I like to visit cemeteries when I travel — this is usually the first thing I do once I get some free time. I’ve been to Grand Marais before but have never checked out Poplar Grove Cemetery on Highway 61 until Thursday. That morning I went for a run on the bike path, my destination the cemetery, about a mile and a half from downtown.

Loved this name:

The day was cloudy and foggy, a little mild by Grand Marais standards with temps in the low 50s. Perfect November weather.

The storage shed, which I presumed had been used as a vault to hold spring burials:

What about that epitaph, you say? Keep reading.

I like to call this one “Welcome.”

The cemetery has such an eclectic mix of markers — some are old, some quite new. But it’s not too often I see something as rustic as this. People in Grand Marais like to do things their own way.

Where’s that epitaph? It’s coming!

This one looks like something more common out East:

This one even creeped me out a little. I half-expected a hand to come rising out of the dirt.

And what you’ve been waiting for: the best epitaph ever:

(All photos by author)