Nauvoo the Beautiful!

So our July was a complete whirlwind, with Boyce getting some much-needed vacation from work. On July 9th, we set out for the ultimate roadtrip - final destination: Nauvoo, Illinois.

Day 1 - On Day 1, we drove through Colorado and stopped at this beautiful mountain town of Frisco. After a LONG day of driving, we stayed in a tiny little town called Sterling. The only thing I will remember about Sterling is that the first room in our hotel had cockroaches. I was NOT okay with this, so thankfully Boyce got us a different room, and after a thorough scan in which no roaches were detected, we settled in for the night.

Day 2 - More driving till we reached Omaha - Council Bluffs. We stopped at the Winter Quarters Visitor Center, where we walked around the beautiful temple grounds and cemetery. Later that night we ventured into downtown Omaha where we ate dinner. We thought downtown Omaha was actually pretty fun!


Day 3 - Still more driving. At about the time when I thought I was going to pull my hair out, we stumbled upon the little town of Eldon, Iowa. And guess what's in Eldon! The American Gothic House. If you don't know what that is, you're not alone. I didn't, either. But it's the house represented in this famous painting:

We stopped at the American Gothic House for a few minutes, which gave us the momentum to finish our journey to Nauvoo. We got to Nauvoo and checked into our cute little hotel (Zion Mercantile Hotel). Then we went to find some dinner, and ate at Ziggy's, a quaint pizza joint. Afterward, we decided to go see Rendezvous. We were the last people to squeeze into the auditorium, and, with the exception of a little, exhausted 6 month old, we quite enjoyed it.

Day 4 - The first thing we did on our first "complete" day in Nauvoo was take a wagon ride through the town. It was great, because it took us all around historic Nauvoo and gave us ideas of what we wanted to see and do while we were there. It was on this wagon ride we saw a barge on the Mississippi, being pulled by a little tugboat. Very cool! Afterward, we headed back to our hotel, where we were surprised to find a bagpipe band playing in the courtyard just outside our hotel. They were so good!






Later that day, we went to the "Youth of Zion" vignette, where a group of actors portrayed Mary and Caroline Rollins and a few others. I hadn't heard this story before, but the young Rollins girls watched as men tore up and scattered pages of the Doctrine and Covenants. Knowing the worth of those pages, the girls risked their lives and ran to rescue the pages. The men saw them and chased after them, following them into a corn field. The girls hid in a row of corn, praying fervently that the men would not catch them. They did not!

We also toured the Jonathan Browning home and saw his gun collections and learned about his history as a gunmaker. We took lots of pictures for both our dads. They both love guns!




We also caught the show "High Hopes and River Boats," which was amazing! The actors were so talented! After that we headed to another vignette, "Women of Nauvoo," located in the Relief Society garden. The garden was so lush and beautiful.


That night, we decided to the Nauvoo Pageant. I really had no expectations, but I was blown away. First of all, BEFORE the Pageant, the church puts on what they call the "Frontier Country Fair," where they have all sorts of fun games for children and adults alike such as square dancing, horse shoes, log sawing, an old-time puppet show, and more. Boyce attempted to walk on stilts, which was HILARIOUS.




Afterward, we watched the Pageant. I didn't realize beforehand, but all of the music portrayed in the Pageant is live, and the cast was phenomenal. Parley P. Pratt welcomed all of the visitors to the Pageant, and then unfolded the story of life for the saints in Nauvoo - up through the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. The Pageant finished with the beautiful Nauvoo Temple illuminated in the background. At the end, the cast was now dressed in white, meant to symbolize them as spirits, and they thanked us for spending the evening with them. I can't say enough about the Pageant except to say we went twice, and every member of the Church should go see it one day.



Day 5 - On Day 5, we went to more vignettes, including "Letters of Joseph and Emma" and the "King Follett Discourse." I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the "King Follett Discourse." The actor portraying Joseph Smith in the Pageant presented portions of one of the Prophet's last major discourses, which he gave at the funeral if his close friend King Follett ("King" being the gentleman's actual name). Boyce and I truly felt like we were listening to the Prophet and had stepped back in time.

