Ohio trip 2009 part V

We left Sunday after church and drove as far as Macomb, IL. That was a nice motel. I regret we spent so little time in it. Day 9. 530 miles. 10 hours in the van.
The next morning we went to Carthage to visit Carthage Jail, the site of Joseph Smith's martyrdom. Another sacred tour ruined by our family. Is that 3 now?
As much as I love reading history, seeing it quantifies it so much better. To see the tiny cell where the original 10 men were held and then the small room they were put to keep them safer and cooler. The bullet holes in the door. The window (obviously not the same glass) that Joseph fell to his death from. The missionaries did their best to bring it to life.

We learned from previous experience and took the secular wagon ride in Nauvoo. Wow. That must have been some city during its heyday. Then we meandered around the different buildings. The kids made a sisel rope with the old timey rope machine. We saw how they made candles, carded and spun wool, made bread (mmmm..... homemade bread with homemade butter.... is there anything better?), loomed fabric and made rugs from scraps, and how they made barrels. Dan and I realized quickly that our 3 month food supply won't save us from our lack of knowledge if there isn't electricity or running water. We played in the little pioneer game center. Morgan kept wimping out on me for the stick pull. Sophie was a wiz at the climbing bears. We all sucked at the stilts, but earned at least a B for trying so hard.

Dan spent a lot of time at the Browning gun smithery. He found a new love. Did anyone know that the famous Browning of gun manufacturing was LDS? I didn't, but it's another fascinating element to the story. We went to the blacksmith shop and saw how they made wagons, the wheels, and horseshoes. Because we were the only ones in our group, we got the little horseshoe the Elder made. We also got "prairie diamond" rings-- or rings made out of horse shoe nails. One of the best things was finding one of my companions from my mission wandering the sites with two of her daughters and her mom. Why hello, Sister Albert! Gorgeous as ever.

It was affecting to be there. Once again, there is just a spirit that lingers in a place made holy by sacrifice. I've seen Dan cry twice in my life. As we read the plaques with journal entries on Parley Street, he finally had to stop reading aloud. American history has a few unpleasant places. This was one of them.

What a long day! Not over yet. Back in the van and drove into the night to Lincoln, Nebraska. Day 10. 404 miles. 7 hours of driving.