Approaching The End

We left our lodging just a bit outside of Harper's Ferry and before heading to the Antietam Battlefield, we took a short stop in the little town of Burkittsville, MD. Burkittsville is supposedly the town involved in the movie "The Blair Witch Project" from years back, but that's not why we went there. We went there because of a weird little place called "Gravity Hill" or "Spook Hill". Take a look at this picture. If you pull your vehicle up to the Speed Limit sign and then stop it completely, you're looking at an uphill rise in front of you. If you put the vehicle in Neutral and take your foot off of the brakes, the vehicle begins to roll forward, UP THE HILL! We tested it out, three times and it worked every time! Before we crested the hill, we'd reached a speed of about 10 MPH. It was a unique experience. Local legend has it that ghosts of Union Soldiers from the Civil War are actually pushing your vehicle up the hill. Call me skeptical, but I'm pretty sure that what we're dealing with here is either an optical illusion or a weird trick of gravity.

After experiencing the weirdness of Gravity Hill, we moved on to Antietam. When we arrived, we watched a 26-minute orientation film and then took a driving tour of the battlefield. Seeing the places on the battlefield in person enhanced what we'd learned in the film. A very knowledgeable park ranger also filled us in on some of the finer points of the battle. Below is the Burnside Bridge, named for Union General Ambrose Burnside, a key landmark from the latter parts of the battle at Antietam.

Before leaving Antietam, we took a few moments to browse the Antietam bookstore. Erik took a few moments to imitate his favorite president...Abraham Lincoln.

After Antietam, we took a leisurely drive to our lodging for the night, just outside of Harrisburg, PA. We spent a relaxing couple of hours swimming and checking out the town we're in.

Tomorrow morning, we'll be up early to open the Visitor's Center at Valley Forge. We'll spend some time there before taking the long drive home. If all goes according to plan, we'll be sleeping in our own beds tomorrow night.