This morning we awoke to the normal shroud of fog blanketing the whole park in Fort Chiswell.  It didn’t, however, stop many from leaving in the early hours.  We were in no rush so we decided to wait until it burned off.

While waiting we had a great breakfast, two eggs on toast, fried spam, juice, and a couple of cups of coffee.  Our tummies full we got to work packing up the last few items and disconnecting ourselves from the mother ship.  We had plenty of company as this is basically a transient park.  They leave in the morning and stream in between noon and three in the afternoon.

Soon enough we were out the front gate and on the road headed south.  Today was a day to test and learn regarding Graybeard.  Throughout the past year we’ve usually left the

AC off from the dash, oh I don’t know why, just felt it would be easier on the engine.  Not on this trip it was just too hot.  I could have started the generator and turned the basement AC on but I needed to know, would the dash air keep us cool in the 90 degree weather, would the engine begin to run hot.  The answer to the two questions is yes and no.  We were comfortable the whole way and the temperature gauge never budged above where it normally sits.  Now we know.

Next, in the past I’ve usually kept the cruise control on.  Yet, I was becoming more

uncomfortable with the way it managed our speed, especially when climbing mountains.  Oh yes, this was a trip of climbing mountains, some short, steep grades and some really long pulls.  So today I left the cruise off and drove with my right foot.  What I discovered is I could, in most cases, climb every hill in fourth gear at about 3200 rpm.  I might, by the time I crested the hill, be at around 55 mph but that was not a problem since I was in no rush.   Only once or twice when caught in the right lane behind a really slow moving truck would I have to drop down to third gear and run at 4700 rpm.   Also, by controlling the speed myself I was always able to kick it up into overdrive a lot sooner than usually happened with the cruise control.  Lessons learned that will be remembered.

OK, some four hours later – we stopped for fuel and a lunch break – we were on Raccoon Valley Road and there in front of us was the entrance sign for Raccoon Valley RV Park.

This is an Escapees RV Park of which we are members and it is in my opinion one of the

best deals going.  Our FHU with 50 amp is only $13 a day plus electric.  OK, no WiFi, but we have the Hot Spot,; and, no pool, but I haven’t gone swimming in over a year.  We’re in site #28, hard packed gravel, level, all utilities conveniently located.  It’s a great spot (it’s just to the left of the listing for the Off-Air TV Channels list).

So, since Home Is Where We Park It, here we are all settled in for the next month.

So that was our day, a great one in that as always we traveled along down The Road of Retirement, hand in hand, singing our song.  Thanks so much for joining us and it was great having you along.  We hope you also had a great day.  In closing a thought for each of us to think upon:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

So we awoke this morning to the sound of some familiar friends, cows mooing in the adjacent field.  We couldn’t figure out why they came running down the hill every

early morning and mid afternoon.  I walked across and took a closer look and discovered there was a stream just on the other side of the fence.  So, in a sense, they were coming down each morning for their morning coffee.

Oh, and yes, this morning I was rewarded for fixing the cable with a really nice breakfast.  I had French toast, sausage, juice, and a couple of cups of coffee.  But really, cable or not, my Sweetheart always makes me a wonderful breakfast.  She’s the greatest.

As the day wore on the temperature just kept climbing until it was finally over 90 degrees.  Most of the day there was a nice breeze and so there was no need for the AC

But about 6 pm the air got real still, the temperature was still in the high 80’s, the humidity and dew point were both in the 70’s.  It was time to turn the air conditioner on.  No way would we be able to get a decent night’s sleep under the current conditions.  Ah, within 30 minutes it was already starting to feel great.

Today I took my time and attended to things in general.  I washed the windshield, same with the side front windows, then came the mirrors.  That’s when I discovered we had an issue.  The right rear view mirror has worked loose.  Worse yet the set screw used to tighten it will not budge.  I’m not worried about it coming off while on the road so when we get to Raccoon Valley I’ll get some WD40 and work it loose over the next week.  At least that’s the plan!

As of now, the tire covers are off, an under the hood check, revealed no issues, tire pressure is good, the outdoor decorations and outdoor temperature sensor are put away.  Like always, just about 30 minutes of work left for tomorrow morning and we’ll be good to go.  The trip should take no more than 3 to 4 hours.

Let’s go back now to Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and wrap things up.  There is so much here to learn about the Civil War in total but rather than cover it I’m going to stick to just the battle that occurred at Gettysburg.

By June 1863, the Union and Confederate armies found themselves roughly where they had started two years before.  But Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army was starved for supplies and he believed that the best hope for his army lay in a bold gamble – an invasion of Pennsylvania.

