Grafton

We drove out to Grafton today to see what we would see.  The first Grafton was settled in 1859.  Three years later the settlement was wiped out in a flood.  They rebuilt and continued farming.  Originally they had planned to grow cotton, but soon realized that all of their arable land would be needed for food to keep them alive.  It was a difficult existence.  This chart is from the plaque in front of the cemetery.  Look at the deaths from diphtheria, which is now a totally preventable disease.  The anti vaxers never cease to confound me with their logic.

This is the cemetery.  We're not sure why Joseph Berry has the tallest headstone and his very own fence.  He and his family were killed by the Navajo.

These are the remaining buildings.  This was the combination school/church.

The Alonzo Russel home.  It's beautifully constructed.

Alonzo built this house for his wife, Louisa Marie.  She had one of the first weaving looms in the area which she had brought from Connecticut.  Since they had the other bigger house, I'm guessing this was her studio.

The wood is hand hewn.  The wood pieces are chinked with something that looks like mud.

This is irrigation Utah style.  The property owner has opened up a really high pressure pipe and is letting it flood the field.  It's putting out a lot of water.

It's pretty out there.  But it's out there.  People are still living in the area farming and ranching.  There are multiple signs pointing out that the dirt roads are impassable when wet.  I guess they watch the weather reports and stock up before it rains.

We were pretty excited this morning when the two RVs with 9 children between them packed up and went home.  They had been setting many fires.  However, our joy has been dashed by the arrival of a rental Class A and their pyromaniac daughter.  The winds are not going to be in our favor for the next few days.