Nauvoo the Beautiful

Joseph Smith's Log Cabin.

The graves of Joseph, Emma and Hyrum.

The mansion house.

 
Inside the red brick store.

Emily holding Relief Society above Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store.

Rootbeer and Pioneer hats from the store for morning tea time.

 
Emily on our horse and cart ride around Nauvoo.  You can see we are passing in front of the temple.  

Kiffer watching how they set the Times and Seasons paper at the printing office.  I love the T-shirt next to him.  What a giggle.

This monument depicts Hyrum and Joseph taking a last look at Nauvoo as they leave for Carthage.  It faces the temple.

On the temple steps.

The kids loved getting a brick at the brickyard.

Here comes the ox cart, oh how slow.  2 miles an hour to be exact.  We had a little ride under the trees and the kids were impressed by the pooing and peeing display from the oxen.  Alex was the only one brave enough to pat an ox.

One thing Mark really wanted to do on the last day was walk the Trail of Hope, once called the Trail of Tears.  It is the route the saints took down Parley street as they left Nauvoo to begin the trek to Utah.  

Here they are at the end of the Trail of Hope by the Mississippi river.

Looking back you can see the temple rising above the trees.  I kept feeling so sorry for the saints who had worked so hard to build such a beautiful and sacred building and then had to leave it behind.  

I loved the temple.  It was beautiful up there on the hill overlooking the city.

One thing Kiffer really wanted to do in Nauvoo was make his own rope.  He's really into bits of string right now and  loves tying thing up all over the house.  Here he is at the Family Living Center turning the wheel to twist his rope.

Em cutting the rope once it was finished.

We decided we really liked the rootbeer at the red brick store, so we had to go back fro more on our final morning.

Root beer anyone?

Even I liked the root beer . . . and that's really saying something.  But most of all, I liked just getting to visit the store and be part of Nauvoo for a few days with the kids and Mark.