Gettysburg

We left Phillipsburg following Hwy 78 and just before Easton we crossed the state line from New Jersey into Pennsylvania. Before Allentown we turned on to Hwy 222 and followed this to Lancaster where we had a short break. Lancaster County is known for its Amish community and we were hoping to see some Amish folk riding in their horse drawn carriages. Unfortunately they did not seem to be 'out and about' in Lancaster when we called in!

We then took Hwy 230 and just before Harrisburg (lots of place names ending in 'burg' in Pennsylvania!) turned on to Hwy 15 and followed this to the historic community of Gettysburg. We called in to the Gettysburg Military Park and walked around one of the battlefield sites. During 3 days in July 1863 one of the major battles between confederate and union forces occurred here. When the battle was over there were 51,000 soldiers dead, wounded or missing! Apparently over 5000 horses were also killed. We could have spent a whole day walking around the many sites soaking up the history, but the day was marching on (excuse the military pun) and we decided to push on.

We followed Hwy 15 across the state line into Maryland and then took Hwy 77 through the lovely Catoctin Mountain Park. The road was winding with many tight corners, the forest was very close to the verge with bright green moss growing on roadside banks and there was a river running right next to the road. The scenery was an unexpected treat. We then followed Hwy 81 south and branched off on to Hwy 66 which took us to our stop for the day - the town of Front Royal in the state of Virginia.