as ordered in the Barr ditch, she created a makeshift camp that would be remembered as the “ditch.” Three miles (5 km) from President Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch near Crawford, Texas, Sheehan announced her intention to stay (sleeping in a pup tent at night) until she was granted a face-to-face meeting with the president. Sheehan started her protest the day the president started a planned five-week vacation. The encampment was publicized widely on behalf of Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Speak Out. A few days later, the media began referring to Sheehan's camp as "Camp Casey." Sheehan spent most of the next four weeks in Crawford. On some days as many as 1,500 supporters visited Camp Casey, including members of the U.S. Congress, as well as several notable actors, singers, and civil rights activists. Gold Star Families for Peace, of which Sheehan is a founding member, released a TV commercial featuring Sheehan, broadcast on Crawford and Waco cable channels near Bush's ranch. The group conducted a walk to a police station just outside Bush's ranch and delivered a bundle of oversized letters written by them to First Lady Laura Bush, appealing to her as a mother to support their movement. On August 16, Sheehan moved her camp closer to the Bush ranch after being offered the use of a piece of land owned by a supporter, Fred Mattlage. In late August, Sheehan stated that she would continue to campaign against the Iraq war even if granted a meeting with Bush. She also announced the Bring Them Home Now Tour, to depart on September 1 and arrive in Washington, D.C., on September 24 for three days of demonstrations. The tour, which covered 42 cities in 26 states, was publicized by the Mintwood Media Collective, and garnered international media coverage. On the third day, Sheehan and about 370 other antiwar activists were arrested for demonstrating on the White House sidewalk. Sheehan's actions led supporters such as Rev. Lennox Yearwood, CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, to describe her as "the Rosa Parks of the antiwar movement." Sheehan also gained the label of "Peace Mom" from the mainstream media. Political activism In September 2005, Sheehan moved into the Berkeley, California, home of Stephen Pearcy and Virginia Pearcy, where she lived for just over a year, during which time she wrote two books. Also that month, Sheehan met with Senator John