Erik and I arrived on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. As I entered the apartment, I noticed that it didn’t seem cleaned between the last tenants and us. While Erik unloaded the car, I started cleaning. We have two shelving units in the kitchen that serve us well. It is a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment. My Princess Self wasn’t thrilled about sharing a bathroom with my husband (I know, I know, it’s ridiculous). But we are making it all work. The bedding had been washed from the last tenants but as I made the bed, I found that the pillowcases were missing.

We started a shopping list to take to Wal-Mart. The Temple Recorder told us that Wal-Mart may be our best resource to get set up. During the pandemic, my daughter, Kaitlin and I did a house cleaning course on-line. We learned about tips and tricks for cleaning everything well. I have become a bit OCD about the cleanliness of everything. Thus first on my list was laundry soap, Borax, CIF Cream cleaner, hand soap, Fabuloso, garbage bags, Scrub Daddy dish wand, and Power Paste by Scrub Daddy. Erik was shocked to see that the bedroom had light filtering sheers and we knew that we need a dark bedroom, so, black-out drapes was added to the list. Off we went to Macedon to the Wal-Mart.

On Wednesday, we headed to Rochester to go to Costco. It’s about a 40 minute drive from our apartment. What a scenic drive, going through the small towns and seeing the beautiful homes. Sister Wall told us to go early to Costco because it is the only one in the city and it gets VERY busy. The parking lot was immense and we got there about 10 am. The set up was completely different than our Alberta Costco’s. Erik became overwhelmed with all the selection and trying to decide what we needed. We didn’t stay long, got our necessities and headed back to Palmyra. Interesting fact, the Costco chickens in Canada are not gluten free but we were able to buy them in Rochester Costco for only $4.99 each. Plus, they were much larger than the Canadian chickens. I was desperate for some beautiful veggies and did find brussel sprouts, etc.

Thursday took us for a little walk along Main Street. “Around the Block” quilt shop is only 2 blocks from me. We stopped in and I bought an apron pattern.

Then we headed towards the E.B. Grandin building. This magnificant block of stores were quite the feat in the 1800’s. This is where we had a tour of the printing business that printed the first edition of the Book of Mormon. The Lord’s hand was definitely in this venture to bring the sacred records to all of the world.

After lunch we decided to head south to the Peter Whitmer farm. This is in a Mennonite farming community and it was a beautiful tour. This is a very special place because this is where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, on April 6, 1830. It’s amazing to think that in 5 years, it will be the 200th anniversary of the event. The church is preparing to commemorate the event there with plans not yet unveiled to the general public. There were only 4 of us in our tour, a Grandpa and his teenage grandson, Erik and I. The grandson was amazing with his knowledge of church history.

We were told about the Sauder store in Seneca Falls. My heart was so happy being in that store. It is a Mennonite run store and they sell quilts there. The prices are very good. My new friend, Susan Wall happened to be there when a Cathedral Window quilt (king size) was on display. The window panes had shades of purple, which is significant to Susan. The workmanship was outstanding and I am so happy that she was able to purchase this heirloom.

I was able to buy red lentils, popcorn, beeswax cream, locally made apple cider, and the treat of the day was gluten free, triple chocolate ice cream. In the summer months, Curtis Wall told us that Sauder’s is brimming with produce and it’s amazing!

Friday brought us to trying out a little bit of a schedule. I brought my rebounder so that I could continue my workouts that I love. While I bounce, Erik goes for a walk. The Erie Canal trail is right behind us and he goes venturing about to see the area. We were invited to the Walls apartment for supper. This is the apartment that we will be moving into in the middle of April. We will be stationed there for the year. They had sent us some photos of the place but it was fun to see it in person and to meet them in person and get information about the area. This evening is when I got to see the Cathedral Window quilt that Susan bought. There is a lot to explore in this area. The temple will get much busier during the tourist season as well.

As well, our neighbors, Rick and Tonya Gurr arrived from Utah. They will also be moving next door to us when we move. They will have the front half of the house and we will have the back half. Like everything else here, it is an old home that has had some updates done to it. We were thrilled to learn that Rick and Tonya served a mission in Samoa with Scott and Pam Cameron. We have known Scott and Pam from our Olds Ward time and have been friends for over 30 years.

Saturday arrived with a winter warning forecast of freezing rain. It was only about 2C and rained in the afternoon. Our plan was to go south to the Priesthood Restoration Site along the Susquehanna river. It is in Pennsylvania and would be about 2.5 hours one way. With the weather forecast, we cancelled our plans and did some local shopping. While we were shopping, Erik’s cell phone rings and it’s the Temple President checking in with us and letting us know where we are being assigned to attend Sunday meetings. I got really excited when Erik told me the news. We are going to the north side of Rochester to attend the Spanish Branch!!!!!!!! As we were finishing our evening prayer, Erik turns to me with a chuckle. “Did you pray for this!?!” I replied, “No, but I think it’s only fair that you got your prayer answered by wanting to serve in the USA. I checked off the Oaxaca Mission on our application and the Lord’s answer to me is being able to attend a Spanish Branch!” Side note, while we were in Huatulco in February, I received direction that I was to buy a Spanish Book of Mormon. While at the distribution center in Omaha, I purchased a Spanish edition of the Book of Mormon. Then the missionary leaders told me that on Amazon, you can purchase a side by side Book of Mormon with English and Spanish. So, I love that the Lord was preparing me to continue in Spanish.

