We are now near DC. I would say in DC but there are no RV parks in Washington DC.

The drive in was stressful but it could have been much worse.  The time we picked was the least busy of the day.  We only came to a complete stop once because of traffic problems but even when we were moving much of the time it was only at 45 mph.

The RV park here is great.  These people really know what they are doing.  Very well informed and organized.  Really nice layout of the park.  It is a bit large with over 800 RV sites. This is one place that can claim to be a resort and be right about it.  Most "resorts" we have seen were nothing but regular RV parks. This one has several pools, hot tubs, a cafe, gated access, really nice sites, cable, wifi, ... you name it.

The buses to get into the DC subway system stop inside the RV park.  We will not have to drive at all to tour DC.  Great! Because parking and driving in DC is insane from what I hear.

It has rained for the last 24 hours.  A light rain most of the time but occasional downpours. We did laundry, restocked a few things we were low on, and prepared to move to DC in the morning.

Today we visited the Civil War Battle field very near here.  Depending on the side you were on during the war it is the Victory at Manassas or the Defeat at Bull Run.  It's about perspective and both sides were convinced that the first battle would be the only battle of the war.  After this everyone's thoughts on the ware changed. Two different years battles were fought on the same site. We walked along both the Union and Confederate lines of cannon and where Stonewall Jackson lead his troops. Very sobering knowing how this was the first battle of the war.  It has been a very rainy day so we came back to the RV early to dry off.

We have moved closer to Washington DC. The RV park is near the Manassas National Battlefield Park which we plan to visit tomorrow.  The area is used as a bedroom community for people who work in DC.  Nice park but NO WiFi provided.  As a result we are using our hotspot to get internet.  We do have good cell service here. In fact as we drove in we noticed that the silo at the farm is also a cell tower.

​We started at 1800 feet in elevation and after some very steep climbs along the trail reached our highest elevation of 2800 feet a 1000 gain in elevation.  It was really steep at times and really rocky. We passed through two bolder fields. Later we came to really great views to the West from the two overlooks.  We had lunch at the first one sitting on huge boulders balanced on the edge of the cliff. Later we returned back the same trail.  Total of 3 miles, we think, could have be a bit more than that.

Today we started by going to the Civil War museum near here.  It is on the site of the Battle for New Market.  It was very informative. Great exhibits which included a movie on the battle. There was also a collection of uniforms and the rifles and pistols used in the battle

After the museum we walked around the battle field and the homestead that survived the battle.  We walked on the field that after the battle was named the "Field of lost shoes".  It was called that because the cadets from Virginia Military Institute who fought lost their shoes in the mud during the battle.  As a result there were some of the cadets that fought for the rest of the battle barefoot.

We ended the day at Endless Caverns.  So far they have not found the end of the cavern system though have found several other entrances to the system. Our guide was great and very well informed. It was a fun tour and not over commercialized like some caverns in this area. We had a great tour guide who took as much time as we needed to get our questions answered.

This is the county were one of Shawna's earliest ancestors homesteaded in the late 1700's. I only included a few pictures so far. I have pictures of every family grave stone we could find. Some are very deteriorated and a few have been replaced with new gravestones. At the end of the day we were also able to find the homestead.

We moved to a new RV park and will be here for 4 days.  It is very nice.  Just on the edge of the Shenandoah mountains. Our plans are to visit the caverns, a local museum, hike, ...

We are at a KOA near Natural Bridge VA. Yuck.  KOA RV parks over priced and RV's are packed together.  We avoid them when ever possible.  All the other RV parks in the area were full.  Even the KOA only had one day available so we will be moving on the the next spot in the morning. I really miss Rippling Waters. It was peaceful and the deer walked right behind the RV. 

After a great time visiting with our son and his family we have moved back down to Beckly WV.  Tomorrow we travel East from here.