This is a display of Lee’s field headquarters.  The stove, cot, medical chest and field desk traveled with him during the invasion of Pennsylvania.

The people of Gettysburg knew the Confederates might come.  Money in the town bank was shipped away.  Merchants sent a railroad car full of goods to Philadelphia.  Residents hid their valuables and livestock.  Many of the men fled realizing that they were more likely to be rounded up as captives or mistaken for combatants and shot.

But why Gettysburg?  Well, the Army of the Northern Virginia was spread out west, north, and east of Gettysburg on June 30^th.  The Army of the Potomac was south and southeast.  Ten roads converged at the town like the spokes of a wheel and drew both armies in.

On July 1, 1863 neither army commander looked for a battle at Gettysburg.  Union Gen George Meade knew the rough location of nearly 50,000 Confederates west of Gettysburg.  Robert E Lee believed that the Union forces were still near Middleburg, Maryland.  The biggest battle of the Civil War took them both by surprise.

July 1, 1863 at 7:30 am Lt. Jones of the 8^th Illinois Cavalry watched a column of Confederate Infantry appear on the Chambersburg Pike.  He sent a rider back that the Confederates were on the way.  He then borrowed a carbine from his sergeant, rested it on a fence rail and fired.  The Battle of Gettysburg had begun.

Suddenly there were soldiers everywhere.  Cavalry and artillery galloped through the town of Gettysburg.  Thousands of Union infantry ran through the streets.  Minie balls and cannon shells whined through the air and slammed into buildings.  The Civil War had erupted in Gettysburg.

At the battle those three days one found the three main branches of a Civil War army – Infantry, Artillery and Cavalry.  The clash of the infantry decided nearly every major battle in the Civil War and it was no different at Gettysburg.  Following are some pictures of a typical Union and Confederate Soldier.  The first is of a Union soldier.

The second is of a Confederate soldier.

 

The role of the infantry was simple but bloody – to drive back the enemy infantry and to take and hold ground. Infantry regiments spent agonizing minutes or hours getting in position for a charge often under artillery fire.

In the deciding moments of a battle, infantryman often stood only a few feet apart.  They poured fire into one another at point blank range, and sometimes fought hand to hand, until one side broke the other’s will to fight.

 

Along with the infantry there was Artillery.  The role of the artillery was to support the infantry.  During an infantry assault, gunners poured fire into the enemy’s ranks to break the assault.  Artillery batteries also bombarded enemy positions before an attack.

Artillery brigades were divided into batteries, which usually included four to six cannons.  Roughly 100 soldiers manned the guns.  Hauling a battery’s guns and ammunition required nearly as many horses.

The typical cannon was the Napoleon cannon which was effective up to one mile.  They fired solid shot, exploding shells, or canisters.  On the move, the cannon was hooked to a limber or ammunition chest on wheels, and a team of six horses pulled both.

The following is a picture of a typical limber or ammunition chest.  During combat the chests were kept a safe distance back, and a solider called the powder monkey brought rounds to the gun crews.  The table of fire glued inside the lid reminded gunners of the correct gun elevation for hitting targets at various distances.

Finally, we have the Cavalry.  Their first responsibility was to find the enemy and report their location.  They also on occasion would raid enemy supply lines, disrupt lines of communication, burn bridges and destroy railroads.

In the display pictured below the horse and rider carry the equipment of a typical Union cavalryman on campaign.

So for three days the battle of Gettysburg raged.  In the third and final battle on July 3rd Lee ordered a frontal assault on the Union center in an attack known as Pickett’s Charge.  The attack failed and cost Lee over 5,000 soldiers in one hour.  The Battle of Gettysburg was over.

In the end the battle changed both the armies and the course of the Civil War, as well as the town of Gettysburg.  The defeat for Lee’s army dashed their hope of a major victory in northern territory and sent them in full retreat.  The Army of the Potomac brought the United States its greatest triumph of the war and a renewed faith that the nation might prevail in the end.

 

On July 4^th the residents of Gettysburg saw a landscape ravaged by cannon shells, wagon wheels,and the clash of armies.  Several thousand dead horses lay among the dead men.  The cries of the wounded rose up amid the stench of death.  For the townspeople a second battle – a battle to heal their town and deal with the wounded – had just begun.

So we’ve come to the end of our tour of Gettysburg National Military Park Museum.  Though we saw and learned so much, there was so much more that we simply did not have the time to do.  Unfortunately, we didn’t even finish the Museum, nor did we have the time for the 24 mile self-guided auto tour.  Perhaps some day we will be able to return.

