AIDS Memorial Grove

West End entrance leading to the Fern Grotto

This scenic patch of greenery within Golden Gate Park is like a mini-oasis. Save for the odd cell phone talker, ball/frisbee player or picnic-goer, the AIDS Memorial Grove is usually fairly peaceful. Unfortunately, the habits of Memorial visitors seem to be changing over time. As the lawn at the Conservatory of Flowers has now become a mini Dolores Park West (read: Party Spot Central), so, too, has this place become a bit of a fiesta zone at the weekend.

Abide by the rules, folks. 

Flowers left for a loved one. 

At the east end, there's a really cool bit of cement with names etched into it that I mistakenly thought were the names of those who we have lost (like the Memorial Quilt), but it's actually a composition of names of donors to the grove spiralling out from a central point like the rings of a tree. -slightly less moving as a result. However, there are occasional individual memorials to those who have died set up on the donor name site & they are moving. -a floral bouquet, an old photograph, eulogies left on sheets of paper and secured by rock.  

Beyond the glade are paths, dirt & stepped alike, leading up through the trees at the west end toward a main road. Benches abound within the grove, so there's really a lot of opportunity to sit and reflect during one's visit. 

My favorite Uncle died of AIDS/HIV related issues back when the epidemic was just coming into to full swing in the mid-80s. It was awful to watch him deteriorate. We really had no idea what was happening to him. His death marked the second time I had seen my father cry. The first was when he and my mother divorced. I'm grateful that this grove exists and that I'm able to visit it as often as I wish. 

Parting shot.