To West Virginia

Our next stop was where we lived when we were first married, Charleston, West Virginia. While traveling there we ran into our first snow. It was in the fields and along the road. This was the end of October.

We also saw and interesting geological formation before we got to Cumberland. The rock formation in a cut in the hill was in a 'U' shape. There was a rest stop and an information center that told about it.

The area was sea bed, stream bed, and also a swamp. When Africa started sliding by, the plates colliding caused the area to buckle. Then through erosion, the high hill disappeared and the low areas became the high area that is now the Appalachian Mountains.

We stayed at the home of our old Bishop and his wife. The have two sons who live close. It was good to get to know them as they were preschoolers when we left. On Sunday we were able to see some of the people that we knew when we lived there.

Here is a picture of the bridge where we stayed. They put it in themselves. When they were partly finished, they had a flood that went over the bed of the bridge. They had to paddle out and remove brush that was hung up on it as it wasn't yet bolted down.

Still Blowing South

Our first stop in Washington, DC was to get a bus ticket to go through Arlington Cemetery. This is JFK's eternal flame. The house at the top of the hill was Robert E. Lee's home. This area was a working plantation when he lived here. When he decided to fight with the South, they started burying soldiers here so that he would never be able to live here again. The house is being renovated so we didn't go in.
We took the bus into the city and were able to get off, see what we wanted to, then catch the next bus. Unfortunately, we only had the afternoon. We needed a week. However, it was a good overview. Maybe we will make another trip on another day.

We also timed it so that we were able to see the changing of the guard and the placing of a new wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is quit the pageant.
I especially liked their heel clicking.

This was taken from Arlington, looking across the river into DC. You can see the Washington Memorial and the White House on the right.

Our first stop was to see the Lincoln Memorial. B looks as if this was a warm day, but it wasn't. I had on my heavy coat. He left his in the truck and about froze. He thought it would warm up.
If you double click on the above picture you can see the change in color of the Memorial. The lower light colored area was built before the war. The rest was finished after the war. It came from the same quarry, but from a deeper layer.

Behind me is the Lincoln Memorial. I thought I had a pic of B beside it so that you could see how huge it is. His feet are probably 20 inches long.
On this stop we were also able to go to the Korean War Memorial. I found it very impressive. The statues are a little more that life size. It was finished in about 1998. There are 19 statues and along with their reflections in the wall, they represent the 38th parallel. There are also etchings in the reflection wall.
Maybe one of the reason's I found this impressive is because the soldiers had their rain gear on and we were also cold and it was overcast at the time. The metal that they are made out of gives them a 'ghostly' and wet appearance.

The Vietnam Memorial is also in this area. We didn't get to spend much time there as we had to catch the next bus. We had gone to the traveling one when it was in Yakima. We just drove by the White House as you can't get very close to it. This was all the closer we could get to the Capital also. This is the south side. They were working on it.

One of the things I found interesting, while waiting for the bus was some statues not far from here. They are of the Civil War cavalry and artillery. The artist put them in some tough situations.



There is also a statue of Ulysses Grant here.
We drove by the Smithsonian. There are so many buildings that are part of it now, it would take a week to just run through it. Some day I would like to see some of it. We also drove by the Union Station. There were guides on each of the buses, some better than others. I learned that Union Station was a city within a city. It had it's own barber, butcher, post office, stores, etc. If the Washington Memorial was laid down it would fit in the building. Double click to read what is written above it.

It has a statue of Columbus in front of it. On one side is an old man representing the old world and on the other side is an Indian representing the new world. Before planes this is were people arrived.
We also drove by the Jefferson Memorial.
When we were first married we lived in West Virginia. At that time the nearest LDS temple was in Salt Lake. There were none east of the Mississippi. They were about to break ground for the DC Temple when we left. So one of the things that I wanted to do on this trip was to go to it, and we did.

Wind Shift South

I would like to take a minute and say that I hope all who read this had a great Christmas. I know that I did. We have traveled back to Indiana and got to spend Christmas with our son B and his wife L. I am typing this on one of my presents, that I also share with my other half. It was our gift to each other since we left our other 'monster' in storage. I'm not making any promises, but maybe I will do a better job of keeping this up to date.

Now to continue on with where I left off on our travels, before we got back to Indiana.

My Great Grandfather was a Pennsylvania volunteer for the duration of the Civil War. During this time he kept a diary, of which I have a copy. So when we had an opportunity to visit some sites I was glad to do this. During the battle at Gettysburg, he was in the Washington, DC area after being captured and released in a prisoner exchange. I have a book that I have read while reading my Great Grandfather's diary. I have seen pictures and read about this battle, but it doesn't compare to actually seeing the area to help understand what happened.

It was a cold rainy two days while we were there. (We left just in time from West Point as they received a few inches of snow the day after we left.) It was afternoon by the time we arrived in Gettysburg and got the trailer parked. So we went to the Battle field museum. There is a panorama that was painted in the 1800's that is more than 50 feet in diameter, putting the observer on the hill overlooking the area - 360 degrees. Area's are lit as it is spoken about. The battle of Pickett's charge was on July 3. The whole thing lasted three days. The top round area is where the panorama is located.

The next morning we came back here and went through the museum. I also tried to look up a relative of my Great Grandfather's who died of wounds received here but they didn't have a listing for him. I was told that many of the wounded were taken home and died there. We also got a tape to play as we drove the area. I was surprised at the number of markers/monuments that are all along the route.

There were about 2500 people living in the town at the time of the battle. Lee was headed north to try and break through the north. Some of the cavalry for the north sighted him and the battle began. It was on the far side of this ridge, Seminary Ridge, which extends far to the right and left. The north was driven back through the town to the area from which I took this picture. The white statue is of Lee, shown below this one.


The area of Little Top is to the left of here. It is a real rocky hill with huge granite boulders. Below it is the area called Devils Den. It is strewn with boulders that bullets would have ricocheted off of.

This is where Pickett's charge was. As you can see, each side is just a slight rise with a lower open area between. The fence and road are where they were at the time of the battle. The South was on Seminary ridge and the North was where I was standing. There is a line of cannons behind me. There are also cannons in the trees across about a mile away. You can see why the South lost so many lives.

Also in this area is the Pennsylvania monument dedicated to all those from Pennsylvania who fought in the Civil War.

Note the people on the top of this. It is the largest of all the monuments here. The dark areas on the side list the names of all those who were from Pennsylvania and served in the war. If I had know my Great Grandfathers Company or Regiment I could have found his name.

As our son-in-law said, it is well worth the time to come here.