We thank you for joining us today on The Road of Retirement.  Time now for me to pack up the computer room and clean up the solarium in preparation for our travel day tomorrow.  We hope you had a great day as well and enjoyed your day to the fullest.  As I wrap things up as always something for each of us to ponder:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

 

 

 

 

We awoke this morning to a fog shrouded RV park.  And off in the not too distant field the sound of cows mooing.  A whole new experience to say the least.  Yet, this is what we absolutely love about this lifestyle, around every corner there is always something new waiting to be discovered.

Yesterday I did battle with our cable connection.  For hours I struggled, first to get at least a picture of sorts, and then once I got that to get all the channels.  I was beginning to wonder about my abilities as a full timer.  Such a seemingly simple thing but I just couldn’t get it to work.  By last night still nothing.

Today I went at it with a new resolve.  I checked connections, settings on the distribution box, scanned and rescanned for channels.  The frustrating thing was that all 69 channels were found but we could only view 13. What?  Finally, I started going through all the menus on the TV.  That’s when I found it, the one setting I either had forgotten about or just didn’t think of.  It’s called, ready for this?  Channels!  Change that from air to cable select all channels and there they were.  Barbara now has her HallMark Channel if only for two days.  I now am satisfied that I at least can fix a few things meaning there is still hope for me as we continue to move on down the road.

As the morning progressed one RV after another quickly left until the park was again empty.  But not for long, come afternoon and they began rolling in again.  Why not?  This is a great place, all sites are pull through, and it is easy on and off from Route 81.  I confess though I was beginning to get a bit jealous, seems everyone these days is traveling in 40 to 45 diesel pushers.   But then a 27-foot Winnebago Vista came rolling in.  Ah, there are others like us.  Then again, Graybeard has been fantastic for us and I’ll stick with him as long as we can.  He gets us where we want to go, maybe a bit slower than others but he always gets us there.  I’ll keep giving him the tender loving care he deserves and we’ll just keep rolling along.

Time to share with you a bit of our tour to Gettysburg National Military Park Museum.  Let me begin by saying it is huge, the Museum alone has 12 exhibits.  There is the self guided 24 mile auto tour, as well as other buildings and museums to visit.  As for the Museum, we spent over four hours there and still did not get to see all that was there.  The camera battery also died before we got to the end.  All of this is to say, I’m going to just touch on some of the exhibits, etc. that I found of real interest.  Hope you will enjoy them too.  So let’s get going.

This is the entrance sign as you approach the Museum from the parking lot.

Now before you even get to the Museum off to the left is this fine gentleman by the name of Abraham Lincoln.  And an even finer gentleman sitting with him!

Past the statue of Abe you now come to the Museum itself.  The park’s new Museum and Visitor Center opened in April 2008 with a September 26 unveiling of the Cyclorama painting.  The new, 139,000 square foot facility brings to life the most extensive Civil War collections in the National Park Service through exhibits, interactive, and hands-on experiences that immerse visitors in the story of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War.  It features a new park Visitor Center, the 24,000 square foot Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War, a new gallery to display the restored Cyclorama Painting, two theaters for a new 22-minute film, “A New Birth of Freedom,” curatorial space, a park library, office space, classrooms, a Refreshment Saloon, and a museum bookstore.

What we learned immediately is that the four years of the Civil War were the bloodiest in the nation’s history.  Some 620,000 soldiers and sailors died in the war – just about 2% of the country’s population at that time.

Americans fought one another over three fundamental issues:

• The fate of slavery and its expansion into the West
• The common rights of an American citizen
• What it means to be an American

During the three days in July, the first, second and third day of July, 1863 roughly 11,000 men died at the Battle of Gettysburg alone, and another 42,000 were wounded, captured or missing.

Once inside the Museum and with tickets in hand, we first sought the film about the New Birth of Freedom narrated by Morgan Freeman.  The film gives you an overview of the Civil war and its after effects.  After the film you went directly into the Cyclorama exhibit.

In the late 1880s, French artist Paul Philippoteaux took brush to canvas and created the Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama painting. He spent months on the battlefield researching the battle with veterans, a battlefield guide and a photographer. It took Philippoteaux and a team of assistants more than a year to complete the painting. The result is a breathtaking canvas that measures 377 feet in circumference and 42 feet high.and along with light and sound effects, immerses visitors in the fury of Pickett’s Charge during the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Today the Gettysburg Cyclorama is displayed the way Paul Philippoteaux originally intended with an overhead canopy and a three-dimensional diorama foreground that realistically features stone walls, broken fences, shattered trees and a cannon.

The following are some pictures from this painting.  What’s missing is the sound that is a part of this exhibit.  To say the least, it is overwhelming and makes one wonder how in the world anyone came out of this one charge alive.  It is said that the artillery bombardment that proceeded Pickett’s Charge left many with shattered ear drums.  The amount of human carnage depicted in this canvas should be enough to convince anyone that war is simply not the answer to a country’s disagreements.  See for yourself.

