Monday was spent in Nauvoo. We spent too much time there and then ended up getting to South Dakota much later than we wanted to.
The gardens around the houses and displays in Nauvoo were amazing. These Rose of Sharon flowers were the size of small dinner plates. I couldn't resist putting a picture of them up.
We were able to make rope the way the people in Nauvoo did. The kids thought it was a lot of fun. It was interesting to me as well. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the machine that braided the rope. We also learned how the pioneers made candles (animal fat, YUCK) bread (in a brick oven) and cloth. They were incredibly resourceful people who made the most out of everything.
The finished product. It became a jump rope.
This place was the kids reward for putting up with all the tours of the houses. This was called Pioneer Pass times. As you can see we are wearing period clothes. We played all sorts of pioneer games and had a lot of fun. The kids didn't want to leave when we told them we had to go! We are posing with a Corpse Flower that was being cultivated by the missionaries. From what we understand they are very rare. The name fits. The flower smells like a dead animal. Charming. The missionaries there that day had the same model of camera as I do so we spent 30 minutes talking shop, comparing lenses and playing with settings. It was a funny contrast from old to new.
The Members of the church certainly sacrificed a lot when they left Nauvoo.
The Oxen Ride were definitely a favorite of the Kids. The Oxen were named Gary and Gabe. Until today I thought that Oxen were a special Breed of cattle but they are not. They have to be a 4 year old male, listen to verbal commands and a couple of other things. Any type of cow can be and OX. Emma even kissed the Ox on the right! The oxen were nice enough to fertilize the trail when we were riding in the wagon.
Emma and the magic onion ring. It was lucky eights for lunch. After lunch we drove like mad so we could get to Sioux Falls, SD. We ended up pulling into the hotel a little after midnight.
I have seen more corn on this trip than I have ever seen in my life. It seems that no fields are left untilled this year and that they are all growing corn. I suspect it has something to do with ethanol and high corn prices.
The moon has been rising beautifully at night the whole trip. You can almost drive by the moonlight across Iowa. This was taken at a truckstop somewhere in Iowa. Invariably gas prices were higher at the truck stop that the one we were going to stop at 5 miles before
4 comments:
Sounds like you are having a great trip. We will see you tonight.
Nauvoo is an incredible place. I'm so glad you got to experience it. Please drive carefully and keep the interesting posts coming. Give the kids a hug from Grandma.
I'm just catching up with all the posts this morning (Sunday the 24th). I've been going so hard the past several days that I turned down playing golf yesterday afternoon and went to bed early last night. Happily, I feel well rested today but I'm off to Texas tomorrow. Nauvoo is a wonderful place and someday we're going back to spend more time there. After visiting with you yesterday I know you're safely in Washington, which is very good!
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