High on the Modoc Plateau, just off Interstate 5, lies an extraordinary outdoor sculpture garden. Mt. Shasta provides an austere backdrop for ten, stylized metal sculptures depicting the passions of war. Separate installations by artist Dennis Smith portray refugees and far-away loved ones, soldiers leaving home and returning, nurses, and prisoners of war. Somber, haunting and spiritual, the site has a surreal beauty. Fifty-eight thousand pines, a living memorial to the 58,000 American dead in Vietnam, also grace the site. Although it is dedicated to veterans of all conflicts, the site has been developed as a "park for everyone". |