Nauvoo

On our way to down to Missouri to do the high point, we decided it would be a lot of fun to stop and look around the Nauvoo area. We really enjoyed it. The kids didn't really understand most of it, but they were happy to be out of the car, and walking around, so they liked it too.

The first place we stopped was the Nauvoo temple. It was super cold out, so we didn't spend a lot of time here, but it was really beautiful. Joslyn especially loved the statues.

The back of the temple.

A nice woman saw us walking around the temple, and offered to take our picture.

Statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith where they stopped to look at the temple on their way to Carthage.

View that Joseph and Hyrum Smith had of the temple as they stopped.

Next we went to the Visitors Center. They showed a video about the saints in Nauvoo, and there was so much information there! I had no idea about some of the things I read while walking around.

This is a piece of the original Nauvoo Temple. It was Isaac's favorite.

This was my favorite thing in the visitors center.

Next we went to Old Nauvoo. It was like a little old fashioned town with a lot of senior missionaries around to tell you what life was like for the saints when they lived there.

In this building they made things like bread, candles and ropes right in front of you. It was really fun to learn about. Women's big dresses would often catch on fire while they were making candles, and the women use to check the temperature of the oven by putting their hands in! They told us that the number two cause death of women in that time was catching on fire.

Our last stop before continuing on to Missouri was Carthage Jail. Going through the Jail was really cool. We got to see all the floors and the different cells and things. The first floor was where people who committed small crimes like petty theft and things like that. The jailers family also lived on this floor. There was one bedroom for all seven of the jailers kids!
The second floor was the dungeon cells. The walls were stone, and the windows were just a couple inches across. The only natural light and ventilation came through those tiny windows. We went in early afternoon, and it was very dark.
The top floor was the jailers bedroom, but because of all the angry citizens, the jailer moved Joseph Smith and his companions up there because he thought it would be safer.