We left the Mane Gate Equestrian Center and continued to head South (there's a bit of a pattern developing . . . ).  Our next stop was in Spotsylvania, VA at Welker's Wayside Stop and the home of Todd Welker.  Todd is a high school shop teacher who has opened up his driveway to fellow RV'ers on Boondockers Welcome.  We maneuvered Toothless and the trailer into our camping spot for the next 4 nights and went on to enjoy the sites of Spotsylvania and the surrounding area.  This area is rich in American Civil War history as many of the historically significant battles took place here.  For reasons I can't explain, I have always been fascinated with the American Civil War.  Maybe it stems from watching "The Blue and The Gray" at an impressionable age or perhaps the fact that so many people died fighting against their same countrymen in a war sparked by personal beliefs, racism, slavery and power (a recipe that still exists today leading some to believe that the US is, once again, on the brink of a civil war).  The fact that the war was fought largely by foot troops and cavalry madly charging towards one another across open fields until the last man standing (or following a hasty retreat) evokes such raw imagery in one's mind that to see the actual battle fields, the museums full of war relics and old black and white photographs and the ruins of houses and buildings that have been carefully preserved leaves you with a feeling of awe and wonderment about such tragic and, as some might argue, senseless losses.  We walked the battlefields and stood where many had once stood, ready to take a bullet for their respective cause and where men had lain one on top of the other dead or dying.  But, those men were fighting in the army of their side because they believed in something and were ready to die for it.  There will always be conflict and a difference of opinions and beliefs in the world but now war takes on a whole new realm of destruction.  One man or leader can push a button and cause a world of damage in an instant, not only destroying armies but civilians alike and call it a victory . . . 

(to view the photos and learn more about each campaign and the battlefields we visited please see our gallery here)