’m sure eventually we’ll make our way back there and visit La Jolla again. I can’t wait!
xoxo

Check out more of my road trip adventures under the ‘travel‘ tag.

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Goldfield Pioneer Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup

headstone, goldfield nevada, cemetery

After visiting Tonopah Cemetery I guess my excitement got the best of me because I fell asleep as soon as we got back into the car. I woke up a short time later to Jeff asking “wanna stop at this cemetery?” I’m not sure I’ve ever said no to that question. We pulled in and I realized it was actually a place I already had mapped out before leaving Ohio and was planning on getting us directions to.

The day had already had its fair share of awesomeness. I was super tired from being on the road all day but there was one headstone I had to hunt down here or else I wouldn’t be satisfied. This property is really unique because there are actually multiple cemeteries here, each sectioned off and with it’s own sign. I was in search of the oldest one – Goldfield Pioneer Cemetery.

According to the plaque, this cemetery was originally located within the city of Goldfield until 1908 when the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad Co. ran its main line alongside the graves in order to be as close to the business district as possible. The railroad company didn’t want the passengers stepping off the train onto the graves, and the city didn’t want graves near its largest hotel. Under the cover of darkness, a group of men known as “official ghouls” moved the remains to their current location.

goldfield cemetery, headstone, nevada, graveyard headstone, goldfield pioneer cemetery

The headstone I was specifically looking for? “Unknown man died eating library paste” Find me a better headstone than that, I dare you. The moment I saw a photo of it online I knew I had to go there and see it for myself. Luckily the cemetery is located in what I’d consider a hot spot of other interesting road side attractions so its not even like we had to go out of the way to stop here. (…but even if we did – worth it!)

The story is that a homeless man was wondering the streets, looking for something to eat. In the library’s trash he found some book paste which at the time was a mixture of flour, water, and alum. Large quantities of alum are toxic when consumed, especially on an empty stomach.

I think its so interesting when a headstone states the cause of death. Tonopah Cemetery was really the only other place I’ve seen it so abundantly. Its definitely not something that’s common anymore.

headstone, unique headstone, goldfield pioneer cemetery, nevada

Goldfield Pioneer Cemetery easily ranks among one of the most interesting cemeteries I’ve ever been to, even without the library paste headstone! In retrospect, I wish I had had the energy to explore the other graveyards in the area. I’m sure there were lots of other hidden gems!
xoxo

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Pismo Beach

by Kaylah Stroup

I’m throwing it back to last month’s road trip again today. After driving the extraterrestrial highway, visiting Tonopah Cemetery, making friends with a jackrabbit, and getting  our fill of the desert (that’s not really a thing. I could never get my fill of the desert!) we headed to the coast. Two years back we drove a portion of the Pacific Coast Highway and I LOVED IT.  This year we wanted to see even more of it. Luck was not in our favor though. Huge chunks were closed meaning we had to start a lot further down the coast than orginally planned.

It wasn’t long after leaving our hotel room in Paso Robles that I spotted the pier at Pismo Beach. The day previous I had been so excited to see the ocean but felt a little letdown with what we had seen. I was desperate to find somewhere nice to dip my toes in the water. Pismo Beach was one of those names that sounded familiar so I suggested we stop, just to check it out real quick.

This “real quick” pit stop turned into an hour and a half – if not longer – of me frolicking in the ocean, taking photos of birds, and searching for sand dollars. It was the best. To say I loved Pismo Beach would be an understatement. It was exactly what I needed right then.

beachcombing, sand dollar

One of the biggest highlights for me at Pismo Beach, other than finding sand dollars galore, was photographing birds. I had recently fallen head over heels in love with Jeff’s 70-200mm lens. (Huge bonus to falling in love with someone who shoots the same brand of camera as you – you can share all your equipment!) I hadn’t really played with it too much before this trip but the shots of the jackrabbit convinced me this lens was something I should really experiment with more often. It’s massive, and kind of a pain in the butt to lug around but so worth it. Being able to shoot animals close up like this without disturbing them is so much fun. I took SO many shots, it was hard to choose which ones to include in this post. I’m particularly excited about the one above because I’m a sucker for reflections. The first photo in this post ranks among my favorites as well. I like that upon first glance its hard to tell how many birds are really in the shot because of the reflection.

The man in the photo above had kind of been hanging around me while I was photographing birds. Eventually Jeff came over my way and when I turned around he was talking to the guy. After they were done I mosied over to Jeff to see what they were talking about. He handed me a film canister and inside were two super tiny sand dollars. I looked over to the stranger to see him smiling back at us. Its so wonderful that there are people out there who do things solely to make others smile. I didn’t even realize that you could find sand dollars that small. They’re one of the very few things I brought home with me from the trip. Thank you, kind stranger!

tiny sand dollars, pismo beach

See that dog? He was running back to his dad after greeting his mom who had just got back in from surfing. It was so darn sweet. I cried…

Until next time, Pismo Beach!
xoxo

Check out more of my road trip adventures under the ‘travel‘ tag.

