Nauvoo

Our first stop in Nauvoo was the Sarah Granger Kimball home. Her home was built in Nauvoo before the Saints arrived. When the Saints started on the Nauvoo temple she organized a group of women to make shirts for the men to wear. Shorty after, Joseph stepped in and formally organized them as the Relief Society. When her home was purchased by the church, the previous owners had added an addition to the home. But in the spirit of restoring it to its original glory they took it down!The ropes tied to around the bottoms of the beds made them adjustable. You could lower and raise the mattress to your preferred height. Very clever if you have toddlers about. No buying guard rails, just lower the bed! I want to live here and look out this window every day. Diva Becky! She was standing in the perfect spot at the perfect moment! Such a gorgeous girl!Sadly, we missed our wagon ride around Nauvoo, but at least one set of drivers let Ben "pep" the horses. He couldn't quite decide if he was terrified or thrilled. But I think excitement won out.We did get to go on an "awsh-ken" ride (oxen). Ben loved their big muscles. I think he could have stood there and "pepped" those poor oxen all day long.

Ben and the Osh-ken from Britta Bruderer on Vimeo.

Lunch stop on the banks of the Mississippi River. So pleasant. It was hot and humid. Such a welcome change from the snow and rain in Utah. I don't think anybody ever complained about being too hot. We all loved the heat too much!
This was Joseph and Emma's first house in Nauvoo. The way it has been restored each section of the house shows what it would have been like during certain time periods. The log home section on the right was what it looked like when Joseph and Emma moved in. The white frame section and the addition on the back were added later. This house had the famous cellar hiding spot. I wanted to see it so bad. Sadly it was off limits.This is what Joseph Smith saw every morning when he walked out of his front door. Not too shabby huh?
This is the original burial site of Joseph and Hyrum. They had to be moved in fear of grave robbers and flooding. They are now buried nearby. Although there is still much debate about which is which!
This was Lucy Mack Smith's home. It was beautiful. We missed out on going inside, however we strolled around the grounds and it was just so lovely. I think I would have begged to be her maid.
This is the famous Red Brick Store. It was so surreal sitting in that room and thinking about all the things that happened there. It was beautiful.
This pulpit of sorts was in the main room of the Upper Floor of the Red Brick Store.
This is a small bedroom on the Upper Floor next to Joseph Smith's office.
How handsome is this guy? Tell me he doesn't look like a John Lennon Quaker!
Ben couldn't handle one more tour. He passed out on Grandma in the Upper Room.
Oh my boys. How I love them so.

Penguin Walk from Britta Bruderer on Vimeo.

This is Ben's "penguin walk." How he came to decide that that is how penguins walk I will never know. But it is so funny!

On the corner of Iowa and Knight street we found a miracle. The home of Jeremiah Hatch was still standing! He was one of our ancestors who lived in Nauvoo. He is the only Revolutionary War Veteran to live in the state of Illinois so the Daughters of the Revolution declared his house a historical site. There are people living there now. They are currently adding on an addition. We had to sneak around the house to get some pictures. Another one of our ancestors, Hosea Stout, also lived in Nauvoo. His house is no longer standing, but there is a marker on his old property. The photo above is the view he had of temple from his front porch. Wow.
I fell in love with the whole setting of Nauvoo. It is no wonder Joseph called it "city beautiful." I loved the meadow and grasses. I guess there is more country girl in me than I originally thought. This is the Trail of Hope. This is where the Saints exodus to the West began. The contrast of what they were leaving and what they were walking into becomes very real on this trail. You are surrounded by the beauty of land and what remains of their city and along the trail you read about the hardships they encountered on the trail. What incredible faith they had to have had to leave so much without promise of ever coming back or surviving the journey.
Of all the things the Saints had to leave. How painful it must have been to leave another temple behind. After all the blood, sweat, tears, money, and sacrifice they put into that building. It is truly a magnificent temple. It is huge. So much bigger than I had imagined. Everything about it is breathtaking. Especially the spiral staircases. We were fortunate enough to do a session while we were there. The spirit there is breath taking.
One of our last stops was the Old Nauvoo Cemetery. It was the most peaceful place. We hoped to find some our ancestors there. We know they are there, but very few headstones remain, if they ever had one. The spirit there combined with the time of day was magical. To see more pics click here.