I purchased a couple of books today. One I needed because my days of seminary (Doctrine & Covenants) are long past. That was my first year of seminary and it was home study. I need maps and I need to know why the Latter-Day Saints moved from this spot to that spot. It was first published in 2012 and this was an updated book, called, Mapping Mormonism. Plus I purchased, “Insights from a Prophet’s Life.” Erik has grabbed onto that is over half-way through already.

Sunday dawned with more rain but the temperature was going to 16 C. We attended the Palmyra Ward today. There was a large number of people attending and the Bishop stood up to conduct the meeting and said, “He loves spring when the crocuses start appearing as well as the visitors.” There had to be at least 250 people in attendance. I think between Spring Break and senior missionaries finishing their missions, a lot of families were visiting. Plus there were all the newbies, like ourselves who are starting their missions. We are meeting so many people and new missionaries who are trying to find their way. I do know that the Lord will uphold us all and give us the strength to do His work.

We usually go for a walk on Sundays and so, we togged up in rain gear and headed out for a stroll. Erik lead us along the canal path. It’s a path that the mules walked as they pulled the barges up and down the canal. There was a bridge that was closed to vehicle traffic. I’m not a fan of heights and I chose the paved sidewalk over the mesh bridge. I kept telling myself, “You’re going to be okay, you’re going to be okay. You can do this! You’re almost over the bridge!” We met a couple walking their Bernese Mountain dog. They also filled us in on information about the town and area. I asked what industry feeds the tax base and they responded with, “Well, the Mormons come here in the summer!” Hahaha…well, here we are!

We awoke at 6:30 am to the sound of the semi-trucks leaving. They had been stacked up like cordwood the past night. Erik and I were recommended to go to a Roadhouse/Saloon for supper. It was full of truckers and they were a friendly lot, sharing road conditions and what the situation probably was. We were asked if we had a hotel room for the night because it was going to become crazy with all the people waiting for the highway to open. Someone knowledgable said that it was probably Nebraska who closed the highway. The winds were incredibly strong, combined with blizzard conditions made for a dangerous situation.

It’s interesting to listen to people’s stories about their lives and understand that most people are simply trying to live a good life with peace and basic comforts. I met a gentleman who with his wife were moving out of California to come to Wyoming. Wyoming is the least populated state in the US. The state capital is Cheyenne. It’s not an easy state to live in because of the weather and the terrain. Much like Alberta, it’s western side is composed of the Rocky Mountains but the eastern half is high elevation prairie. Wyoming has an rich history with lots of explorers from the Spanish Empire and even French Canadian trappers who entered the area to trade with the tribes.

We had driven through Casper on the way to Cheyenne and there is a brand new temple there, built as one of the new modular systems. It was closed that day and we were feeling anxious not to be stuck in a blizzard so we didn’t even stop to see it.

After heading south easterly for the trip thus far, and after Cheyenne, we were heading east. Our next destination was Omaha, Nebraska. It is on the eastern side of Nebraska, so it was a 7-1/2 hour day of driving. Along the way we lost count of the number of semi-trucks in the ditch as well as a number of other vehicles. At first as we left Cheyenne, there was no snow and we wondered why the highway had been closed. Soon enough, the picture became evident with the huge amount of snow in the ditches and the fields. Again, we were blessed with good road conditions to drive on.

Erik and I went to an Indian restaurant for supper and then we met a family who are members of the church. They had a son serve a mission is Toronto and currently have a son serving in Scotland. I simply asked the dad a question that sparked the whole conversation. It was such an uplifting visit!

We had booked an appointment in the Winter Quarter’s temple in Omaha (which is actually in the old city of Florence). This temple has a lower entrance and then you climb stairs to enter the next floor where the change rooms and ordinance rooms are. The interior is based on the time frame of the 1800’s with dark wood finishings. Afterwards we headed over to the Winter Quarter’s visitor center. It was simply amazing to see the history of the Mormon Migration across the United States. Winter Quarter’s was a temporary settlement as the saints prepared for their journey. There is also a Mormon Pioneer Cemetery for the pioneers who died at Winter Quarters. There was illness that spread through the encampment and took a lot of lives. I could tell you a lot about this area but I feel that you could also look it up and read more than I can tell you. It was incredibly emotional to be in the area where so many people gathered and prepared to go to Salt Lake City via handcarts, wagons, train and sailing ship.

I went for a workout in the hotel pool and met a cute couple of boys, 6 & 8, while their mom rested on a deck chair. The boys and I started a pool ball game (like the size of a hackey sack) throwing to each other in the pool. Later the mom told me she was so grateful because she was exhausted and it was nice to have someone else entertain the boys. Then a crazy thing happened; an exit sign exploded and a big piece of metal was sent flying through the air. Then it started on fire and flames were shooting out of it. The smell of electrical fire was permeating the pool area. The little boys ran to the front desk to tell the tale. The front desk attendant came to see what was happening. It was a new hotel, so this was a little shocking!

