6 States Trip: Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry and Shenandoah

Nerd alert...when your parents are US history lovers, you can't be that close to Gettysburg and not stop and see it.  I'm sure the girls really didn't understand what we were looking at, because it was even hard for Craig and I to grasp.  So many thoughts went through my head.  For one, Gettysburg wasn't near anything.  I cannot imagine how hot and tired the soldiers were from traveling there in the middle of the summer.  We both found it interesting that the Union seemed to have a better advantage on the battlefield, because they were primarily uphill.  Gettysburg was the deadliest battle of the Civil War, and it was so surreal and sad to stand on ground so rich with our country's history.

We continued our educational tour into West Virginia to Harpers Ferry.  Charley was finally able to turn in her paperwork for the 4th grade free pass program for National Parks.  She got a cute little admission card,  and I know she felt extra special when the park rangers asked all about our 4th grader.  I don't have a lot to report on Harpers Ferry.  On a positive note, it was really cool to see a colonial town at the forge of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.  Craig was especially intrigued by the size of the fort involving John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry.  On a not so positive note, it was really hot.  After waiting in a long line to ride a bus back to our car, Craig had a pretty unpleasant interaction with the bus driver about putting on his mask.  We spent the rest of the day driving towards our hotel in Harrisonburg, and finished the night with a great meal at Jimmy Madison's.  

We spent the entire next day driving on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.  We started at the southern most part and drove the full 105 miles to the northern entrance.  The different views throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains were beautiful.  We would love to go back and do the same drive when the leaves change during the fall.  It has to be gorgeous!  After talking with a park ranger, we decided on two different hikes.  They were both considered "easy" (and I'm still not sure how), but it was the perfect way to see very different areas of the park.  The first one was a 3/4 mile hike downhill to see the falls.  Going down was easy peasy, but a 400 foot elevation change in less than a mile is quite the challenge when going uphill.  About 5 minutes after leaving the falls, Carter said, "We should have just gone to the pool!"  Thankfully the next hike was a few miles down the road, because it took some snacks and a pep talk to get the girls out of the car again.  Also considered as "easy," we hiked over 2 miles round trip with a 525 foot elevation change to the highest point of Shenandoah called Hawksbill Mountain.  It was so worth all of the complaining once we got to the top.  The view was breathtaking, and I was able to snap my most favorite picture of the trip.  Also, how cute are Charley and Craig in their coordinating "Never Stop Exploring" Northface t-shirts???