Nauvoo Day One

The word to summarize the first day in Nauvoo was “hot.”  However this didn’t keep us from enjoying ourselves.  We left Des Moines pretty early, and made a quick stop in Iowa City along our way.  We checked out the Handcart Park there.  We were ready for lunch when we arrived in Burlington, and Caleb took us to one of his favorite places, Wendy’s. 

Burlington Bridge

The cool barn

soy

The bridge in Burlington is really cool, and is featured on the Iowa map.  We stopped on our way South to Nauvoo for a barn picture.  Then to Nauvoo, where we started with the Visitor Center, and a movie about Joseph and what happened in Nauvoo.  From there we visited the Joseph Smith Home, the Nauvoo House (never finished but the materials used to make a comfortable home.) and Emma Smith’s home.  This included the Smith family plot with the bodies of Hyrum, Emma and Joseph.

Nauvoo House

as intended

Mansion House

Nauvoo store, upstairs where first relief society held

We also caught the blacksmith shop and the Wheelwright.  Being in the Blacksmith shop on a hot day would be murder.  It was interesting to see how the wheels were made, and how they put on the out tire.  We all came away with a diamond ring.  Then a trip to the Nauvoo gravesite, which was 2 miles outside of town.  I have since figured it would have been in town, as Nauvoo once had 14,000 residents and competed with Chicago for the most populated city in Illinois.

The highlight of our first day was going through the temple.  It was quite the experience.  This temple interior is dominated by the large assembly room on the first floor.  We attended the session with the Burlington Ward and met many friends of Caleb as this was where he was last serving.