A long way from Russia

I had to travel from one part of Northern California to another part of Northern California yesterday. I have traveled this area countless times in my lifetime, and had never had the opportunity to stop at the cemetery at the Fort Ross (California State Park) cemetery. I LOVE Fort Ross, and highly recommend it, if you are ever driving between Jenner and the Northern Coast. The last Saturday of every July, the volunteers dress up as 1820's inhabitants of the Fort, and it is a lot of fun.
Fort Ross was a Russian Fort that helped to support the (sea otter) fur trade, and has been bought and sold until the State of California made it into a State Park! I could spend an entire day here and still not get enough!!
As with all Forts, there is also a cemetery. Although the photo below makes it appear as though the cemetery is right next to the Fort, it is actually a bit of a (curvy) drive away. I did pull over at a turnout and walk through the wooden fence. This is the beautiful view!

All of the crosses are wooden, and unmarked. They are beautiful in the traditional Russian Orthodox style. There is beautiful ocean view, and I was very lucky that the sun was out while I was there.
I have always been fascinated by immigration. I can not imagine leaving my "home country" and "most of my family" behind to go to the "new world" (either by choice, force or job). Taking into consideration that a simple letter could take a year, living and dying in a new country must have been a scary task. Even if you have an ancestor that died here, finding their specific grave would be impossible.
Thank you for reading!

Facing my cemetery fears...

Very few things about cemeteries "scare" me. I am not afraid of ghosts or demons or orbs or anything "of a spiritual nature." I am afraid of: snakes, spiders, anything creepy and crawly. I was at the cemetery in Manchester, California yesterday when I spotted the grave in the above picture. (The quality is not that great--sorry). I would never had noticed it, for the entire plot of overgrown, and the photo is taken through a "hole" in an overgrown mass of plants and ivy.
I was looking for a specific marker (for findagrave.com) and knew that I had to crawl in there to see if it was the grave I was looking for (it was not). Keep in mind that the ivy was at least two feet deep, and heaven knows what was living in it. (Shiver).
Once inside, it was like being in a BEAUTIFUL forest. Although the entire space was only 10X10, it was the most peaceful plot I have ever been in. Then I took this photo:

I know that it is crooked, but I was waiting to be attacked by whatever was making the ivy its home. The names of their children is inscribed on the back, but it had a HUGE yellow slug crawling on it, and since I believe in leaving things as I find them, I left it!
I did make it out alive. I am sure that in a few years, the "jungle" will overtake this grave. I will try and keep the "opening" open, and will brave the space again.
Thankfully I was able to find the marker I was looking for...on the other side of the cemetery!
Thank you for reading!