September 20, 2008

Saturday 20~~~Today we drove 140 miles to see three different National Parks. The first one we went to was the home of "Clara Barton" the founder of the Red Cross Society. She started working in the fields in 1862 as a battlefield nurse. From there she started helping others in her home and she got money and help from contributors to get the Red Cross started. She went from local to international with it, she retired in 1904 at the age of 83. From here we went to "The Battlefields Of Manassas Nat. Park, it is another battlefield of the Civil War with a very interesting stories behind it. The 16 mile driving tour is designed to cover 11 sites of the battles fought in this area. The stone house used for a field hospital for the Union still stands. The sycamore tree in this picture is the only living thing left from the battlefield. They have a big plaque about it at the battlefield. We saw a film about the battles before we went there, it is amazing how much history and things there are to see from so long ago. There are miles of Nat. Parks land here and it is all fenced with the old split rail fencing making it look like you are back in time. We also went to "Harper's" Ferry Nat. Park today. For all of you relatives of Sharon's who are following us with the blog, we drove to the home of Sharon's deceased Uncle and Aunt in Falls Church, Va.(note: which is not a National Park) LOL. Sharon always wondered where it was and what it looked like and now she knows. It is the top picture on this blog.