We visited Independence, Liberty, Far West and Adam Ondi Ahman in Missouri and Carthage and Nauvoo in Illinois. I won't write a comprehensive summary of our travels because there are many guide books that will give you that and also most of my blogfans have been to all these places. I will however cover what in my mind were the highlights of the trip.
#1 - Allowing the GPS to guide us over a series of dirt roads to Far West. It turns out it could have been reached on main highways, but this was much more fun. It was kind of like getting lost without really getting lost.
#2 - The beautiful landscapes. I can see why the pioneers were so disappointed when they arrived in Salt Lake. It was amazing to me to see trees that had not been planted and cultivated but had just sort of sprung forth from the ground.
#3 - I thought Carthage jail would be very sad to visit, but I found it to be exactly the opposite. I was surprised by lack of blame and hatred towards the members of the mob. Carthage wasn't a reminder that Joseph Smith had been brutally murdered - It was a reminder that he believed in what he was doing enough to walk calmly into certian death.
#4 - Chris almost had a bigfoot sighting at Adam Ondi Ahman. It turned out to be a deer. Look closely. It's in there somewhere.
#5 - For the first time in my life, I saw fireflies. Now, I know a few of my blogfans live in areas where they are plentiful and find them rather unremarkable but when you stop to think about it, how much cooler does it get than a bug with a butt that lights up?
#6 - Seeing both the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers.
#7 - Getting to go through the Nauvoo temple and spending time walking around the temple grounds later that evening. The coolest part of the temple construction is that I could not find a single bit of concrete within the temple grounds. The curb and gutter were limestone and I believe the sidewalk and parking lot were granite. I know most people wouldn't have noticed but I have always had a great appreciation for such things.
#8 - Seeing the rocking horse that belonged to John Taylor's son. The story goes that the son was so distraught to leave his horse behind that John Taylor turned back after a couple of days' journey and risked his life to sneak back into Nauvoo to retrieve the horse for his son. It made it all the way to Salt Lake and was eventually donated back to Nauvoo by the family. It was very touching to see the love he had for his son.
#9 - After seeing the beautiful homes that these people had built with their own hands, I had a great appreciation for the fact that most had to leave after staying only a few months in their completed dwellings. It must have taken a great deal of faith to leave their dream homes for an uncertian future.
#10 - Making the same journey the pioneers made in months all in one day. We left Nauvoo (actually Keokuk - 15 miles away) after a late breakfast and we landed in Salt Lake in time for dinner. It really made me appreciate the ability we have to travel.
#11 - Getting to spend time with Chris.
We had a wonderful time and are very grateful that we were able to go.
4 comments:
I've been thinking a lot about pioneers lately too. Maybe it's that time of season. I don't think that I will fully comprehend the faith and belief that they had to walk to Salt Lake.
About Fireflies. Sam and I got a book at the library just this week about them. They are fascinating to me still. What a fabulous trip it must have been. Lucky You for fabulous grandparents....I mean parents.
Just to clear things up, it was an actual bigfoot sighting. He was crouched down behind the deer in the picture. Bigfoots, or bigfeet to the layperson, are incredibly intelligent and like to hunker down behind other objects and animals.
It was great spending time with you, too. I'll always remember this trip!
The bigfoot successfully fooled you with the old stuffed-deer trick. You're so gullible!
Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog -- good to hear from you. It sounds like you had a really neat trip out here to the Midwest. It is amazingly different from where we grew up. We have yet to water our lawn or garden or anything and yet we have mowed about every week and a half and cut back all the bushes and enjoy all the new blooms on the flowers! Sorry we missed seeing you in Nauvoo. That would have been fun.
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