"The Beautiful" is the translation for the Hebrew word Nauvoo, which is a small town on the edge of Iowa and Illinois. Now this little town of 1,000 people might not seem like a highly anticipated vacation destination for most people, but for members of the LDS church it is a wonderful place to stop and remember the sacrifices of the pioneers and first members of our church. It is ideally located on the Mississippi River and was the location of our church in 1840 before we moved out west past the Rockies. There are still several historical buildings that are amazing to see and right up my alley as a self proclaimed "history buff"!
We set out on our crazy excursion with a friend of mine from my mission, the one and only Tiffanie Player. Now, this was not the first time the three of us had headed out on a wild hair. We had been together on our European Adventures 2 years ago. This was the infamous tour that started in Spain, followed by France, and finishing in glorious Italy. We were ancient tour buddies, and we were excited to restart that travel bug ;) (And frankly, why not have some more fun?) Starting off in Kansas City early Thursday morning, found us broken down an hour later in Cameron, MO.... this was a little hiccup, but it did not stop us! Enterprise (the rental agency from Heaven!) brought us a car, and we were on our way again. However, I don't believe Adam saw this as quite the salvation. They brought us a PT Cruiser....I don't know how many of you know about my husband's intense hatred for that particular Chrysler model, but to say the least, he wasn't entirely ecstatic about our new "ride" ;)But we were on our way again, and we arrived in good time. The next morning found us all over Nauvoo. We had such a relaxing time, but we were able to see everything. I was having the time of my life!
The beautiful temple rebuilt after a 160 years
I have been wanting one of these cool bricks for years!!!!
The gang back together again on the banks of the Mississippi
The quarry where the original marble was taken for the 1840's temple
The Wilford Woodruff home that has been completely restored. After all their hard work, they were only able to stay in the home for 100 days. Even after they had crossed the Mississippi to head West, Wilford came back to patch a hole that was in the roof! They were such hard working people and you can tell how precious this place was for them
Adam and I dancing on the same ballroom floor that Joseph and Emma Smith danced.... Ahhh!!!! I know that was what you were thinking!! ;)
I'm calling everybody to order in the 18th century school house!!! It's a talent that is ageless ;)
I'm not sure what this dude is doing in the "Hall of the Seventy" ;)
We then headed out to Carthage, IL to view the jail where Joseph Smith was martyred. It is a very simple set up, which basically outlines the couple of days leading up to the attack on the jail. It was a sweet reminder of the wonderful work Joseph did in his short life and the sacrifices they all made in restoring the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
A window in the room where all of the men were held. (Same one Joseph fell out of when he was shot)
Adam had never been to any of these sites before and he made a really cool observation while we were there. He felt that the rebuilt temple and the surrounding area was a wonderful tribute to those hard-working pioneers that sacrificed so much.... they went through a lot to be able to worship freely. I loved this thought! It truly is a great place to see history and feel the power of our ancestors and the restored gospel.
