Ehrenberg Cemetery and Parker, AZ

Thank YOU to my latest "Follower" who makes it #36.  Merri has chosen to join my gang and I am really thrilled to have her on board!

We had nothing major planned for today besides watching the desert dust blow by, so we packed a little lunch in the cooler, plunked Annie in the back of the Explorer and set out to see what Parker, Arizona looked like.  Parker is off the beaten path and we've never had any reason to go there.  Now that we've seen it, we pretty much feel the same way....no real reason to go there again.

From Ehrenberg we took the Ehrenberg-Parker Hwy north.  It was a little less than an hour's drive to the riverside town of Parker and we drove through the Colorado River Indian Reservation on the way.  This is another region with a lot of farmland.  Judging by all the hay that was stacked in the fields, they must grow a lot of hay on this reservation.

Parker isn't a big town but it does have a brand new WalMart and a variety of fast food opportunities.  There were a few full service restaurants and several motels, too.  We bought a Diet Coke at McDonald's and sat in their parking lot and ate our sandwiches.  Annie got a bit of bread crust so she was happy.

For our drive back to Ehrenberg we took Hwy. 95 south to Quartzsite, about 40 miles away.  From there it was a short hop down I-10 to our RV park.  Nothing exciting, but now we've seen Parker.  Why did we go there?  Just as the mountain climber says about why he climbs the mountain, "because it was there."

After getting Annie the Schnauzer settled back in the motorhome, Bruce and I took the camera and walked across the street from our RV park.  We saw a sign reading, EHRENBERG CEMETERY.  We had to check it out.  (click on any photo to enlarge)

According to what I read later on the internet, the town of Ehrenberg was settled in the mid 1850's by Herman Ehrenberg, a German engineer and surveyor.  The town never grew very large, but by 1870 the population was 233.  It was the principal landing spot on the river for freight being shipped overland to Prescott, Arizona.  All that remains of the original town today, is this cemetery and scarcely visible foundations of a few buildings.  (we didn't see the building remains)

Here is a dedication sign (definitely not from the 1800's) we saw upon entry to the cemetery.  Here is an overview of the cemetery, too.

Most of the graves are marked "Unknown".

We did see this one brand new looking granite marker that was lying on a grave.  It was just lying on top of the grave and not really installed permanently. 

Along the southwest fence we saw this remnant of an old wagon possibly used by some of the townfolk way back when.

We ended this fun filled day taking a short walk with Annie around the RV park.  She always enjoys getting out to sniff everything in sight.  We like to give her that doggy thrill.  One more day here at the Colorado River Oasis and we'll be moving on.

Until next time.....so long for now!