Welcome to the Battle of the Wilderness, sun flares included.

A few weeks back, Cole and I ventured north to the site of the Battle of the Wilderness. We've passed it many times on our way to DC, so we had to check it out. We stopped at the National Park Service hut, which does offer tours, but we didn't make that time. Luckily, I basically have my own tour guide. His name is Cole. He reads all the signs while I am wandering and taking photos. Then, he regurgitates it to me. I don't remember everything, but I do remember this was the first meeting of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. So, fun fact right there.

The name Battle of the Wilderness definitely comes from the thick woods. The Union and Confederate soldiers fought three days, but no one came out the winner. At the NPS site, visitors can walk on a loop that takes you into the woods to see the dirt trenches and battle events. And, of course, we walked it. I couldn't imagine fighting in those woods. It would be hard to see anything.

After the walk, we drove around to other battle points, which included more trenches, fields and farm houses. My favorite was the path through a field. The sun was beautiful and golden, hence my obsession with the sun flares. You'll see that I took a lot of photos in this pretty location. Enjoy!

Cole reads the information signs and then tells me about the battle.

When they called this place the wilderness, they weren't joking. It's packed with trees.

We took this trip in early October, so the leaves were still quite green.

But ... I found a yellow leaf.

The other stops on the battlefield tour offered fields of sunshine.

Cole likes battlefields.

Me, well ... I don't hate battlefields.

I really enjoyed this sunny evening walk.

Typical battle field scene: Cole reads; I take random photos.

... like this sun flare photo.

Battlefields are fun!