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International Car Forest of the Last Church

by Kaylah Stroup

The International Car Forest of the Last Church. This was one of the very few things I had found and plotted out before we flew out of Cleveland, and I was so excited to see it!

My normal vacation planning method goes as follows;

  1. Find something I want to visit.
  2. Locate said item on map.
  3. Zoom out and take note of surrounding cities.
  4. Look up surrounding cities on the Roadside America app.

So I started with The Seven Magic Mountains, found a town called Goldfield nearby, and basically felt like I hit the jackpot when I looked it up. Not only is it super close to Tonopah where I’d visit one of the most interesting cemeteries, there is also a field full of half buried cars located right outside of town. Jeff and I have actually been trying to get to Amarillo, Texas for a while now to visit Cadillac Ranch. Cadillac Ranch is an art installation where there are a bunch of Cadillacs buried nose first in the ground. We just haven’t made it into Texas yet! The International Car Forest of the Last Chuch seemed like it’d be a solid alternative.

goldfield, nevada, cars, public art

It seemed that there were a few roads leading to the car forest, all of which are rough and dirt. We didn’t realize there were multiple roads in though. We just took the first one we found… and it was ROUGH. Steep hills that were basically in the shape of the letter M threatened the front end of our silly little rental car. We contemplated parking and just hiking in but I was feeling a little lazy and kept insisting we drive on. Eventually the “road” straightened out and we were able to see the extent of the car forest. It was pretty darn incredible!

Over forty cars, trucks, and buses are planted around the property. Each one uniquely decorated with spray paint, stickers, and in the case of the car below, tinier cars! I know this sort of thing doesn’t appeal to everyone but to me this is essentially the holy grail of roadside attractions! It’s weird, there was no one around, and it makes no sense at all – I’m all about it!!!

International Car Forest of the Last Church, owl graffiti, nevada cars buried in the ground

What was your favorite part of the International Car Forest of the Last Church, Kaylah? I was hoping you’d ask because I most certainly had a favorite part. The cars were really awesome. I don’t have to tell you guys how much I adore things like this. My favorite part hopped out of a small hole beside the first car I squatted down to take photos of though. It was a jackrabbit. I’ve spotted them a handful of times on our previous trips out west. They’re so darn quick that I usually just seem a glimpse of them. This guy though? He was clearly a model. He let me get super close, and just chilled while I snapped a million photos of him. I was shooting with Jeff’s 70-200mm lens (now my second favorite lens!) I could not be any happier with my photos! It was so darn exciting how willing this little dude was to get his photo taken.

I spend the first half our time at the car forest shooting the jackrabbit. I eventually realized that Jeff was way far away and that I should probably catch up so I happily moved on, satisfied with my shots. After I shot all the cars I ended up back near where the jackrabbit lived since it was on the way to our car. Jeff was still shooting, which is weird because he’s always done before me, but luck was on my side because guess who popped back out of their hole! So, I got to shoot some more photos. My favorite of the bunch is the first one in this post. It might even be one of my favorites from the whole trip!

jack rabbit, rabbit, hare

Check out these other posts from 2017’s road trip out west:
Seven Magic Mountains
Extraterrestrial Highway
Tonopah Cemetery
It’s the little things (sunset at the Salton Sea)
4th annual road trip out west recap

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Its the little things…

by Kaylah Stroup

sunset at the Salton Sea. May 18, 2017

I’ve mentioned a few times here on the blog how I’m basically the most sensitive person ever. I cry easy… and at essentially everything. Along with cute animals, the one thing that always gets the waterworks started is trying to explain how much I love something. For example when I start talking about how much I love my bike, and how free I feel riding – I always cry. I can’t help it. I wish I didn’t work that way, I feel like such a weenie, but whatcha gonna do? I’m easily overwhelmed with emotion.

Last year’s road trip basically as soon as we got into the car I started to cry a little. I just felt so happy to be there, so at peace. This year I managed to hold off until editing my photos. The other night I’m sitting here at my desk, going through photos from the trip, when all of a sudden my chin starts to quiver. Then I notice it’s getting a little harder to see… because I’m stinken crying over how much these trips Jeff and I take together mean. Theres no possible way for me to even begin to describe how much I love being in the desert with him. To be honest, I don’t even understand it. We’re getting dirty, sunburnt, eating like crap, and spending too much time sitting in the car but somehow it means the world to me. I’m ready to go back already!

This year we opted to sleep in the car a few of the nights in order to save a bit of money, and because it makes it so much easier to catch sunrise and sunset when you have nowhere to be. It’s not the coziest but honestly, I really really love doing it. I don’t think it would really work as well anywhere other than in the middle of nowhere.

