Country Waye Campground, Luray, Virginia

Country Waye Campground was our 'home' while Allan was in Silver Valley at the end of September. It was a beautiful, quiet, comfortable location. Our view included the Shenandoah Mountains, the well-groomed campground lawn and pavillion, and a corn-field and silos in the distance.

Luray Caverns, Virginia

Camping near Luray for an extended period made the Luray Caverns an understandable location for one of our fieldtrips. The cavern was discovered in 1878, and opened for tours a mere three months later. I was impressed that almost the entire cave surface was decorated with formations. Because early tourists were encouraged to break off stalactites for souvenirs during the first few decades of operation, some areas of the caverns suffered obvious damage. But on a whole it was an underground wonderland. Some of the neatest features were the reflecting pool, giant columns and flowstones, the 'wishing well', and the 'stalacpipe' organ.

Shenandoah, Virginia

Our home-base campground near Luray, Virginia was nestled at the west base of the Shenandoah Mountains, so we had only a 10 -15 minute drive to get to Shenandoah National Park. The major feature of this park is Skyline Drive, which follows the ridge of the mountains so that one can have views to the east and views to the west within very short distances of each other. Because of our close proximity to the park, we visited it several times and enjoyed several hikes, ranger programs, museum displays, visitor center informational films/slideshows, and wildlife-viewing (including a black bear, many deer, vultures, wild turkeys, Monarch butterflies/caterpillars, and a praying mantis). The views were sometimes foggy or hazy, but after a windy night, they were clear and awe-inspiring. A popular park with Washington DC inhabitants, it soon became very popular with us as well.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

From our home-base in Luray, Virginia we drove for just over an hour to get to Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia. Harpers Ferry is an original historic town situated at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, where the states of Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia meet.

The town had a varied background. We were surprised at how much we learned. One important incident in American history that happened at the site was the Raid of John Brown. He was an abolitionist who took a personal stand against slavery, by capturing the Harpers Ferry arsenal in 1859. Although his raid ended in failure, and indeed John Brown was executed for treason, his actions got people thinking, and just over a year later the Civil War began. Harpers Ferry was also the home of the famous Storer College which was a school open to all races. There was a lot of early industry in the town, and it had a wonderful system of canals to help power the factories. The town had a Civil War background, as a Union supply base. We realized that Harpers Ferry had wetlands surrounding it, but it has also gone through numerous major floods. It is a town that just keeps coming back, and was an extremely interesting location for us to visit.

Virginia

Once we arrived in Virginia, we found a nice campground to call home for two or three weeks. During that time (the last weeks of September) Allan flew home to Silver Valley in order to get some final chores accomplished before the winter snows arrive. So, the kids and I spent our days working on school assignments or going on field trips. We found that our location at Luray, Virginia was central to many national parks and other sites.

Manassas National Battlefield Park was the location of two separate battles during the American Civil War. In July of 1861, First Manassas (or First Bull Run) was the first major clash of the war. In that way it was rather a gruesome shock for the sight-seers who drove their horses and buggies out from near-by Washington DC to watch 'the show'. The Manassas brochure claims, "Soldiers on both sides were stunned by the violence and destruction they encountered." It was at this battle that Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson received his famous nickname of 'Stonewall Jackson' for his stalwart defense of the line, which helped to bring a Confederate victory to this battle. The Battle of Second Manassas occurred in August of 1862, and was a much bloodier affair than the first. After three days of fighting, the Union army retreated, opening up opportunities for an 'invasion of the north' for Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The next national battlefield that we visited was Antietam, in Maryland. The battle occurred on September 17, 1862, and is well-known as "the bloodiest day of the Civil War". There were three important areas of fighting: the cornfield, the Sunken Road (later to be known as Bloody Lane), and the Burnside Bridge. At the end of the day about 23,000 men lay in the field as casualties. It was considered a Union victory, but in hindsight, if Union General George B. McClellan had pressed his advantage at this time, he may have been able to put an end to the Confederate army, thus ending this horrible war three years earlier than actually happened. The American Civil War lasted from 1861 to1865, and took the lives of more than 623,000 soldiers (more than any other war in US history).

Pennsylvania

As we headed south of New York state, we entered Pennsylvania. We were impressed with the smooth roads we encountered throughout the entire state. It was also interesting along the major highway to see the tracks of the horses and buggies of the Amish. Although we saw traffic signs warning of these slow-moving vehicles, we didn't actually see any of them.

The highlight of Pennsylvania was going to Gettysburg National Military Park. The Battle of Gettysburg stretched for three days from July 1 - 3, 1863, half-way through America's Civil War. The horrors of this war were evident in the number of casualties during the Gettysburg battle: 51,000. This was the largest number of casualties in any battle of the Civil War. When the military cemetery was dedicated in November of that year, President Abraham Lincoln was invited to say a message to the assembled crowd. His famous Gettysburg Address was merely 272 words in length, and took only a few minutes to deliver, yet brought meaning to all the death, and hope to the living. The sacrifice displayed at this site was very thought-provoking.

We left Gettysburg at about 4:00 p.m. and soon left Pennsylvania, to enter Maryland, and then West Virginia, and Virginia, all within the space of an hour or so. The scenery became more farm-oriented.

The next day, September 14, we celebrated Mason's birthday. He turned 13, so now all of our children are teenagers.

New York State

From Rutland, Vermont, we drove the few short miles to New York state, and soon found ourselves at Saratoga National Historic Park. This was an important site in America's War of Independence, because US victories here (over Britain's world famous army), on September 19 and October 7, 1777, were a turning point in the war, and eventually led to America's full independence from Britain. We learned that the War of Independence lasted from 1775 to 1783, even though the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. We also learned that at Saratoga, Benedict Arnold was an extremely successful and well-loved general, but was not given the credit due him. Because of this, and the fact that he later married a woman with British sympathies, he 'turned coat' , became a spy for the Brits, and was thereafter remembered as a US traitor. Morgan, Elise, and Mason dressed up in period costume in the Visitor Center. It was an interesting location.

From Saratoga, we drove west to do some business in the western section of New York state. So, New York City is 'on hold' for now. Hopefully we'll have a chance to fit it in later.