Here is a catch up on our trip from DC to Pittsburgh

I wish you could be here for this great bike ride. On Thursday we left the most remarkable small town - Harpers Ferry, WV - and rode to Antietam, MD, to visit the Antietam battleground.
Ralph, Tom and I left the C&O Towpath and climbed the hillsides of the Potomac, not insignificant hills, to vist the battleground. We rode through the town of Antietam, filled with 4th of July decorations, and turned right toward the visitors center of the Battleground. When there we visited the center, met the rangers who directed us to the sites where we could understand the overview of the battleground where 23.000 casualties were suffered combined for both sides. We visited the church near the center of the battleground, the hilltop where the confederates were ready with their cannons to defend the hilltop. There were three small forested areas where the confederates and union troops were bivouaced before their bloody battle that resulted in the union troops driving the confederates back across the Potomac. The union troops failed to press their advantage resulting in the firing of the union commander by President Lincoln and ultimately in the assignment of the directions of the troops to the best battlefield commanders rather than political favorites. The battlefields at the Bloody Lane and the bridge where the union troops crossed Antietam Creek to the blistering fire of the better positioned confederate troops, eventually outlasting the confecerates before sending Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia back across the Potomac.
Our ride totalled about 57 miles with the detour to the battlefield area. We stopped for lunch in Shepherdston, WV, and were surprised to see Barbara drive up in the support truck, unplanned and joining us for lunch. Then off to our next strop of Williamsport, MD. The Red Roof Inn was our stop for the night. We went to Hagerstown for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and settled in for the night. It is very dusty on the trail. They haven't had any significant rain for a long time. The trail is mostly in the shade, though, so it is really comfortable but we are really dirty when we arrive. We washed the bikes at a Sunoco station and I got Wynn's bike ready for him to ride when he arrives in the morning.
It is difficult to tell you how beautiful this ride is. We see deer, beaver, turtles, snakes, lots of birds, and other wildlife. We see the magnificent Potomac River flowing through the bedrock of this part of the country and we see the remnants of the historic C&O Canal preserved for all time as a national park for our enjoyment. My riding friends even admit, right wing advoates though they are, that this government expense is worthwhile. If only they cared more for the real wonders of this country, its people, they would be so much happier!
Anyway, I love them for their diverse and passionate opionions. They really make the time fly with their comments and exhortations.
The path is very dusty and we and our bikes are really dirty at the end of each day.
I'll send out a report on the Friday trip to Little Orleans where we will camp in tents or in the back of the truck. Tough for one whose idea of roughing it is Motel 6 or HI Express.