After a life-changing visit to Maine, we pointed the old RV west toward Texas. We weren’t in a hurry to get there, however, so we made a couple of stops along the way. The first stop was to visit the Gettysburg battleground where Danforth Maxcy was wounded and subsequently lost his life. Gettysburg is an interesting place for no other reason than how the town is platted. The center of downtown looks like the center of a wheel with about 10 spokes. If you look at a map you can see how several roads converge. This is likely the reason union and confederate forces met there. It is a very humbling experience to view the battlefield and realize so many lives were lost there. When I was in school I remember studying journalists who followed the war. Sometimes they would climb trees to get a better view of what was happening on the battlefield. I was fascinated by the idea of their dedication and the overall drama of all of it. Gettysburg is solemn ground.
From Gettysburg, we traversed part of the state of Pennsylvania to visit Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s signature creation. I have to admit that this was not on my bucket list but I was agreeable to go because Mr. Wright’s designs are a favorite of mine. I am so glad we went. Fallingwater is an amazing achievement and an interesting story. The house is not something I could see myself living in but I was overwhelmed by the architecture. The family that commissioned the house is interesting too. It all was truly amazing.
On the way farther west, we stopped near Memphis, Tennessee at a state park where I stepped on a Copperhead snake. So…it was mid-October and we were taking a stroll in the park on an old paved road which happens to be where they stage a Halloween ‘haunted forest’ kind of thing every year. I was looking around at the fences with black poly and the preparations for the ‘haunt’ when I stepped on a ‘stick’. When I turned to look at it, the stick was moving. Snake! I don’t know how I avoided being struck. I suspect the snake was ‘napping’ and decided to leave instead of biting me. Sorry. Thank you!
From there we headed on to Texas to visit with friends and family.
[Next: Snow, beaches and RV’s]


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