Sharing with Emily the story of Mary Beal

I’m planning to take Emily to the Daggett Pioneer Cemetery during our outing this weekend. I want to show her the grave of Botanist Mary Beal who came to the desert as a young adult to spend her life wandering and exploring alone amidst the silent mountains and dead volcanic cinder cones. Miss Beal’s botanical photos, descriptions and specimens are today found in collections around the world. Miss Beal herself was interred in an unmarked grave beside the man who shared her passion for the desert and who may have been something more than friend. A headstone was added a few years ago by admirers of her work and life story. My own research has revealed what I think are the graves of Mary’s mom and dad in an old cemetery in Riverside where I plan to stop with Emily to tell her the first part of the long and interesting tale of Mary Beal the Desert Botanist.