Missouri and Home

We have made it to Missouri! We left Nauvoo after a showing of the Pageant. We drove across the Mississippi River and to Hannibal, Missouri. In the morning we were up early and off to Far West, Adam-Ondi-Ahman, and Independence. We saw beautiful country side. Amazing places where the Saints attempted to settle. Most of everything in MO has been destroyed. There were a few things left and markers where things were. There are few memories of this group of people - the only group of people the United States ever put an extermination order on. It was a grave experince to see the fields of Far West. Nothing left of the 5,000 people who once lived there. This was the first day that we had high temperatures and humidity. Thank goodness for AC. On the way to Far West we drove through a Amish village. Another great day in the east.

Historic Nauvoo

The next leg of our journey took us to Nauvoo, Illinois. On Sunday morning we were up and on the road early. We arrived at Carthage, Illinois at 1pm. It was a sobering stop.


After Carthage we drove on to Nauvoo. We checked into our hotel and took a drive around the Nauvoo Temple. We then attended the Sunday Sociable Musical. This morning we were up to the Temple and spend the day touring the historic city. We took a wagon ride around the farm land and then a carriage ride around the city. We topped off the day with the Nauvoo Pageant and Rendezvous in Nauvoo- a musical. It was a fun day. Tomorrow we will finish our tour of Nauvoo and start the drive into Missouri.






On of the best things of the day was my first sightings of fireflies. The yellow dot in the photo is a firefly.

Kirkland, Ohio

The next stop on our Church History tour was Kirkland, Ohio. We arrived Friday night prepared for a Saturday tour of Kirkland. Saturday morning we visited the Historic Kirkland Neighborhood, the Kirkland Temple, Several Homes of Church Members and finished our stay with a drive to The John Johnson farm (30 miles South of Kirkland).

Historic Kirkland was amazing. There are several buildings that were built in early 1800s. The NK Whitney Store has received a presidential award for authenticity. The store keeper kept precise records that allowed the historical society to reproduce the entire store. It was incredible. Everything we saw left an impression on us.

From the Johnson Farm we were able to hop on the Highway and start the 609mile drive to Nauvoo, Illinois. We drove half way and stopped for the night.






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Out and Up - Upstate New York

Thursday Mom and I were up early and leaving the Big Apple. We drove over to New Jersey, Up to Pennsylvanian and West through New York. Our 4 hour trip left us in Palmyra, New York. We drove straight to the Joseph Smith Home and Sacred Grove. We had a wonderful visit there. The guides are all missionaries and have a plethora of information to share. At the end of our tour we were able to do a session at the Palmyra Temple and then head directly to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. We got a little wet from the rain - but that flavored the experience. We stayed the night in Palmyra and Friday morning visited the Original Printing place of the Book of Mormon.










We then headed west to Niagara Falls. We spent the rest of the day enjoying this wonder of our world. We took a trip on the Maid of the Mist. Then we went down to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls where we both got wet!

I officially scouted the falls for Evan and decided that with it's hight of 176 feet it should be a 6-5-A. White water class 6 waterfall, class 5 obstacle in the water, and medical rating A - if you get hurt medical attention if very close at hand. So in other words: not a run he will be doing soon.

Donde Estas Mom and Allison?

We made it! Not only to the east - but to a hotel with the internet. Mom and I are on our Tour of Church History sites. We flew out of San Jose Tuesday morning and into New York City.

Tuesday - We landed in NY. Picked up our rental and drove into Manhattan. I was able to find our hotel without a problem - and a free place to park on the street. A few minutes later we were able to hop on the subway and go see the Drowsy Chaperone.



Wednesday - We took ourselves on a self guided walking tour of New York. Our walking tour took us past Union Square, Herold Square, Lincoln Center, The Financial District and Dusten. We walked through Central Park and Stopped at Trinity Church to look for Nicholas Cage - But we were unsuccessful.







During the Day we stopped at the Manhattan Temple. We finished off the day with Beauty and the Beast. After walking 150 blocks and seeing more than we can recount we ended our Great Day New York day.

Thursday morning we were up and out of New York early without a bit of traffic to stop us.