Descanso - A Roadside Memorial

This descanso is just down the road from my home. Descansos are makeshift roadside memorials to people killed in accidents. The word "descanso" comes from the Spanish word meaning "to rest" (as in a resting place, either a final one for a body or a temporary one for pallbearers making their way to a grave).

Roadside memorials are both traditional and popular in the Southwest.They are preserved as much as possible when road work is done. If a highway project requires that the often delicate descansos be removed, workers will survey the marker's location so they can replant it in the exact original location when the work is done.

This descanso stands about 3 feet tall. It is somewhat faded - has been there a long time.