nauvoo or bust

Our fall break trip ultimately took us to lovely Nauvoo, Illinois, and we had a great trip. If I were in a creative mood I would write something clever and create a magnificent slide show of the few pictures we took along the way. I am in no such mood, so I will just post pictures and thoughts in an incredibly random fashion!

The first thing I have to say is that our camera functions on a hit-and-miss basis. This is how I end up with three pictures of Shay pretending to undress in a 70s-decor Community of Christ meeting-hall-that-doubles-as-a-camp-lodge... ...but zero pictures of some of my favorite sights in Missouri and Illinois. You'll have to take what you get, I guess.

First off, here is some prime real estate in Adam-Ondi-Ahman , where we stopped Thursday to eat lunch and walk aroud a bit before making the trek across Missouri. I think I expected the place to sparkle or something. It did not. It is a pretty valley, at least.... These are our deluxe accommodations at Camp Nauvoo. For $10 a night, you too can stay here and discover just how deluxe they were. The cabins were picturesque in the morning, but a bit scary at night.

Thus, we set up camp on the floor of the the main lodge instead of in the spooky cabins. As I mentioned, the lodge once was a religious meeting place, so it was an interesting place to sleep. Great place to play indoor soccer. Many games of Apples to Apples were also played here. And there were some magnificent early-morning walks.

A major highlight of the trip: the spectacular Nauvoo temple!

We did baptisms on Friday morning. Was this an act of selfless service and religious devotion? or a way to upgrade from a primitive shower house to luxury shower facilities? No one else may ever know. But we also did endowments and sealings on Saturday afternoon, so we saw quite a bit of the temple. It is a gorgeous place. Inside and out, the attention to detail is amazing (and I'm digging the lime green/bright yellow color scheme going on in some of the ordinance rooms). Being caught up in the work of the temple and enjoying the peace that comes from being there was a perfect way to spend a chunk of the vacation.

On to "Old Nauvoo". I am probably going to be struck by lightning for saying this, but Old Nauvoo has a bit of a "Mormon Disneyland" feel. It weirded me out at first, but I got over it and ultimately enjoyed getting my free gingerbread cookie at Scovil Bakery just as much as the next person. In fact, I learned how to make bread in a "bustle oven"...

in addition to other useful domestic skills, and rode in a covered wagon pulled by a couple of oxen named Gabe and Gary.

Jane and I enjoyed a lively sermon (by Shay) in the room where the Relief Society was first organized, above the Red Brick Store.

We also made a side trip to Carthage Jail on Saturday, which was one of my favorite visits of the trip.

It is great (overused word of the day?) to visit these sites and have some kind of real-world context for the stories and experiences I have heard about all my life. Somehow it gives me an increased appreciation for the sacrifices people made in the early days of the church, and maybe even a better understanding of why they did so.