After almost meeting Jodi Foster, eating a hamburger the size of a Frisbee, and driving dead straight for almost 60 miles, I discovered a terrific little cemetery tucked away in a wooded landscape not far from wilderness campgrounds and a working horse farm.
“Wait, you almost met Jodi Foster? Skip the cemetery stuff and tell us the details.” you are probably saying to yourself.
Well, in all honesty, I did not almost meet Jodi Foster. However, I did visit the Very Large Array (VLA) where Jodi Foster filmed segments of the film “CONTACT” in 1996. There is a large poster describing the day she visited the VLA. I’m sure it was a very exciting time for the scientists to have their facilities featured in such a movie.
After leaving the VLA site and stopping by an out-of-the-way burger joint called the Eagle Guest Ranch where I ate the best 16 ounce hamburger smothered in green chili I have ever eaten, I heard rumor of a great cemetery with a beautiful ironwork gate. My main question at this point concerned the correct pronunciation of the town’s name. Was it pronounced Day-til? That was my best guess until I saw the name of the hamburger on the menu. “The Datil Do-Ya” burger. Ahhh…Dattle-Do-Ya. Great….the correct pronunciation of the cemetery is: Dattle.
In my hunt for Datil Cemetery, a technical obstacle immediately presented itself. Using my Garmin GPS, I found Oatil Cemetery but there was no listing for Datil. If anyone from the USGS happens to have access to the nationwide cemetery database happens to read this: Oatil Cemetery in New Mexico need to be changed to Datil Cemetery.
Anyway, I saw the cemetery but I missed the turn and wound around to a working horse farm. The horses were beautiful and intrigued by my attempts to cross a shallow ravine in my current Cemetery-Mobile. Yes, a Chevy Cavalier is not suitable for 4 wheeling. With slobber dripping bits, the horses blinked their eyes and swished their tails. Glad I provided some much needed ammusement, big guys. A friendly, yet skeptical, cowgirl sidled up to my car and offered directions to Datil Cemetery. Datil Cemetery is off route 12 just outside of Datil, New Mexico.
As I had heard, the iron gate at Datil Cemetery is spectacular. A kneeling cowboy backed by his trusty steed pays respects to a cross in front of a setting sun. The cemetery is small but the care taken by the family and friend of those buried at Datil Cemetery is apparent.
Apparently, a campground lies nestled amongst the hills to the east of Datil Cemetery. I would have loved to have bedded down for the night but my enthusiastic travelling companion (The Cemetery Diva) urged me on to our next stop.
