Gettysburg is definitely on my list.

For those who haven't been there, the battlefield, with it's numerous markers, statues, and monuments, resembles a graveyard that sprawls across hills, meadows, and forest. We spent an entire day there, and managed to visit all of the historic spots including the Seminary Ridge, Cemetery Ridge, and the site of Pickett's Charge. In the bright light of a March day, I suppose I was just too fascinated with the history to get a sense of the eeriness of the place. This crept upon me by slow degrees.

It is impossible to look down from the Union positions on Little Round Top and not feel a shiver as you view the exposed positions that surround its base, where men died in heaps in a futile attempt to gain the heights. Likewise, one cannot stand at the tree line where Pickett's men set out on their long assault without seeing the impossible distance to the clump of trees that was their objective.

Before leaving, we wanted to visit the National Cemetery there where so many who died in the battle are buried. We reached the gates after they had been closed to visitors but again, as at Mesa Verde, we found a way in. Any graveyard has a somber tone, especially one visited at night. Add to this the spires and anguished stone figures that are outlined against the night sky there at Gettysburg, and you may imagine how moving shadows at the corners of one's vision, and unexpected furtive sounds may add to a growing feeling of unease. I took a picture of Janan in front of the National Memorial Monument, and then suggested we leave. As we made our way to the opening near the gate, I noticed a wide vista of soldier's graves that faded off into darkness. I pointed my camera into the darkness and snapped two shots.

When I uploaded the digital pictures, we were both speechless. In the picture at the Memorial, Janan is surrounded by faint globes of light of different sizes, some in the foreground, others behind the structure. The other two shots were also full of these same objects, what some call spirit orbs.