We stayed in a very nice park in Perryville, MO. It abutted the Lake Perry State Park which had some beautiful trails to walk.
The trail around the lake was about 5 miles through the woods, over bridges & past meadows.
The spring flowers were beginning to bloom.
I loved this little pond surrounded by irises.
There were usually lots of turtles on the logs basking in the sun, but, of course, the minute I walked toward them to take a photo they all plopped into the water.
We had also gotten a recommendation to go to the wineries in southeastern Missouri. Our favorite was Cave Winery.
After our tasting, we walked down this trail to
the cave!
Inside it is large enough to have a decent number of people - I thought it would be a great place for a wedding reception. There were people sitting at the tables picnicking (with their bottle of wine).
The view from inside the cave.
We made our way up to the Tri States area - Iowa, Illinois & Missouri- and stayed in Keokuk, IA. We spent a day exploring Keokuk's riverfront. There is a walkway on an old railroad bridge with information about the Lock & Dam located there and an excellent view of the Lock & Dam. We also toured a retired Steam-powered river tugboat. It was very interesting. The steam provided everything from the power to turn the paddle wheel to the electricity for the ship to the ice needed to keep the food cold! There were accomodations for the 66 crew members - 5 of which were women (to clean & cook:( ) The crew went out for 30 days, then had 30 days off (which they were also paid for).
The host at the campground told us not to miss Nauvoo, Illinois, so we made the short, beautiful drive along the Mississippi to Nauvoo. We had no idea what Nauvoo was, other than a historical city. As it turns out, it was where Joseph Smith brought the Mormons in 1839 after anti-Mormonism the east and tried to establish themselves in Ohio & then Missouri.
They built a thriving town and it grew to be one of the largest cities in Illinois. A group of non-Mormon businessmen published a newspaper criticizing the Mormons & the Nauvoo city council destroyed their printing press, fearing that the paper would incite violence against the Mormons. The governor, fearing that violence would get worse, had Joseph & his brother, Hyram arrested. On June 27, 1844, a mob attached the jail and killed both Hyram and Joseph. There was a question of who would now lead the church. Brigham Young would lead the majority of the Mormons to Salt Lake City. But, a small group calling themselves the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints would stay in Nauvoo under the leadership of Joseph Smith III. They now call themselves the Community of Christ and have been instrumental in the restoration of Nauvoo.
Many of the buildings are brick in the town. This was built by Joseph Smith's widow per his instructions, as a rooming house for traveling pilgrims.
This was a family's home & the schoolhouse (in the back).
Many of the buildings had volunteers in period costume who told us about life in Nauvoo during Joseph Smith's lifetime. They were all members of the Community of Christ and were great about any questions we had about it.
Fun details like this brick oven.
and the well at Brigham Young's house.
The log house was Joseph Smith & family's first home.
Joseph Smith's final resting place
We were told a funny story about Joseph Smith's body. After he died, he was supposedly buried in the temple's cemetery, but his family was afraid the body would be stolen, so it was hidden in the small "bee house" behind his home. Later, it was moved to the basement of the rooming house shown above. After his wife, Emma's death, surveyors were hired to find his remains and he was moved, with his brother and Emma to the family cemetery behind their family home.
After seeing so much Mormon history in Utah last spring, it was fun to see more about their journey west and efforts to practice their religion freely.
CHEERS!!!
Looking forward to catching up with everyone in Minnesota!
