Nauvoo Part 1

So a couple of weeks ago, Mike and I had an AWESOME opportunity to go on a Church History tour of Nauvoo with Mike's parents! I thought because their are quite a few pictures and things I wanted to post about, that I would do it in parts. So here goes. Part 1:

We started off our little journey at about 5:00 AM from Idaho Falls and we we drove about 12 hours to North Platte, NE. Yes... that is a very long drive... and no, it did not go by very fast.

Here is a picture of us starting out our journey. Yes- I do have one eye that closes sooner than the other causing me to look stoned. It is very early in the morning.

We were on a tour bus and that definitely had its advantages and disadvantages. Let me explain:

Advantages:

1. Mike and I got to snuggle the whole time.
   
2. There were lots of people to visit with.
3. We were able to watch movies.
4. I was able to sleep....I do that when I'm in the car- but on the tour bus I didn't have to feel guilty that Mike was driving the whole time.
5. You could stand up and walk around if your legs needed to stretch.

Disadvantages:

1. If we were sitting down, it ALWAYS felt like Mike and I were snuggling.
2. A bus doesn't drive as fast as Mike can drive.
3. There were facilities on the bus.
4. There were a LOT of potty breaks.

One would think, "Kaci you accidentally listed that there were facilities under the disadvantage category." No- this is not a mistake. Let me explain:

Facilities are helpful when you get that sudden need to relieve yourself...sure. However, in a, for the lack of a better word, "young" body, one does not need to relieve ones self every half an hour. And when one chooses the back of the bus for the roominess and the extra space for ones abnormally long legs, one does not the enjoy the smell that the others stir up every time their "not so young" bodies need to be relieved.

"Okay, I can see that. But Kaci, if there are facilities on the bus and people used them on a regular basis, why did you list that there were a lot of potty breaks?" No, this is not a mistake either. Let me explain:

Apparently when one takes a Church History tour, the chances that over 98% of the bus are senior citizens is very high. It is also apparently true that when one senior citizen uses the rest room, all senior citizens need to use the restroom and this causes a chain reaction. The bus driver, seeing in his rear view mirror that there are a lot of old people trying to walk down the isle of a moving bus (very dangerous by the way), the driver thinks that they have been driving too long, causing him to feel the need to pull over at the nearest gas station. This vicious cycle happened about every 2 hours.

This wouldn't be my preferred method of travel, but it was still a lot of fun and a good experience.

We got up the next morning and drove to Winter Quarters, NE. This was a really cool experience. We went to the visitors center and listened to a little presentation about the history of Winter Quarters and the things that went on there. The hardship of the saints were unbelievable, but even more unbelievable then that, was their faith.

We had the opportunity to walk through the cemetery across the street. There were over 600 men, women, and children that were buried in Winter Quarters with the majority of them being children. This statue of the husband and wife standing over the grave of their young child is really powerful to look at. I couldn't imagine how hard that would be.

This is one of the only (I can't remember how many are left) headstones in the cemetery. You can see the original etching of AMY.
I loved how the cemetery sits right next to the temple. The sidewalk goes up into the cemetery and continues straight through to the gates of the temple. I think it really signifies that through death, there is eternal life. Sharing this experience with the love of my life and other family members really was amazing. The grounds were beautiful and you could really feel the spirit there.


This is one of my favorite quotes about Winter Quarters:

"It has been referred to as the tragedy of Winter Quarters, but there was no tragedy here, for tragedy spells defeat and disaster. This was the victory of Winter Quarters, for here was faith and hope and charity raised to their loftiest pinnacles, while greed and selfishness were brought low. There are times and places in the life of every nation when great spiritual heights are reached, when courage become a living thing, when faith in God stands as the granite mountain wall firm and immovable, while hardships, want, hunger, sickness, sorrow and death beat down to crush. Winter Quarters was such a time and place for the Mormon people" (President Heber J. Grant, September 20, 1936, dedication of the Winter Quarters Monument).