Artillery Ridge Gettysburg, PA

A short day driving.  We wound our way out of that tight little park this morning ...started raining again and rained on us all 176 miles.  Hazy, foggy, wet.  But in the I81/I84 part of Pennsylvania, the colors were great.  The hills were alive with reds, yellow, oranges...even in the hazy rain, it was pretty.  But then the farther south towards Gettysburg, they pretty much disappeared. 

We have decided that the $20 hooded rainjackets that we bought in Bar Harbor were the best investments we've made in a long while. 

We got here at Artillery Ridge Campground around 1:00.  We had requested a "satellite friendly" site and that's exactly what we got....sorta up here on a ridge with no trees.  I like it.  Ronnie put the satellite finder out and immediately got it...even got our locals (Little Rock) in HD....cannot figure that out at all.  The dish thingy still has the Northeast settings on it because he forgot to change them.  Strange...  but it's good to see Craig, Liz, and Ed.

Soon as we got everything fixed, we set off for the Visitor's Center.  It's only about a mile down the road from us and the National Park is just across the road from that.  We went to the VC and found just what we were looking for:  a CD self-guided auto tour.  Bought it complete with 2 cd's and maps that take you all through the park and go into detail at each stop explaining all 3 days of the Battle of Gettysburg.  With that purchase, you could also buy a nice soft sided cooler for $15 ...so we did  and will use it for a picnic lunch while on the tour.  First, though, I'll have to fix a lunch. LOL. 

After we got that done, we drove to the Outlet Mall and shopped a bit.  Then found a place to eat dinner and then back to the RV.  It's nearly 7 p.m. and we're tired.  We're looking forward to tomorrow...we've always enjoyed reading and studying about the Civil War.  Although we've been to Gettysburg and have taken a guided tour of the battlefields, it was a few years ago and I've forgotten a lot.  It'll be nice to take our time and really absorb what we are hearing on the CD and looking at....no one will be hurrying on to the next stop. 

We've watched pretty much all the movies that have been made on the War.  I remember years ago going to one of the Breckinridge Theaters in LR and watching the movie, Glory.  I just sat there and cried.   It's always been an emotional thing for me...not sure why.  I think I probably had some ancestors who were involved in it, but it feels real to me. 

We are smack in the middle of it all right  now.  Sitting up here on this little ridge, I feel like we're on the edge of a battle somewhere.  I just hope the spirits are quiet tonight....