We also took a wagon ride - different than the carriage ride in that this wasn't about touring Nauvoo so much as it was a ride that talked about the many amazing, spiritual experiences the saints had. For instance, it took us by the well that King Follett fell into, where he died.



Also that afternoon we toured sites owned by the Community of Christ church, including the mansion house, which was built to house the influx of saints who'd moved to Nauvoo until homes could be constructed for them, the Red Brick Store, and the cemetery where Joseph, Hyrum, Emma, and other members of the Smith family are buried. The cemetery was one of my favorite parts of Nauvoo. I couldn't help but marvel that that was where the actual Prophet and his family members were buried!


Later that evening, I got to go to the Temple while Boyce watched Gracie. I loved having some time in Nauvoo to reflect on the gospel, which was the entire reason the saints in Nauvoo endured the persecution and hardships that they did.

Day 6 - This was our last full day in Nauvoo. We woke up early so that we could go to the "Trail of Hope," the walk down Parley Street that the saints took as they left their beloved city for the last time. That morning, members of the Pageant cast lined Parley Street and, donned in pioneer attire, shared stories of what "their" life was like in Nauvoo. It was so touching. At one stop along the Trail of Hope, two young women sang a hymn that had strengthened them during much of their persecution, and I couldn't help but cry. The Trail of Hope finished at the bank of the Mississippi River, where the saints crossed as they journeyed to Zion.


After the Trail of Hope, we headed to Carthage, where we walked through the jail where the Prophet, Hyrum, John Taylor (and others but I can't remember whom exactly) were martyred. What a sacred place this was. In the tour, they take you to the actual room where the mob shot through the door and windows and killed Hyrum and Joseph. John Taylor escaped alive.


Later, we visited a few sites that we hadn't gotten to yet, including the publishing house where the Times and Seasons newspaper was printed (I still can't believe all the time and effort it took to produce a newspaper back then!), the Family Living Center where we got to eat bread baked in a real brick oven, the brick shop, and the bakery.

That evening, Boyce got to do a session in the temple, and met Gracie and I at the "Sunset on the Mississippi" show. And after that, we couldn't help but go see the Pageant again.



Day 7 - I was so sad to leave Nauvoo. I kept asking Boyce if we could stay another day. He would ask me what we would do if we stayed, and I didn't really have an answer, so we left. On this day, we drove through Iowa and Minnesota, and got caught in a torrential downpour on the freeway that forced us to pull over. Seriously, Minnesota, your rainstorms are no joke.

Day 8 - This day of our trip home took us through South Dakota. I sort of thought South Dakota might be totally boring, but I was mistaken. We got off the freeway in Mitchell because Gracie was hungry, and low and behold, the town was having a parade. As Boyce puts it, "I never knew John Deere made so many different kinds of farm equipment until the Mitchell Parade." It's true. Lots and lots of farm equipment. But that wasn't the coolest part of Mitchell. The coolest part is that Mitchell is home of the Corn Palace! In case you never knew corn palaces exist, they do. In Mitchell. PS - They redo the murals (made out of corn, in case you couldn't gather) EVERY year.


After experiencing the Corn Palace, we piled back in the car and kept on driving. That evening, we pulled into Keystone, South Dakota, checked into our hotel, and promptly went to Mount Rushmore. I LOVED Mount Rushmore. It is such a patriotic place, and the amount of time and effort that went into creating that monument is phenomenal. They had to dynamite with exact precision, people. I have some serious respect for the people who created Mount Rushmore. We ate dinner there at the monument, walked around, and then that night watched the movie about the monument, and at the end, they light up the mountain. It was truly beautiful. Except for the part where some lady stood up on the bench to see better, grabbed Gracie's stroller (which she was in, sound asleep), and then lost her balance, sending the stroller into the air for a split second. I don't think it's possible to truly convey the wrath of a mother over her child, but it came out. I was NOT happy.



Day 9 - Whoa is me, MORE driving. We were done. Gracie was done. And unfortunately the last day of the drive was through the ugliest, worst part EVER. Wyoming. Wyoming, I know you do have some redeeming qualities, like the Tetons and Yellowstone. But most of you is dreadful. Or at least the part we drove through. But we survived and made it home! Home, sweet home, at last.