Day two

The ride from Harpers Ferry to Williamsport looked like only about 35 miles and would have been if we'd stayed on the Canal Pathway or hadn't had a detour. We decided that we wanted to see the Civil War battlefield at Antietam and Sharpsburg so after riding up the hill from the motel and flying down the hill through Harpers Ferry, we left John Brown's town, recrossed the railroad bridge on the crosswalk and carried our bikes back down the stairs to the path where we rolled on for about 7 miles crossing Antietam Creek. At the campground we left the path and got on paved roads that put us up the fairly significant hills for the climb to the hilltop that is Antietam. Stopped at the visitors center to get our bearings for the ride through the battlefield and off we went going from point to point to understand a bit about this horrific battle where there were 23,000 casualties in one day, where Lee's army of Northern VA defended bravely against McClellans forces but ultimately were driven from their superior positions. McClellan failed to pursue so Lee's forces escaped over the Potomac. Lincoln fired McClellan and the war changed with Union forces receiving better direction. We saw where a 15 year old child took over a cannon placement as his mates fell around him. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the youngest American to receive this Honor. We saw a pathway where the Union forces were gunned down that is named Bloody Path because of the carnage there. We saw a bridge where 7,000 Union troops tried to cross, ultimately successfuly, but took terrible casualties. We also road up and down lots of small and large hills!
Leaving the battlesite after a couple of hours of touring we headed back to the canal, sort of guessing our way (our maps weren't great for the area) and re-entered near Antietam Creek, retracing our ride for a mile or two. Next stop was lunch at Shepherdston, WV, where we were surprised to see Barbara drive up. She happened to see us as she was going through the small college town. So we had a sandwich and drinks, refilled our water bottles, visited a bike store where Tom bought a nobby for his rear to replace his treaded tire. We gave our purchases to Barb and wheeled off.
Then back on the canal for the final 30 miles to Williamsport and the Red Roof Inn--oops, a detour at the dam where the floods have washed away the canal path, so back up hills we went. Got a terrible cramp in =the back of my thigh so I slowed down for the 7 miles into Williamsport. Made it though and after cleaning up bikes, a short nap, went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Hagerstown. We are ready for another day tomorrow with our destination of Little Orleans, MD. We are camping so may not have internet service.
Having a wonderful time, wish you were here. Blog again soon as we can.
No pix except on facebook, still don't have the right connector cable.