On this particular day, after poking around some beaches along the coast in the morning we headed to the Salton Sea to catch sunset. We had visited here a few years back but once again, its one of those places that is special to me for no good reason. We were having trouble finding somewhere nice to pull over and enjoy the sunset so we ended up stopping at an abandoned building. One we had actually stopped at three years ago! This wasn’t the sunset I was planning on capturing, with beautiful reflections on the water… It was even better. It was a very ~us~ sunset. I didn’t capture any award winning photos that night but I feel like I managed to steal a little piece of that sunset to hoard away and look back on.

salton sea, abandoned building,

above photo by Jeff.

I hope we end up here again in another few years.
xoxo

Ps. In case you were wondering, I was definitely crying writing this. Please tell me I’m not the only crybaby out there.

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Tonopah Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup

I’ve always had this vision of what a cemetery in the desert looks like. I imagine its filled with cowboys. Its definitely dusty there. The headstones probably aren’t anything like the ones I’m used to in the northeastern side of the United States. Mountains in the background are a must. Aside from cowboys, Tonopah Cemetery hit all the marks. It was everything I had ever dreamed of. It was dusty, there were mountains, and this cemetery was like nowhere I have ever been before!

Founded in 1901, this cemetery was only active for a mere ten years before the number of dead outgrew the small plot of land. Just over 450 people are buried here, more than a few of which fell victim to the  “Tonopah Plague” in 1902. It was actually just pnemonia but it claimed the lives of at least 30 people from the small town and caused a mass exodus. Another big reason people ended up here? The Belmont Mine fire which was clearly marked on many of the headstones.

Tonopah Cemetery almost feels like a fake cemetery, like something someone would set up in their yard for Halloween. So many of the headstones just listed the name and cause of death. I’ve never seen anywhere where so few had the date of birth and death. The unique choice of grave marking materials only added to the cemetery’s appeal. I counted less than five traditional granite headstones.The majority were wood. I even saw what appeared to be a table leg being used!

weird headstone, unique, cemetery, tonopah nevada, cemetery headstone, cemetery, tonopah cemetery, nevada tonopah cemetery, headstone, cemetery

Oh, I’m saving the best part for last! This cemetery? It’s right next door to a clown themed motel. Despite what a very funny polariod of me as a child at the circus would have you believe, I’m not afraid of clowns. As much as I’d love to write an article like the forty others I found while doing some post-vacation research about how this is “the creepiest place EVER” I didn’t think anything about Tonopah Cemetery or its surroundings was creepy. Unique? Absolutely! I’ll be the first to admit that its kind of funny but honestly there was nothing spooky about it.

Jeffrey isn’t a motel staying kind of guy or I gladly would have shelled out the $42.50 to spend the night, just to add it to my list of experiences. Instead, in a normal Kaylah fashion, I darted around the cemetery excitedly taking photos, trying to capture all that I was seeing, and then we moved on to the next town.
tonopah, neveda, creepy motel, cemeteryclown motel, cemetery

I’ve visited a lot of cemeteries but Tonopah Cemetery easily ranks among the best. Tonopah, Nevada seemed like rad, albeit very tiny, town. If you’re out aimlessly wandering, definitely check it out.

xoxo

PS. For more of my favorite cemeteries, check out this list.

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extraterrestrial highway

by Kaylah Stroup

stickers, area 51, nevada, aliens

Next on the agenda, after the Seven Magic Mountains, was Nevada State Route 375… or as it’s more commonly known “the Extraterrestrial Highway.” Area 51, the top secret government base, as well as lots of reports of alien activity, prompted the state to officially designate the route the Extraterrestrial Highway back in 1996.

Visiting this area has been on my bucket list for quite some time now. I went through a huge alien obsessed phase in middle school, and definitely still believe they’re out there. The moment I realized that sign that said “Extraterrestrial Highway” was real, I knew I had to see it myself. I love it even more covered in stickers. Although if stickers aren’t your thing there is a second sign, coming from the other direction, that doesn’t have quite as many. This sign alone was what prompted me to look more into this area and add it to our map. I know, it’s kind of silly. It’s just a sign but it’s the little things that make me the happiest.

Though sadly we saw no real aliens, there were lots of wonderful photo opportunities of ridiculous alien related things…

giant metal alien, nevada, area 51, extraterrestrial highway alien welcome center, alien research center, desert, alien, area 51 area 51 aliens extraterrestrial highway, area 51, aliens, spaceship

To be honest, the Extraterrestrial Highway isn’t all that exciting. The scenery is gorgeous but it’s a bit repetitive after a while. There are a few really great signs, as shown in the photos above, and I could never say a bad thing about a giant metal alien but if signs and aliens don’t do it for ya, this is easily a section of Nevada you could skip right over. Despite the fact this area draws in tourists, it was a beautifully lonely stretch. There were free range cows all along the highway which I thought was equal parts nerve-wracking and exciting. Let me get close but please don’t run out in front of the car! While Jeff tried to snooze in the passenger seat, I was hitting the brakes every five minutes to take photos of cows.

Last year I got to cross off Roswell, and this year I finally got to check out this strange area. Maybe next year I’ll get to see a UFO? Fingers crossed!
xoxo

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