There's a cemetery up THERE?

Okay, I have been to a lot of cemeteries. Some have been really easy to find, some have been so sketchy you wish you had a weapon. That being said, I am off to find 3 of them today. One is going to be easy. I am only going there to "pay-it-forward" to someone on http://www.findagrave.com/ with a photo request for a cemetery four miles from my house. The second one we are looking for is Nance Cemetery in Grainger County, Tennessee. I am related to the Nance's through their marriages to Vineyard's who marry into the Guy family. It shouldn't be that hard to find. The third one will be...interesting. We have looked for Vineyard Cemetery twice in Blount County, Tennessee. We drove past it and didnt see it, I did more research and then we tried to find it again with no luck. Now, thanks to Google maps I discovered that it is actually on top of a hill, away from the road and will likely requires us to do some climbing, tromping through the woods and possibly trespass. Should be an exciting day!
The essential tools for any genealogist exploring cemeteries are:

• a GPS system (to find your way)


• Digital voice recorder (great when transcribing cemeteries or describing them)


• clip board, paper and a writing utensil that is waterproof


• binoculars


• pepper spray (not all cemeteries are in safe places so I recommend pepper spray even if it is just for peace of mind)


• compass


• sturdy shoes (I recommend water proof boots)


• brush or something to wipe graves off with


• flour (yep, like you use when baking) is non-toxic and great for headstones that are hard to read and flat


• gloves (in case your have to clear debris from graves or remove moss)

Check out the picture for my "must-have" items for my cemetery trips today!