H-D FACTORY TOUR

We learned from our previous experience of taking Sami in the Jeep, on a hot day, and left her in the motor home. We drove about an hour to York, PA, where Harley-Davidson's final assembly plant is located. This is where all of the Harley's were assembled from the early 70's, through the mid 90's, then a second assembly plant was opened in Kansas City. It is now where they build the touring, softail, and custom motorcycles. I had toured some of the H-D facilities in Milwaukee, such as the engine and transmission plant, but had never been to York. The tour lasted about an hour, and we were taken through the building that makes some of the parts, such as fenders, and assembles the touring models. From start to finish, an entire motorcycle is built in 2 hours. It was a great tour, and even though it was free, the factory store was the recipient of a few of our dollars. From York, we drove back to Gettysburg, and spent some time in the visitors center. After watching the movie, we went up an escalator to what is called the cyclorama. There's a viewing platform in the middle of a huge painting that circles the viewing area. I don't remember the exact dimensions, but this painting is about 45' tall, and over 300 feet long. When wrapped around the viewing area, you get a 360 degree view of the Gettysburg Battlefield. When the program begins, special lighting and sound effects make you feel like you are right in the middle of the civil war. Truly spectacular, and well worth the price of admission. The visitors center book store was huge, and I commented to Patty, that if you were a civil war historian, this is the place to find a lot of reading material. It was getting late, and our little dog does have her limits, so, we drove the hour or so back to the campground.