Gettysburg

Rich and I were here a few years ago. I remember it being foggy and full of ghosts. Maybe I just imagined the fog because the image of the three days was very strong in my mind. Seems like fog is a good place for ghosts.

There was none of that today. Taking boys to a battlefield with cannon and caissons - I finally learned what they are - and big rocks to climb on takes all the mystery and sense of suspended history out of a place. We found most of the caches in the area, answered lots of questions from the kids about the war, and scrambled about on lots of rocks.

The kids ask really interesting questions like if the south had won, and states' rights were more prevalent, would Connor not have to sit in a car seat in Pennsylvania? Or maybe would he have to sit in one in Texas? We had fun thinking up alternate histories.

On to the pictures.

Connor gets his sniper action on.


Andrew climbs the rock.


This is our minivan, a Dodge Grand Caravan. It's ok. We are considering buying a minivan this summer, so it's nice to test drive something like this for an extended period of time.


The boys near Devil's Den. The devil in question was either a big snake or a tale parents used to scare their kids away from a hole under the rocks.


Here is the Devil's Den. We didn't go in.


Devil's Den from Little Round Top. The Texans and Alabamans came around here, ready to take the hill, when an engineer named Warren realized what a problem it would be for his side if the confederates took it. So he called for more troops than just the few signalmen that were on the hill and the rest is history. One of the earthcaches we found dealt with the geology of Little Round Top and the area. I like educational caches.


The New York monument. Those who built it really thought about the dimensions and how they related to the numbers.


The view from the top. I don't have a picture of the spiral staircase. It was fun. Like my tie-dye? It's a couple of weeks old. We saw lots of tie-dye at Gettysburg. I was surprised.


Andrew finds his way through an arch.


Andrew tries not to be seen. FAIL.


Connor tries not to be seen, but these mountain goats are the sons of a mountain goat. Mommy is faster than they are.


Here let's load it. Or swing on it.