Camping on the Panhandle of Maryland
The westernmost part of Maryland is an irregular and strange outline called the panhandle. That just happens to be where we camped on Saturday, September 20, 2025. We left Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Saturday morning and headed to see Gettysburg National Military Park without a campsite reserved for that night. We don’t usually work a last-minute camping plan, but there we were, scrambling for a campsite in high peak season.
I believe God has his hand on this trip though and miraculously, we found a site just an hour away from Gettysburg. Also, please share in our hallelujah moment, our slide went in almost flush when packing up in Lancaster! Thankyou, Lord! Such a thing as a slide hanging up can ruin your whole trip and we’d been driving since Maine with the slide 3 inches out.
Moving on in a south- southwest direction, we ended up here, on the westernmost panhandle border of Maryland. Did you know that the northern border of Maryland was created in 1763 with the Mason-Dixon Line agreement that settled a long border dispute with Pennsylvania? I think I learned that once but had forgotten it. We spent Saturday night near a playground full lot of happy children taking advantage of an inflated bounce pad. Once again we had found a wonderful family vacation spot to come back to with grandchildren one day: Hagerstown / Antietam Battlefield KOA, Williamsport, Maryland. I slept great; maybe it’s because I was back in the South again and just two nights away from being home.
Gettysburg National Military Park
I’m almost embarrassed to say that we only spent two and a half hours at this National Park. Because we were not camping nearby, we left our motorhome in the bus parking and cranked up the generator to run the AC for our pets so we could see what was awaiting us. It was certainly an emotional visit. Being schooled on American history through textbooks is one thing, but being in the same room with primary sources like original photographs, clothing, and letters, brings the history into today and made an imprint on my heart.
When you arrive at the main building for the park there are several decisions to make. They offer 3 hour car tours, walking tours, a film, access to the Cyclorama and museum access. Because of our limited time, we went with the ticket that includes film, Cyclorama and Museum of the American Civil War. The movie, A New Birth of Freedom, is narrated by Morgan Freeman. It gave us a good overview of the Battle of Gettysburg and explained its significance in the Civil War.
For me it showed me the reasoning behind the efforts these soldiers gave, the emptiness of their deaths on both sides, and the loss we felt as a nation. Roughly 11,000 men died at the Battle of Gettysburg; 40,000 were captured or wounded, or missing… right here, on American soil, we killed each other: July1, 1863 – July 3, 1863.
Paul Philippoteaux’s Cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg
In an era before moving pictures, paintings of events on massive canvases creating vast 360 degree cylindrical scenes called cycloramas, brought images to life for audiences. Philippoteaux, a French artist, painted Pickett’s Charge, the climatic Confederate attack on Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1883. The original oil on canvas painting was 377′ long and 40′ tall. Huge canvases were sewn together in sections to create the pallet for this artist. In the 1990’s, the original painting was nearly beyond repair. It took six years and an international multi-million-dollar effort to restore it.
The experience of viewing the cyclorama, along with the narrations, sound effect and lights, was very different from just watching a movie about it. The National Park service had a special part of the visitor center constructed to display the 2005 revision of the painting. You stand in the middle of the painting on an elevated platform and you can walk around and see the different parts of the battle depicted. In the foreground of the painting, there are life-sized replicas that enhance the illusion of being in the battle. If you ever get a chance to see this work of art history, you should go.
A Perfect Poultry Pickup
Meanwhile, back at home, I had mentioned to Candice , “There’s were a lot of chickens up north, here! Do you want us to bring any home for you?” She is very much into her chicken business now. I was halfway kidding, but I had planted an idea and apparently it was an egg-cellent one! Candice got online with her chicken dealing friends and found out that Sugar Sky Farms, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania has a dozen Ermine Ameracauna hatching eggs (Ermine black and white), that we could pick up for her.
That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? It was a fun detour though, and ended up being on the way to our campsite. We are now babysitting 12 pretty eggs and doing our best to keep them at the right temperature till they get home to Candice’s incubator. She is so excited! Dealing with shipping eggs through the mail or UPS is really stressful for her. We are happy to make this chicken run for our baby girl. Check her out on Facebook or Instagram at TheShiresideFlock
