Heading south

The Visitor Center was blessedly un-populated on Monday morning, so Jeff spent some time on the resource room computers looking up information on old Thomas, while I searched fruitlessly for a wi-fi signal.

I whispered a wee hint in Abe's ear.

Don't go to the theatre!

Then we did the driving tour of battle sites. We stopped by the Little Round Top area and sneaked a listen to some of the tour bus drivers and private guides for some extra tidbits on the history. This was where the second day of the battle took place and it was particularly devastating.  

This could have been a decisive battle for the south and the Civil War might have been won in a day. However, due to sick commanders, reorganizations, distrust, and general mishaps among the southern troops, the outcome was indecisive and the next day would only bring further heartache and destruction.

This is looking out from the northern position, over the fields where the southern troops were stationed.

Overlooking Devil's Den, a boulder-strewn ridge about 500 yards west of Little Round Top. It is the site of one of the few southern successes of the day, when it was taken and used by sharpshooters and still occupied by Confederates at the end of the day.

It's hard to imagine, now, the sights and sounds of battle that filled this landscape 150 years ago. Over 3,000 men died here on the second day of battle and over 1,200 were wounded. This description is found on the official website:

Hours of combat had left a thick, heavy cloud of smoke hanging over the field, pierced by the frowning red glare of the sun setting behind the Confederate line. Booming artillery and crackling rifle fire, coupled with shouted commands, groans from wounded soldiers and the scared whinnying of horses, created the horrible sounds of war. 

We went down to Devil's Den for a closer look.

As we walked over the rocks, I imagined Confederate sharpshooters hiding in the crevices.

The battle was long and complicated and I could never hope to tell it in anything close to a coherent manner. Whenever we visit battlefields, my heart and mind are overwhelmed with sorrow for the suffering of the soldiers and their families, and I get to the point of being unable to hear even one more tale of destruction.

And yet, after we left Gettysburg in the early afternoon, we headed over the mountains to find Antietam. I did manage to get us slightly lost (thinking that the Appalachian Trail was a highway) but we found it eventually.

The Battle of Antietam (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg) took place on September 17th, 1862. It was the bloodiest single day of fighting in the war, with 22,717 missing, wounded or dead on both sides. 

These cornfields were once running in blood.

We walked along the Bloody Lane. This sunken road was used by outnumbered Confederates to hold off a series of Union attacks. When union troops eventually entered the lane, they fired straight down it, killing and wounding countless Confederates.

There is a watchtower at the end of the lane. It was built after the war, for the purpose of training military leaders in the art of battle.

We had one more stop to make before heading down to visit friends at Buena Vista (pronounced Byoona Vista, for those in the know) for the night. So on we went, to Luray Caverns, a casualty of lack of time on our visit to Virginia last year.
I will only subject you to a few photos from my arsenal.

The caverns were discovered in 1878 by a tinsmith and local photographer.
The tour lasts one hour and the caverns are mighty. Some of the ceilings are ten stories high. The next two photos give you an idea of the scale.

We love caves and I have lost count of how many we have visited. This was definitely the biggest and grandest but, somehow, the caves disappointed me. I prefer a certain amount of ruggedness and impoliteness in my caves. Here, all was paved and lighted and downright civilized. However, it was worth the visit and I would recommend you take the time too, if you are ever in that neck of the Shenandoah Valley.

This pool was filled with coins. We hear that people sometimes throw paper money in as well. Periodically, the money is collected and donated to charity. Almost a million dollars has been donated so far. Hard to wrap your mind around that figure, isn't it?

One of the things I dislike about caves is that I want to take a million photos because of all the awesomeness, but they rarely turn out to do the views justice. If I use a flash, it creates bright spots, and if I don't, the photos are blurry.
Like these reflecting pools, which were absolutely brilliant.

One of the young men had a strange-looking walking-stick thing, which was attached to his camera and steadied it while he took photos. I finally worked up the courage and asked him what it was.
Monopod.
I need one of these.
Children, take note. Your mother wants a monopod for Christmas.
It sounds like an alien intruder.

Some formations are translucent.

Everything is on a grand scale. No close-ups here.

 Right before you leave the caverns are the fried eggs.
I wanted to scrape these up and eat them, they are so adorable.

And a close-up of the adorableness.

We left Luray Caverns and drove south to Byoona Vista. 

But that's a story for another day.