Day 4 - Antietem

As planned, we ride the 5 miles to the Antietam National Battlefield as the potential rain does not appear and it turns out to be a spectacular day. The area is absolutely beautiful, with rolling hills and mountains in the distance and a much welcome change from the monotony of the C&O. The history is incredible, especially the fact that 23,000 men died here in one day, more than the entire Reveloution, Mexican and Spanish-American wars. After biking around the battlefield, we head back towards the canal and head south back towards DC. We camp at Calico Rocks which turns out to be right next to a very busy train track. Fortunately, the traffic dies down at night until about 4:30 AM. The rain on the tent all night helps dampen the sound of the trains a bit.