Mr. Mercat and I rode our bicycles backwards (in the park not on the bikes... lol) through the park in late October. It was not deserted then. Evidently they get a spike of visitors in late October because of Halloween. Who knew. We enjoyed a re-enactment and the volunteers who were there to tell us about the park, especially on Little Round Top. We went there twice, once we rode our bikes and once we walked from our campground. I’m glad that they don’t allow new monuments but glad that the old ones are there. I want to go back and hit specific places that I feel we slighted. I also want to go to Meade’s headquarters again... the little farmhouse. For some reason that really touched me... and then, there it was in the movie.
I can’t remember what specific month it was, but it was during the winter that I visited Gettysburg, and there were no other people around. I had never climbed Big Round Top, and decided I’d stop there and hike the trail. I don’t recall it taking that long to get to the top, but when I did get there, I discovered I was not alone. A large number of turkey vultures were roosting there, staring at me like I was their lunch. They were obviously not upset by my presence, and never moved an inch. I didn’t stay up there very long, and high-tailed it back down the trail to my car. I later found out that turkey vultures regularly use the park as their winter roost. They say the descendants of the original turkey vultures who descended on the battlefield carnage in July 1863, continue to be drawn back to the park.