Sunday, October 10, 2010

NAUVOO

Ok, it's official.  I'm terrible at updating my blog.  But it's better to add stuff late than never I suppose.  Most who get on facebook have seen these pictures, but some people don't do facebook, so here ya go. :)

This summer we drove to Nauvoo, IL for a Bates family reunion.  We stayed in a campground that is owned by the Community of Christ.  It had cabins and a lodge with everything you need to survive.  It was a lot of fun!  We had a great time with family, and seeing the awesome Nauvoo sites.  Here are just a few:

Our first church history stop was Liberty Jail.  It's amazing that six grown men lived in that hole for so many months.  Must have been awful.  Was a neat experience to see this place!


The next stop was Adam-ondi-ahman.  It was SO beautiful, and the valley was WAY bigger than I ever thought it was.  Very peaceful place!


This is Logan right before his baptism, on Sunday, July 4th.  I love this picture.  This is the end of Parley Street, where the Saints lined up their wagons to leave Nauvoo and head West, when they were driven from their homes.  Logan loves to tell people he was baptized in the Mississippi River. :)




This is a caption below statues of Joseph and Hyrum on their horses, riding to Carthage.  This right across the street from the Nauvoo temple.


We got to do a session in the Nauvoo temple.  The clouds made for a pretty picture. :)



This is part of the "Camp Nauvoo" campground where we stayed.  Marlee and Nanny are playing "princess leaves".  Marlee turns just about any object into a princess to play dollies. :)


Little Tubby, getting dirty at the playground.


The Lodge


Carthage Jail, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred by an angry mob.  The top window in this picture is where Joseph fell from, right after he was shot.  It was a really neat experience going through the jail, walking where the prophet once walked.


This is Hotel Nauvoo.  We didn't get to go inside because it is still rented out to people like a regular hotel. :)  But it's a hotel that Joseph and Emma ran while they were alive.


This is the final resting place of Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum Smith.  It is located right next to Joseph and Emma's home, which is the next picture down.


We got to take a tour through this house, and the Mansion House.  It was neat to see the rooms and some of the same furniture that was used by Joseph and Emma.  The most memorable was a mirror that Emma had used, and a chest of drawers that had a fallout drawer that Emma used to hide the manuscripts of the bible translation.  The tour was run by the Community of Christ, and they did not allow pictures to be taken of the inside of these structures.


The original Mansion House (below) was actually 3 times bigger than this, but after the Saints left, the rest of it fell into disrepair, and since there was no one to rent it out, they just tore that part down.  This is what remains of the Mansion House.  Inside the house is a model of what the original house looked like.  It was HUGE!  We also got to walk through the Red Brick store, and go into the upper room where the Relief Society was organized, and where the first endowments were performed.  But for some reason we didn't take pictures of that.


This is a model of the typical wagon used by the Saints to go West.  It's much smaller than I envisioned.  This is located at the end of Parley Street next to the Mississippi River.


This is the end of Parley Street (also where Logan was baptized).



A view of the Nauvoo temple from the "city" below.


Logan, waiting for the Nauvoo Pageant to start.


Grandma Bates, we think she had a good time. :)


Marlee at the campground, sweet little gal.


The reunion goers. :)  Only 8 of the 14 families were able to come, plus Grandma Bates.  It was fun to see everyone, but we really missed the ones who couldn't come too!


I think this picture describes how we all felt after leaving Nauvoo. :)


Landon had the best time catching fireflies and tiny froggies.  He had up to 5 froggies in his hands at a time.  It was so fun!


We'll never forget our trip to Nauvoo.  It took 3 days driving there and 3 days driving home, with 4 days in between.  Worth the drive?  TOTALLY!  We LOVED being there.  It was like going back in time in many ways.  The  bugs weren't terrible, and the weather wasn't too hot.  It was perfect.  Doing Logan's baptism there was so special too.  The water wasn't too cold and there weren't too many onlookers either (although the onlookers thought it was pretty cool too!).  It was great to have my Bates family there, and was nice of Nanny and Papa McBride to make such a long trip to see the baptism too.  After talking about it, we decided it was our best family vacation yet.  We're grateful we were able to make the trip, it was unforgettable!!

5 comments:

NamaMcB said...

It was awesome to be there with you. Your family was so nice to us. We really enjoyed visiting with and getting to know them better... xoxo

Brooke Colvin said...

What a fun trip! Nauvoo is such a neat place to visit, and it is so cool to see all of the historical sites there. How special for Logan to be baptized there too. I'm glad you posted the pictures, and I agree that it's better late than never :)

Corie said...

What a neat experience! We traveled to Nauvoo this summer, too and really enjoyed it. What a good idea to have a family reunion there!

Julie said...

I LOVE that picture of Logan by the water just before his baptism :) I am amazed at the spirits these little children have inside of them. He really is a good boy and wants to choose the right :) I love him! (oohh and I am super jealous of your vacation!)

Kristi said...

That trip looks like it was so awesome! Your pictures are all so cute and fun to look at.