As the sun sinks, we trace our fingers over the faded letters carved into the stone, trying to decipher what it says. We all lay on the ground gazing up at the stars, shouting when one shoots across the sky.
One great place to go near campus, especially during a pandemic, is the cemetery. I’ve gone there with new friends to get to know them, or with old friends watch the stars and just talk about life. It’s a place to draw or write, to be alone, or to explore. There are a couple of different graveyards within the Riverview cemetery and the area surrounding it.
Ahavai Sholom Cemetery was the first graveyard I visited. It’s the only one that isn’t actually connected to the Riverview cemetery. It’s a bit more densely packed. Most of the trails are well lit so if you are a bit squeamish or you just need light to read or draw at night this is a good one to go to.
The Military Graveyard is the place to go-to for old broken gravestones, and wide-open skies. This one is within the Riverview cemetery but it is not surrounded by a gate. The stones here are older and more uniform than the ones in the main Riverview cemetery. This is the graveyard I would suggest for stargazing. There is the least amount of light pollution and large areas with no trees, so you can really see the sky.
The Gated Cemetary, this is where you can find a wide variety of gravestones: towering obelisks, scrolls, crosses, old and new, metal, marble, granite. The whole area is beautifully landscaped with trees. This area also offers the best view of portland. It’s high up on the hill, so you can see the whole expanse of it. At night it is all lit up. (the pictures below were taken from this graveyard)
If you have any questions please feel free to email me at lc20-0189@lclark.edu.
P.S.If you do go to the graveyard please remember to be respectful. These are someone's loved ones.
