It’s Sunday morning and the sun is bright on the horizon as we head east on the Interstate through rural Ohio. The land is flat as a pancake in all directions. It’s a far cry from the hills and valleys of Vernon County, Wisconsin.
We’re on a week-long bus trip headed for Gettysburg and Washington D.C. We’ve never been to either place and thought a bus tour was the way to go. “Take the bus and leave the driving to us.” After being stuck in stop and go traffic around Chicago yesterday for almost two hours, I’m glad we could just sit back, read, do Sudoku puzzles, or try to sleep. I’ve said it many times, you couldn’t pay me enough to drive in that kind of traffic mess every day. I’ll take rural living any day of the week, where a traffic jam is being behind a tractor pulling a piece of machinery. I know someone has to live and work in big cities, I’m just glad it’s not me. Give this old country boy some wide open spaces, but that’s a story for another day. Lets get back on the bus.
There are 90 of us on two buses run by Jag Tours out of Rochester, Minnesota. If you’ve never taken a bus tour, I’d highly recommend it. This is our second bus trip. We know one other couple on the trip, but you don’t have to know any of the other people to have a good time. It’s fun meeting and getting to know other people on the tour. In the first two days we’ve met people from Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Some of them even admit that they read this column. I never use any names unless I ask permission first. One couple, Wayne and Darlene from Barre Mills heard I was from Westby and recognized my name. They read Across the Fence in the Jackson County Chronicle. There’s a wonderful bunch of people on this tour and that makes for a fun trip.
After we got into the Allegheny Mountins of Pennsylvania, the countryside we were traveling through became more interesting. We saw several pre-Civil War barns and buildings. Long-time readers of this column know of my love for old barns. As is the case with old barns everywhere, many are in disrepair and falling apart from old age and neglect. The closer we got to Gettysburg the more old buildings we saw that still survived from the time of the Civil War and are kept in good repair.
We finally arrived in Gettysburg late in the afternoon on Sunday and got settled into our rooms. There was enough time before leaving for dinner to walk up to the Soldier’s National Cemetery located near our hotel. The battlefield where Picket’s Charge took place was also nearby. The weather was nice and the forcast for the next day was 100% chance for rain. I decided to see what I could that evening before the rain arrived. Several other members of the tour had the same idea. The focal point of the cemetery is a large memorial near the center. This was placed in the area where President Lincoln stood when he delivered the Gettysburg Address. A semi-circle of markers radiate out from it. They mark the gravesites of thousands of Union soldiers who fell at Gettysburg. Many rows have only numbers on them. They are unknown soldiers.
I’ve always been interested in American history and the Civil War. It was special to be visiting the area where those fateful three days determined the course of history for our young country. If the South had won that battle they would probably have gone on to defeat the North. So many lives were lost in those three days. It really struck home the next day as we visited the battlefields. I had been hoping the rain would hold off but it began falling before we boarded the bus to tour the different sites. Because it was raining, we sat in the bus while the tour guide told the story of each battle site. In several places, those of us who wanted to get out and try to take some photos, braved the falling rain. It wasn’t the type of weather I’d have ordered for our Gettysburg visit.
Little Round Top
The battle on Little Round Top has been on my bucket list of places I felt I needed to visit. My friend, Dennis, who died several years ago was also fascinated with it. We connected the first time we met and felt like we had known each other forever. Dennis felt that our spirits had been together in another life and that we had fought together on Little Round Top. As I stood in the rain on the rocks of Little Round Top, I thought of Dennis. We had talked of taking a trip to Gettysburg together before he died, but we never made it. I wondered if his spirit was standing there beside me.
Later, as I envisioned Picket’s Charge from the position of the Union troops, I couldn’t even imagine the destruction of human life that took place on that field. It was very appropriate that the rain still fell on us. Maybe it was the tears of the thousands of men who lost their lives during those three horrible days, still consecrating the ground. It was very appropriate.
To be continued…
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