7/23/17 Sunday in Nauvoo

    First thing today we attended Bishop Joe Smith's (I am not making this up) ward. They had a special Sunday school and Primary for visitors. There seemed to be many more visitors in town than locals. 

      Afterwards we visited some of the sites that are open on Sundays. Above you see Rebecca in front of Joseph Smith's office inside the Red Brick Store. It was in this building that some endowments were performed ahead of the dedication of the Nauvoo Temple.

The graves of Joseph's parents.

Originally Joseph and Hyrum were buried secretly because it was worried that mobs would dig them up. Now the family cemetery can be visited by anyone. 

The blacksmith shop was open. They explained about how wagon wheels and horse shoes are made.

They gave each of us a "Prairie Diamond". Really it is a nail with a diamond shaped head bent into a ring. The story is that a poor made needed a ring to convince his future father-in-law to let him marry his daughter. He got creative and apparently it worked.

We passed by Brigham Young's Nauvoo home.

We went to a place that demonstrated several pioneer crafts. Above the kids are learning about one of the steps in preparing wool to become yarn. We also saw demonstrations of barrel making, cooking bread in a wood powered oven, candle making and rope making.

Peter thought that this bench was lots of fun.

While Heidi and I prepared spam, rice and eggs on the camp stove (and rice cooker) the kids played on this nearby playground.

In the evening we walked the Trail of Hope (formerly known as the Trail of Tears). President Hinckley renamed it because, although there were tears, he wanted us to focus on the hope that the Pioneers had that they would find the place Heavenly Father wanted them to be.

7/22/17 Carthage Jail and the Nauvoo Pageant

Our first stop this morning was Carthage Jail, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred.

There is a solemn Spirit here. Two men gave their lives affirming that what they lived and believed is true. Many saints in the coming months and years would do the same.

The Beautiful Nauvoo Temple, on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River.

A statue of Joseph Smith, Heavenly Father and Jesus during the First Vision.

We arrived just in time to get free tickets to a musical performance called "The Promise".

They allowed us to take pictures (provided no flash). The Young Performing Missionaries did a great job. They even kept Joseph and Peter in their seats the whole time.

We did the buffet dinner at a nearby inn. It was a little pricey but felt good after so much fast food.

Hear is the view from the side of the temple where they have a place for children to wait to be sealed to their parents. Heidi and I remember stopping here when she was pregnant with David over 13 years ago.

Statue of Joseph and Hyrum representing the last time they left Nauvoo.

Immediately prior to the Nauvoo Pageant they have many period games and activities. The kids loved racing with a handcart.

Joseph, TJ and Peter are three happy passengers.

Heidi and David race to get the bear to the top. David had a knack for this game.

TJ was asked to participate in a puppet show.

Here he is getting his applause.

They had stilts of various sizes to try.

Heidi and David (not shown) did pretty well.

I had fun too.

Rebecca and Sarah made little braided things for their hair. There were many other fun things we did as well.

The stage is set up so that the temple is in the background.

Through out the show they build sections of a stage version of the temple.

The play is based on journal accounting of actual people who were living at the time. The story of a young family who lost a daughter crossing the ocean was touching to me. The husband didn't believe at first but helped build the temple anyway. Gradually his faith grew and he gained faith that he would see his little girl again.

At the end they talk about how the temple was burned down but later was rebuilt. They have lights up at the temple that they turned on cue. I loved that, although there we much fewer effects than the Hill Cumorah, the story felt more relatable. It has been touching to see how much the saints were willing to give up to live what they knew was true.

7/21/17 Indiana, Wilbur Wright, Illinois

As we travel the kids are getting the hang of camping and then getting on the road. Rebecca, Sarah and TJ have learned that they can pack a sleeping bag into the stubborn case if they work together.

Shortly after starting we were in the middle of a heavy storm. We moved to the right, behind a big truck, and drove slowly until it passed.

Eventually we came to Indiana.

Along the way we passed a sign advertising the birthplace of Wilbur Wright.

It is proof that you don't need to be born into a booming metropolis to make a contribution.

This house is about as close to the middle of nowhere as you can get. It was cool knowing that while this place has a replica of the Wright Flyer, we've seen the original. How cool is that.

Next, on to the Land of Lincoln, Illinois. They are sure proud of him. Signs all over the place.

The kids had fun on the playground and in the pool. David and I had fun trying out his boomarang that he got for his birthday. Sadly I managed to get it stuck 30 feet up a tree. Happily, with effort, I was able to get it down by tying rope to a bean bag and throwing it up there several times. Of course then the bean bag got stuck. Providence helped us get that back in the morning. I had told Heavenly Father that I'd rather have the new present than the old bean bag if I had to make a choice so I was ready to call it a loss. Heidi asked the kids to give it one more shot. This was risky since rain was imminent. They tugged as hard as they could but it would not come down. While they were pulling, and rain was starting I cut the rope as high as I could. The branches flew up, as if on a spring, and the bean bag flew loose. If it had been left to me I would have simply untied the lower section of rope and left the bean bag behind. With Heidi's suggestion, and a bit of prayer, we got to keep both.