Slow down (in life and on the road), you might not know what you’re missing

"I've got to slow down." It's a thought I've had recently as my 30th birthday has crept up on me (eight days and counting, not that I'm keeping track).

But this time, I was thinking "I've got to slow down" for practical reasons. I was about to blow by my turn to visit Cedar Mountain Battlefield.

Now, I have a confession to make. I've lived in Culpeper for coming on three years, my wife has been here five, and we've never been to the battlefield. Now, my wife has an excuse.

Being a school teacher she focuses on the future, and is usually so immersed in her work and graduate school that she doesn't find time on the weekends to traipse around a battlefield.

I, on the other hand, love history and would welcome the opportunity to mosey around the same land that once housed galloping horses, roaring artillery and countless tragedies.

Somehow, I've always put it off. There was always work to do. I was traveling to Pennsylvania. There was a Steeler, Pirate or Pens game on.

None were good excuses, but they were excuses just the same.

So this past weekend while the wife was away, I would play. I had planned to take a hike to test out my new camera I had gotten as an early birthday present (the only perk to turning 30.) But as I sat on Saturday morning sipping coffee, my plans changed. Instead of heading up to Old Rag and surely suffering a heart attack (I know, I know - Old Rag isn't hard to hike, but I'm not in tip-top hiking shape, yet) I decided to explore some of our local history.

I had just been to the Graffiti House (and plan on returning for sure), but the rest of the history of Culpeper County beckoned. I knew there were tons of sights to see, I just had to pick one. So doing my research, I figured Cedar Mountain would suffice.

It was home of the bloodiest battle in the county, it offered historical markers and it was only about ¾ of a mile to hike.

So I hopped into my wife's car, mostly because it had a sun-roof and Saturday was gorgeous. Off I went down Route 15, cruising along jamming out to bands that most people would scratch their heads at.

And it was there, on 15, that my thought came. "I need to slow down."

I blew past the first turn to Cedar Mountain without even realizing it, and turned on 691, extending my trip just a few extra seconds.

And now I wish I would have extended it longer.

As I pulled onto the gravel, I don't even know if I'd call it a parking lot - it's more like a gravel strip - I was only sure I was in the right place because of signs marking the battlefield.

But other than that, there were no visitors, the only people in sight were four intrepid volunteers working on the field.

And that made me think again. There I was, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, in one of the most hallowed grounds in America. And I was the only person there. I found it both strange and humbling.

After introducing myself to the volunteers and getting an exclusive ride on the back of their tractor, I walked the battlefield.

I've always said I don't believe in ghosts, and no I didn't see one, but I felt a prescience that something powerful had happened here. And again, I was taken aback by the fact that out here, in all this land, I was the only one there. I walked further back into the battlefield and discovered the spot where Stonewall Jackson pulled his sword, the only time it happened in the Civil War. Further back I discovered a stone monument to the men from Wisconsin who were lost in the fight.

As I stood there, snapping pictures and soaking it all in, the thought I had earlier came back to me. "I need to slow down." I don't know how many times I've traveled down 15. On my way to Orange, Richmond and points between, I've always blown by the battlefield and never stopped.

Heck, I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't even know it was there. In my defense I was usually traveling at night or early morning and missed the sign stating the battlefield was there.

But it made me wonder, as I left and looped around 691 again, how many other people are missing this-

I slowed down at the entrance of the battlefield, and traffic behind me became impatient. One car honked, another passed me - giving me a not so nice gesture along the way. But I was just trying to get them to slow down. They don't know what they're missing.

Jeff Say can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 115 or at .