Nauvoo

This morning we woke up early and drove three hours down to Nauvoo. As soon as we arrived in the city, we knew that we had come to the right place for our family. I had arranged to do baptisms for the dead with Emilie. We were in awe at the beauty of this building. This was Emilie's first time to participate in the baptisms, so it was so rewarding to be able to be with her.

"The Last Ride" Joseph and Hyrum riding past the temple before being taken to Carthage

When we came out, the kids were waiting outside with Steve. They had been to the Pioneer Pastimes, which was where they played games and dressed up in period clothing. They had so much fun, they begged to go back.

We then toured the different homes and shops from the time that the Saints lived in this beautiful city on the banks of the Mississippi River. In the printing shop we learned what “mind your p's and q's” really meant. In the John Taylor house we saw the rocking horse that John Taylor risked his life to retrieve for this son, in the tin shop we saw how pots and lanterns were made and what was used for mouse and fly traps and in the gun smith shop we learned about the beginnings of Browning Guns.

We then attended the High Hopes and River Boats musical. We spotted Jess Ellsworth from our Millcreek ward in the cast, and were so excited to congratulate him afterwards on a great performance. (He is in the back with the black hat.)

We then explored the Women's Garden that had life sized statues of many of my favorite sculptures. That evening we attended Sunset on the Mississippi and then checked into the hotel and ended the night with a swim and pizza night.

The next day we woke up early and took an 8:00 am carriage ride to Inspiration Point, a scenic spot looking over the Mississippi where Joseph Smith would come to take a break from the constant demands from both his friends and his enemies. During the ride we were told pioneer stories from the cutest older missionary with the perfect western accent.

We then visited the brick maker, who gave us a brick, listened to the blacksmith and wainwright tell us about the huge undertaking of getting an entire community outfitted to cross the plains, we toured Brigham Young's house and heard about how they buried their china in hopes of returning for it, and then we visited Lucy Mack Smith's house and learned about how she returned to Nauvoo and lived out the rest of her life being taken care of by Emma.

Later we attended the children's play Just Plain Anna Amanda, which was a perfect mid day break. Sophia was called up on stage as the sole audience participant and Ezra was so cute to watch as he joined in the singing of his favorite primary songs. We then toured the Joseph Smith area of Nauvoo, which is owned by the Community of Christ Church. They took us through the Joseph Smith homes with hiding places for Joseph during the years when the mobs were after him, the Mansion House, which served as one of his residents as well as a hotel, and the Red Store were the Relief Society was organized.

We took the kids into the Living History Center where we were able to see how the pioneers completed certain tasks like making pottery, baking bread and weaving rugs.

Afterwards we traveled down to Carthage to see the jail in which Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith were killed. The feeling was definitely somber in Carthage, but it was fascinating to learn about the events surrounding his martyrdom.

We then returned to Nauvoo and walked down the Trail of Tears, a path which leads to the Mississippi River on which the pioneers fled across the river. Along the path are quotes from the Saints about their exodus. One quote was about a woman who had bread baking in her oven, but when the mobs came to chase her out of her house, she had to grab her bread and hang it on her wagon to finish cooking it in the sun. Another woman, Brigham Young's wife, described delivering her baby in a wagon while the wagon rumbled across the trails, only stopping for her to catch her breath. This was a great way to end our day learning about the Saints. In the evening we attended the County Fair, which was a celebration with games, square dancing and a barbecue. We then attended the Nauvoo Pageant, a musical of what the Saints experienced in Nauvoo.

Our family loved our time in Nauvoo. While there the children all agreed that this has been one of their favorite vacations and that they would love to come back next year! These were significant words considering that they had driven 25 hours in the car to get there!