Row upon row of plain brown bags criss-cross an open meadow at Palo Alto Battlefield NHP. A wave of 100s of teenagers passes among them intent on the immediate task, lighting thousands of candles one by one.  The sun is low in the sky but still throwing enough light to outshine the bits of firelight.  We all wait.  Some sit quietly among the carefully placed bags.  Some run wildly, stomping out the occasional flameout as wind presses paper into flame.  The sun slides lower in the sky and the luminaries begin to glow.  First a pale yellow then a bright orange as the rows begin to stand out against the darkening sky.  From the center it both reaches far and wraps around me.  It is a beautiful tribute and memorial to those who died on both sides in the Mexican American War.

Earlier in the day we walked through The National Historical Park that preserves the site and tells the story of the first battle of the Mexican American War. It is another bit of history I can’t recall having studied.  They do a nice job telling the story.  Check it out.