Nauvoo Vacation - Last entry

Gideon at the edge of the Mississippi River

The Summary ...

THURSDAY 8/3/2007

· Kyler felt sick. Ran a low grade fever off & on throughout the day. Yay for Tylenol.
· 8:30am – We gathered our family and some of the Allen’s kids and went to the “Trail of Hope” which is the east end of Parley Street that leads to the Mississippi River. When the pioneers were forced out of Nauvoo, they lined their wagons up on Parley Street, waiting their turn to cross the Mississippi, whether by ferry or by crossing the frozen river. Cast members from pageant presented journal entries of various pioneers and their last moments in Nauvoo. The hymn “Come, Let Us Anew” has taken on new meaning to me now.

This is a ferry like the ones used by the pioneers to cross the Mississippi.


At the edge of the Mississippi River after viewing "Trail of Hope."

Gideon is holding a lily pad and Tori is holding a lily pad flower.

Once we reached the Mississippi River, we took off our shoes and waded in the water. The lily pads and their flowers are huge! Some, a foot across or more!
· There is a pioneer memorial board at the Mississippi’s edge that lists over 2,000 names of those who left Nauvoo but died along the trail. Our ancestor Albert Miner is on the list. He is the son-in-law to Edmund Durfee.
· We return to the Allen’s house to pack up.
· I make one last, quick stop at the Land & Records Office for last details.
· We drive through northern Missouri towards Bethany and see LOTS OF CORN & SOY BEAN FIELDS, but no fast food places for lunch! We finally come to a Subway Sandwich shop in Unionville. In Bethany we stop for a quick visit with Gma Susie’s friends the Johnsons whom she knew back in San Jose 40 years ago.
· 4pm – We arrived at Adam-Ondi-Ahman … the reverent feeling there was awe inspiring.
· 6pm – We arrived at Liberty Jail … gives new meaning to “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly” (D&C 121:45-46)
· 8pm – We arrived at the Visitor’s Center in Independence … the only church owned visitor’s center without a temple.
· 10pm – We get a hotel, a bit of a complicated situation since there was a bikers’ convention in town.

FRIDAY 8/4/2007

· 9am - We leave for St. Louis; Jerry is excited to be driving on freeway and not highways through podunksvilles. We are TIRED of seeing LOTS of corn & soybean fields, but should be grateful – We saw more greenery in a week in the Midwest than we see in a year in AZ! We crossed the Missouri River for 1st time. (We crossed the Mississippi River 4 times during our trip.)
· 2:30pm (CDT) - Our flights take off on time! Jerry and the boys have a layover in Denver. The girls and I change planes in Houston. Gma Vickie & Gma Susie fly to Las Vegas together. Jerry & the boys’ plane had to wait out a storm in Denver, so they arrived in Phoenix 30 min late. Gma Susie’s plane to San Jose had to turn back to Vegas due to a flap problem on the wing. She arrived in San Jose finally, about 8:30pm (PDT).
· Tio Eric picks up the tired Newitts at the Phoenix airport. We have dinner at Cathy’s then head home.

The Details...

THURSDAY 8/3/2007

After driving through the northern portion of Missouri, we finally arrived at Adam-Ondi-Ahman around 4 pm. The valley was green. The trees were lush along the distant river that ran through the area. We visited two different hillsides. The reverent feeling there was awe inspiring. It calmed my spirit and filled my soul with a profound, reverent peace. I hope to never forget it.

At the entrance to Adam-Ondi-Ahman.

Overlooking the valley.

Our next stop was at 6 pm in Liberty, Missouri, to see one of the jails where Joseph & Hyrum Smith and their companions spent about 5 months incarcerated. It was here that the Prophet Joseph received 2 powerful and touching revelations on dealing with adversity (D&C 121, 122). As we saw the jail and understood its purposeful construction, and saw the conditions that these men lived in during the harsh winter, the scripture to “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly” (D&C 121:45-46) took on new meaning to me. To have positive, virtuous thoughts even in these dire circumstances was possible with faith.

At Liberty Jail. The cross section of the jail is housed in a Visitors' Center.

At 8 pm we arrived at the Visitor’s Center in Independence … the only church owned visitor’s center without a temple. We enjoyed the dramatized history that we were able to see and hear. The kids enjoyed the children’s pioneer play area.

We flew home Friday afternoon from St. Louis, Missouri. It was a great trip. The kids, especially Kyler, are asking when we can go again. It was an incredible and inspirational trip.