Gettysburg Pennsylvania
October 30, 2007
Van Go parked in front of the Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg National Military Park.
We got up with the sun, ran the engine to warm the Roadtrek. Our heater is not working. We decided over coffee to go back to Gettysburg since we have not been through the National Park there. The visitor center is a dark and dingy sort of place with workers perched atop stools calling out, “next” and handing out maps. There is an orientation program with a lightup map as its center, but there is also a fee not covered with your park pass so opted out of that and went on the Auto Tour. They also have guided bus tours, individual tours or private tours you can take. We followed the route stopping at the key points of interest. Monuments, plaques and exhibits tell the story of three days of battle with troops moving and men dieing.
Our first stop was the cemetary where Abraham Lincoln gave his two minute speech, The Gettysburg Address. Today a monument stands on the spot where he was surrounded by troops and said in a solumn voice, "Four score and seven years ago...." you know the rest. (See picture below)
This is Tim and Valerie from Nova Scotia who Will met when he climbed one of the observation towers for better look of the battlefields. They sold a 40-foot sailboat and bought a little trailer so they could drive around North America with their dog. Hope to meet up with them again in Texas or boating the Intra-coastal/Great Lakes loop.
The largest monument of the park is the Pennsylvania monument. It is made of white stone, has steps leading up to a veranda, bronze statues of Lincoln and each general and inside the pillars are bronze plaques listing all of the men who fought in the battle. We found a little door on the backside of one of the pillars and entered the spiral stairs leading up and up around and around to the top above the roof dome. The room had pocked tin along the walls and ceiling. We stepped outside. What a spectacular view! And no one sees you up there because of the curve of the walls. It was a great way to end our Auto Tour. We headed east.
Van Go parked in front of the Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg National Military Park.We got up with the sun, ran the engine to warm the Roadtrek. Our heater is not working. We decided over coffee to go back to Gettysburg since we have not been through the National Park there. The visitor center is a dark and dingy sort of place with workers perched atop stools calling out, “next” and handing out maps. There is an orientation program with a lightup map as its center, but there is also a fee not covered with your park pass so opted out of that and went on the Auto Tour. They also have guided bus tours, individual tours or private tours you can take. We followed the route stopping at the key points of interest. Monuments, plaques and exhibits tell the story of three days of battle with troops moving and men dieing.
Our first stop was the cemetary where Abraham Lincoln gave his two minute speech, The Gettysburg Address. Today a monument stands on the spot where he was surrounded by troops and said in a solumn voice, "Four score and seven years ago...." you know the rest. (See picture below)
This is Tim and Valerie from Nova Scotia who Will met when he climbed one of the observation towers for better look of the battlefields. They sold a 40-foot sailboat and bought a little trailer so they could drive around North America with their dog. Hope to meet up with them again in Texas or boating the Intra-coastal/Great Lakes loop.The largest monument of the park is the Pennsylvania monument. It is made of white stone, has steps leading up to a veranda, bronze statues of Lincoln and each general and inside the pillars are bronze plaques listing all of the men who fought in the battle. We found a little door on the backside of one of the pillars and entered the spiral stairs leading up and up around and around to the top above the roof dome. The room had pocked tin along the walls and ceiling. We stepped outside. What a spectacular view! And no one sees you up there because of the curve of the walls. It was a great way to end our Auto Tour. We headed east.
Comments