Leaving the exhibit, we next started to make our way toward the Museum.  But before we got there we came across a number of exhibits outside in the lobby.  The first one that intrigued me was the exhibit of this tree that had been on the battlefield.  Riddled with shell fragments, case shot and canister, this tree fell victim to the tremendous battle fought in the hills and woods around Gettysburg in 1863.  It is estimated that as many as 7,000,000 rounds of iron and lead ammunition were fired by the two armies making one to wonder how anyone could be a part of this battle and still come out either unhurt or alive.

Then there was a case displaying handguns and firearms used in the battle.  While handguns were standard issue to cavalrymen, officers had to purchase their own.  Many soldiers took the handguns they had at home.  Others either purchased their own or picked one up from a fallen soldier on the battlefield.

As for the firearms used during the battle they were more standardized on both sides by the time of Gettysburg than at the beginning of the Civil War.  The types of firearms displayed here represent the types of weapons known to have been used by both armies at Gettysburg.

There was also a display of how a soldier would typically load and fire their firearm.  As I watched it I couldn’t help but think,  you had to do this while the whole world was firing back at you?  It had to be really tough to do while with unceasing fire from the other side.  Take a look and see what you think.

So, we’ll call it for tonight and pick back up tomorrow in our next blog.  Much more to come, we’ll cover some of the reasons for the Civil War, the different types of soldiers that were on the battlefield at Gettysburg, and we’ll touch on some of the aftermath of the battle.

Thanks again for joining us on The Road Of Retirement.  We’re still having a ball, traveling along side by side, singing our song.  We hope that God is smiling upon you as He is upon us.  Somehow, someway, hopefully next year we’re going to be looking for ways to say thanks for our blessings through service to others.  We’ll let you know when and how it comes about.  As for now, have a great evening.  In closing, a thought for each of us to consider:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

So we’re on the move again.  Heading south toward our winter home and our first work camp assignment.  Yesterday we left Western RV Park and completed hop number one.  Our new home for the night was the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, WV.

A great place for an overnight stop.  We found a level place in the lot and settled in for the night.

Unfortunately, about 2 am the two tour buses in the lot just about 50 feet from our side decided it was time to warm up the engines in preparation for taking their guests back home.  A bit noisy for a while and some fumes but once they left we settled back in for the night with no further interruption.

The real reason for this stop was to spend some time with our son Adam and his wife and our grandchildren.  We realized that once we left this area we would probably not see them for a year or more.  So we all gathered together for a late super and spent time together.  I can only imagine how big the grand kids are going to be when we finally get back into this area.

Next morning it was time to move south again.  This was going to be for us one of the longest stints on the road before we arrived at our next destination.  The GPS said four hours, what with a fuel stop and a potty break we knew it would be more like five to five and a half hours.  And so it was.

What I wasn’t prepared for were two things:  the mountains to climb and the amount of truck traffic on a Saturday.  Maybe the truck traffic never lets up on Route 81.  Regarding the mountains, Graybeard never faltered.  Up one, down the other only to have to climb another.  Thankfully the road was smooth and traffic continued to move.  Once or twice I got caught behind a really slow moving truck in the right lane but it just meant I went up the mountain a bit slower than usual.  All in all it was an uneventful trip.

In due time we were at our exit and once off there in front of us was the entrance sign

for our new home for the night.  Fort Chiswell RV Park is no more than a mile off of the exit.  All sites are pull through FHU, 50 amp.  We arrived around two pm and it was sort of empty.  We went to the office, registered and were off to our new home for the next

three days.  Our site is great, reasonably level, utilities conveniently located, sun on the driver’s side, which means it will not be on the refrigerator during the heat of the day.  As we always say Home Is Where We Park It and this is our home for the next three days.

As for empty, the park isn’t any more.  As the afternoon wore on there was a steady stream of RV’s coming in.  Take a look, this is our row looking down it and then across from our site.  Almost all of these sites filled up as the afternoon progressed.  It’s a popular place.

So we’re settled in and comfortable.  One bummer, they have cable, but try what I will, I can not get it to work.  It has always worked for us in the past, make the cable connections, change the distribution box to cable, scan for channels and that was it.  Not this time.  I have to try to noodle this one out because it is really bothering me.  Suggestions anyone?

So that was our day.  Thanks for joining us as we traveled along on The Road of Retirement.  We hope your day was as good as ours was and that all went well for you.  Once again we want to say thanks to the good Lord for a safe trip and a fantastic day of travel.  As I prepare to close this blog out here’s something for each of to ponder upon:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before