Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory...

We would have arrived in Gettysburg earlier, but we couldn’t find the Gettysburg Address!

Our first impression of Gettysburg was that we either had to take a bus tour or buy a CD for the auto tour of the battlefield. After asking around, we did find a short walking path on the map to the National Cemetery and the site of “Pickett’s Charge.” It was exactly what we needed, and we scoffed at the people signing up for the bus tours.

We saw the film (narrated by Morgan Freeman and including some epic French Horn solis) and took the escalator up to the cyclorama. It sounds like that ride at the fair where you get stuck to the wall, but it’s actually a 360 degree panoramic painting of the battle. At forty-two feet high and three hundred seventy feet long, one ranger described it as the IMAX theater of the nineteenth century.

After a stroll down the empty walking path, we ended up at the National Cemetery for a ranger led tour of the battle and the Gettysburg Address. It turns out that no one is really sure where Lincoln gave that speech. At least somebody thought to write it down!



Lunch was Hormel chili on a bun! We got lots of jealous looks from the hordes of boy scouts eating their gruel for the day. After filling up, we toured the museum, which included a complete set of civil war era saxhorns and a vertical bell cornet! There was some other stuff about the battles too.



We then went back to the battlefield for a ranger talk on the events of Pickett’s charge. It was a little bit of a muddy walk and looking across at the field, it was hard to imagine the Confederate Generals ordering that attack, with cannons pointed directly at you. We walked down the road and found the Vermont memorial - they were responsible for a flanking maneuver that helped turn the tide of the battle.



Since we had been walking most of the day, we were happy to get into the car and drive for a little while. After crossing into Maryland we took a quick right on a mountain road that took us near Catoctin Mountain Park. It was a stop for another day though because our goal was food. We ended up staying at Greenbrier State Park for the night after a belt-busting meal (nom nom nom) at Texas Roadhouse.

It was warm enough that we could sleep in the tent, but we awoke to raindrops around 6:30. We packed it up quickly so that it wouldn’t be stored wet and got ready for the day. Breakfast was eggs and leftover steak and ribs under a pavilion on the shores of their lake, which Lisa named “Pittance Pond.”

Arriving at Antietam Battlefield, we watched the film (which was not helpful) and listened to the ranger orientation talk (which was REALLY helpful). We asked about hiking but the sprinkles that had woken us up had become a full strength downpour. We drove the auto tour and did get out to walk “bloody lane” until we saw lightning - we didn’t want to become the next casualty in that spot.



Driving away, we turned on the GPS to lead us to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. It led us on Harper’s Ferry Road which seemed to make sense until it told us that we were “arriving at destination” which was only five hundred yards away. Unfortunately, the GPS forgot that the Potomac was in the way...

We took advantage of a bridge that was only a few miles away instead of trying to float our car. Not knowing what to expect, we walked into the tiny Harper’s Ferry visitor center, where the ranger told us to get on the bus. We did.

It took us to the lower village of Harper’s Ferry which was a wonderful destination. The National Park Service has taken over many of the buildings, making the town itself a museum interspersed with private shops and restaurants. The history of the town includes slavery, some crazy guy who is now a’smolderin’ in his grave in North Elba, NY, the Civil War, Lewis and Clark, industrialization, shipping and transportation. We wandered from building to building, eventually finding our way to a grill to eat lunch (turkey wrap and panini with awesome sauce!). It was a great way to spend a rainy day.



Here's the inside of the gun shop. Notice the huge leather belts that run the machines:



Since there are some more thunderstorms in the forecast tonight, we’ll be staying in Harper’s Ferry in a cabin at the KOA. We’ll be looking at the weather and the map to plan our next move south tomorrow!