Nauvoo: Day 5 and 6

On Wednesday, we took a carriage ride through the wooded areas surrounding Old Nauvoo. Once again the horses were the stars of the show. The kids loved petting them before and after the ride.  They are massive, but so well trained. 

On Wednesday we went to see a showing of "The Promise" in the visitors center as well as the Women's Garden. Nauvoo has beautifully maintained gardens and grounds. The Senior Missionaries do much of the work on them.

On Thursday, hubby and I went to the Nauvoo temple for an endowment session.

It was pretty amazing for me to see the Nauvoo temple.  I remember visiting the site when I was a child in the late 80's. The area looked something like this:

Photo from here

It was just a field with some foundation stones. The temple built by the pioneers was burned by the mobs when they were driven out of Nauvoo in the winter of 1845.

 An artist drew the following pencil sketch of the heartbreaking remains of all the pioneers' hard work to build the temple. In 1999, President Hinckley announced that it would be rebuilt.  I can imagine how those early saints must have rejoiced in Heaven at the news!

The interior has beautiful details both in marble and woodworking. There are more wood floors than in any other temple that I have seen.

They tried to remain as close as possible to the original building design, while adding HVAC and other modern conveniences. The exterior is a nearly exact replication of the original design.

 

On Thursday we also celebrated Elder Grandpa and Sister Grandma's birthdays with delicious BBQ food from a local institution called Peter's Place -- only open in the summer. We took it home to the Grandparents' house and had a nice visit.

Afterwards, we toured the one room school house. We stayed in there for awhile because it was raining.

Then we went to see the Cultural Hall.  It is still used today for performances, such as "Rendezvous". We went upstairs to the second floor to see the antique quilt exhibit.

There is a dance hall on the third floor with large windows and a view of the temple. Most of the building is original, but everything other than the flooring of the third level had to be added back on. Over the course of our touring that became one of big sister A's favorite questions, "is this original or was it rebuilt?"

Nauvoo: Day 4

On Tuesday we drove down to the Carthage Jail, where Joseph and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob. It is touching to hear and see the place the place where Joseph and Hyrum sealed their testimonies with their blood. They knew it was the Lord's church and remained faithful through so many persecutions even to the point of death. 

That night we went to see another musical production called "Sunset on the Mississippi".  That one is on an outdoor stage and had a very large cast. The singing and dancing were excellent.  Just before the show they invite all the children to make hats and join in a little parade through the audience and up to the stage with members of the cast.  Big sister A was a little hesitant at first, but had a great time.

Elder Grandpa played his banjo for part of the performance. It was so fun for us to watch him perform.

Our family liked this show so much that everyone wanted to see it again the night before we left.

Nauvoo: Day 3

On Monday, we went to the Webb Brothers Wainright and Blacksmith shop. Elder Grandpa taught us how the pioneers made wagon wheels and horse shoes. It was pretty amazing to see Elder Grandpa make a little horse shoe for us. 

Then we went to the Seventies Hall and walked along the Trail of Hope.

 The Trail of Hope is the road that the pioneers followed as they were forced out of Nauvoo. All along the way are signs with quotes from various Mormon pioneers as they were leaving.  Brother M made me read EACH one as we passed it.  That made for a slow walk.

BTW, yes I am looking slightly pregnant.  That's because we are expecting again around January 1st! 

At the end of the path was a lovely view of the Mississippi River. It is much wider there now than it was when the pioneers had to cross it.  Around 1900 it was merged with a Lake and damned up slightly on the far end. That way it is deep enough for river barges to continue to use it as a freight route.

In the evening, we went to watch a Musical Drama about Life in Old Nauvoo called "Rendezvous".  Elder Grandpa and Sister Grandma used to both have major parts in the play, but recently Sister Grandma was called to be the coordinator of all the actors and productions -- a very big job.  So she does not act in the plays anymore. But we got to see Elder Grandpa play a fun role.

Nauvoo, Illinois -- Day 2

We spent a whole week in Nauvoo and had plenty of sights to see and activities to fill that time. On Sunday we went to church and then spent the afternoon at the Family Living Center where Elder Grandpa and Sister Grandpa were working that day.

We learned about how the pioneers grew and wove their own wool and flax threads. Sister Grandma also taught us about how they made their bread in the big brick oven (including a yummy sample!).

We watched how they wove the woolen fibers into cloth.  The Senior Missionaries working in the Family Living Center make all the woolen rag rugs that are in all the buildings in Nauvoo.

The kids helped Elder Grandpa make a strong rope from plant fibers.  Then Daddy used his scout skills to tie off the rope so that we could cut it off from the machine.

Elder Grandpa talked about making the clay pots and dishes that the pioneers used in their kitchens.

Nauvoo: Day 1

We started the day with a 45 minute wagon ride. There are about 10-12 teams of horses in Nauvoo. They are Percherons and Belgians. Teamsters (senior missionaries who have experience driving teams of horses) drive the wagon and also give parts of the wagon tour. It was a great overview of all the buildings and stories from old Nauvoo.  Baby S enjoyed the ride so much that he fell alseep.

 The kids also sat in a covered wagon model outside the visitors center.

Then we went to the brickyard where Elder Grandpa was on duty that day.  He told us how the pioneers made bricks and about the Nauvoo clay pit. The brick buildings in town were made from that clay and which is so are the souvenir bricks that they give out today.

The Pioneer Pastimes exhibit is the perfect place for kids to play and learn about pioneer life.  They have a miniature cabin and a miniature school house. They have dress up clothes for all sizes and ages.

 We played with the various kinds of toys and games that the pioneer children might have used. Even in the age of electronics, they were mesmerized by wooden tops, wooden animal blocks, stilts, climbing jacks, and Jacob's ladders.

Don't we look like a regular pioneer family?