Highlight Reel: Nauvoo

During my trip to Chicago, Lisa and Adam arranged for us to take a short road trip to Nauvoo, since I hadn't been there.

It was amazing.

I will never forget it.

It looked different than I expected, but I loved it.

Here are some of my favorite pictures:


The view of the temple on our wagon ride. So beautiful.

Lisa and I watched a movie in the Visitors Center. While we did, Adam hung out with Matthew. When we came out, Adam, a proud pappa, showed us what Matthew learned. Adam pointed at a picture of President Monson and asked who it was. Matthew smiled up at us and said it was Prophet Monson. It was so cute!

I tried my first piece of Catfish while I was there. It was okay. I really like fish and so I wanted to try it. Adam "stole" a small piece of it from the Buffet we had at the Hotel Nauvoo. The buffet was delicious, and the fish was alright.

 Matthew loved Dinner. :)

Our first night there we went to the "Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo" in the Cultural Hall. I loved it. It was hilarious and touching. And the Senior couples that put it on were so totally awesome. I could totally see my Nana in it. :)

In Brigham Young's home, a Sister Missionary explained that when the city was being rebuilt, someone discovered Brigham Young's wife's dishes in the cellar of their house. She had tried to quickly bury them in order to protect them from the looters that came in after they left. when they were discovered, they were all broken and almost destroyed. Eventually a Senior missionary came along that was a ceramics glazier and was able to put the dishes together and re-finish them so it's impossible to tell that they were ever broken--and probably stronger than they were originally. The sister missionary likened it to the Atonement. It was a beautiful analogy.

We were also able to go to Carthage while we were there. It was quite an impressive place. It was incredible to be there.

All four of us standing in front of the Brickyard.

 A Sunstone from the original temple.

The view of the Mississippi River from Inspiration Pointe. We went there as part of the Carriage ride tour that is there. It was a beautiful experiance. It was very cold that day, but the missionaries gave us lots of quiltes and so we were quite cozy and warm during the ride.

We also took some time to walk around Joseph Smith's properties and the cemetary. It was beautiful and serene.

The view of Parley Street towards the Mississippi River, where the saints walked as they were leaving the city. It was a humbling and cold walk, especially since all I had was a thin sweater. It was easy to imagine how difficult it was for them to leave their lives and their temple for an unknown world. My heart ached for them as I turned and saw the temple on the hill and thought of their immense sacrifice. My gratitude for my own 4th Great-Grandmother, Margaret Cowan Bryson's sacrifice multiplied as I imagined her walking down to the river in the dead of winter. Her sacrifice lead directly to me here. For that I am eternally grateful.

 Touching the Mississippi River!

The river is huge! I can't imagine crossing it in below freezing temperatures and then seeing it freeze over.

On our way back to Chicago, we took a bit of a detour so I can say I've been to Iowa. Unsurprisingly, it looked just like Illinois. :) ha ha ha.

And yes, I did feel so welcome.

I loved Nauvoo. It wasn't crowded and it was fun to have time to wander through everything and spend a lot of time talking to the Senior Missionaries. Some of them had only been their a week, while others had been their about a month. It amazed me how much they already knew and how well they explained everything.

Overall, I throughly enjoyed it and was so glad we had, and took the time to go. :)