Summer 2007
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When I can, I try to remain active with my Boy Scout troop back in Richmond. When I heard that we were heading back to Gettysburg just a few weeks after I was to get back from college, I jumped at the opportunity to come along with them, this time as an Assistant Scoutmaster. For those of you who are new to this site, the pictures are broken into sections, as designated below. Each picture has a bit of narration next to it, since you probably don't have someone there with you to explain each one personally. If you want to see a larger version of a given picture, simply click the thumbnail image and a larger version will load on your screen. Use your browser's back button to return to this page. After you finish a section, you can return to the top to find links to other portions of the pictures. Oh, and in case you want copies of the files, you can download a zipped version here. Got it? Here we go. |
Jump to a Section:
Saturday - Johnny Reb Trail and Historic Gettysburg
Sunday - Billy Yank Trail
Monday - Eisenhower Historic Site
Section 1: |
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Visitor's Center and National Cemetery
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| After a fairly uneventful ride, the troop arrived in Gettysburg, PA. After setting up camp and grabbing a quick lunch, our first stop was the National Park Service visitor center. Here, the troop gathers outside after having a half hour to explore the place. |  |
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As we were working diligently towards the historic trails award as a troop and wanted to get all five sections covered, we quickly moved on to the next part of our walking tour of the battlefield: the cemetery. Fortunately for us, it was located right across the street. Amazingly, the guys were moderately compliant with this sign. | |
| Weaving through the cemetery. |  |
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All portions of the cemetery, including this section dedicated to unknowns, were decked out for Memorial Day weekend. | |
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Johnny Reb Trail
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| In addition to being a large and stately place, the cemetery also served as a great shortcut to our first major hike of the weekend, the Johnny Reb trail. For this hike (and most of the weekend), Scott served as our fearless leader/navigator. Here, he points us in the right direction in a manner reminiscent of General Winfield Scott Hancock, above him. |  |
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Got cannon? Gettysburg sure has a slew of them. You can barely walk around without having to worry about tripping over a cannon or twenty. | |
| The troop ascends the first of several observation towers. |  |
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Group shot! | |
| Some people didn’t want to hang around up top, and hurried back down. On an unrelated note, it rained for about five minutes around this time. |  |
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It’s always a par-ty with the official Gettysburg Heritage Trail Guide! (http://www.yaac-bsa.org/activities/gettysburg/gettysburg.htm) | |
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If they love anything more than cannon at Gettysburg, it would have to be monuments. According to Wikipedia, there are some 1400 monuments and markers scattered across the battlefield. That is in comparison to the 400 cannon. 3 of 3 former SPLs agree: monuments make great chairs. |
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Dinner and Such
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Three miles later, the hike was completed and we set off to find dinner. One of the choices: this Asian buffet. Here’s one for you: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Answer: Pilgrims. |
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| Will certainly enjoyed it. |  |
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The rest of the group begins to rendezvous for our second hike of the day, through historic downtown Gettysburg. | |
| And so, the troop (in their snazzy matching shirts) set off towards downtown. |  |
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Historic Downtown Gettysburg Hike
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Being Memorial Day weekend, there were a bunch of re-enactors in town. These ones thought it would be best to set up next to the Quality Inn. They’ve got everything you need: a cannon, a loom, and an indoor pool. | |
| In stark contrast to our wooded hike earlier in the day, this one began by walking through a residential area. |  |
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Eventually, we reached the center of town. This statue had its own little park to itself. | |
| About halfway through, we were met by Mr. L’Esperance with some much needed water. |  |
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Reinvigorated after a good drink, the troop continued to make its way through town, back to the Visitor’s Center and the vans. | |
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Frisbee
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| Darkness was falling as we returned to the campsite. Fortunately, Will had a light-up Frisbee, so the fun continued into the night. As long as we kept tabs on where our intended targets were standing, the game progressed unhindered. At least until we were shut down by the 10pm quiet curfew, that is. |  |
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