The main crops grown seem to be corn and soy beans in these midwestern states. While driving through Montana and Wyoming, I was always checking my compass to see our elevation and direction. The highest I saw was 2900 meters.

After leaving Omaha, we drove across the Mormon Bridge into Iowa. There were still many vehicles in the ditches. Amazing how far reaching the blizzard was! We stayed on the I-80 until Des Moines and then we turned southeast. Our next destination was Nauvoo. As we stopped for gas, we discovered some stations wanted a zip code to process a credit card…hmmmm. They recommended that we try another gas station.

We wanted to stop for a little break (our car likes to tell us to stop and take breaks). We reached a little town called Pella in Iowa. It was founded by immigrants from the Netherlands and it’s a wonder of windmills and tulips and everything Dutch. As we started walking around, I stopped a lady to ask her where the visitor information was. Then we spotted a Pella factory and the light went on! We know all about Pella windows and doors from our construction experience. This is where the company started and continues. What a lovely surprise! This lady I met was Dutch and she told me that if anyone is around in April, the tulip festival is in full swing and a sight to behold. Erik and I start driving through town and he spots a quilt store…hahaha. He asks if I want to stop there; do leopards have spots? The Quilted Windmill was delightful and I ended up buying a tulip table runner kit. What a lovely respite from the drive.

We continued south east to Nauvoo. For a while we thought that our GPS had lost it’s mind because we left the interstate and were ding dong ditching through rural roads with no markings on the roads. We even came upon a farm truck parked at the top of a hill on our side of the road.

But eventually, we ended up in Fort Madison and headed for a bridge that crossed the Mississipi river. That was another interesting experience because it was a toll bridge but that day, we were given a temporary pass and didn’t have to pay.

I wondered how on earth Nauvoo was in the middle of podunk nowhere. In 1844, it rivaled Chicago for population. Erik and I rented a room in the Nauvoo Villas and from there it was only a 2 minute drive into Nauvoo. The town is so small that there is no grocery store but there is a Dollar General. The history of this town is mind blowing. I had never studied church history and even though I have read a couple volumes of the Saints series, it still didn’t register in my brain. But now, seeing all these sites in person is cementing the knowledge in my mind. We went to the temple the following morning and again the style of the building was that of the 1840’s. This temple is a replica of the original temple which was destroyed by fire, then by a tornado after the saints left Nauvoo.. The saints had left Nauvoo because of persecution and were leaving for Salt Lake City. 11,000 saints left the area. We saw the flats of Nauvoo with a few remaining buildings. A pair of sister missionaries toured us through the Red Brick Store and the Mansion House. Seeing the Red Brick Store was amazing because our General Relief Society broadcast was given in part in the top floor of the Red Brick Store.

I met wonderful ladies in the temple. One was a lady who had built harps and does furniture construction. She married a Samoan gentleman and they had 14 children. Irene was a delighful lady, full of joy. Then I met Nina, who with her husband is serving a mission in the Nauvoo temple. Again a very special lady, who I can call an eternal friend. I saw Nina the next day at church. We chose to attend the early 9 am Ward because our plan was to drive to Carthage.

Driving to Carthage was a gloomy, cloudy and rainy type of day. It suited my mood for visiting Carthage. I really didn’t want to go because it is the place of Joseph Smith’s and his brother Hyrum’s martyrdoms. Irene said that I must go and it is so important for me to see and experience the site. We arrived as it was opening for the day along with other members who I had previously seen at Nauvoo. The tour started out as a tear-jerker with the video presentation of Elder Holland and his stirring address about Carthage. We then moved on to the jail and our guides explained everything so well. As we moved upstairs in the jail, we first went to the criminal cell and saw how dark and miserable it was. The jailor could see that Joseph, Hyrum and their friends were not hardened criminals, so he moved them into his own bedroom. We sat and listened to the events that followed on that day of June 27, 1844. The door is still the original and has the bullet hole from where a musket ball went through and killed Hyrum. To walk in the same place as these pioneers was so moving.

Getting back in our car, we headed north to Indianapolis, Indiana. We found an amazing grocery store called, Market Garden. I could finally get some good fresh fruit. The hotel was really iffy which was surprising considering that Hilton owned it. We said, “It’s only for one night!”

In the morning we drove to the Indianapolis temple. The landscaping crew were there changing out all the seasonal plantings. I even got to speak Spanish with some of the workers. We took our picture and headed out to Kirtland, Ohio.

Arriving in Kirtland it was easy to locate the temple and the visitor’s center. We toured the temple as it is not an operating temple for the church. The saints sacrificed much to build this temple in 1833. This was the first temple built by the church. After our tour we drove the couple of blocks to Historic Kirtland and met a senior missionary who asked us if we wanted to see the N. K. Whitney store. It was an amazing store; very large for it’s time. Joesph also received revelations here in the upper room called the school of prophets. We met a couple who were visiting from Brazil. It’s still early in the season and full hours and visitors have not yet arrived, thus giving us a much more personalised visit in these sites.

Driving into Mentor we found a hotel for the night and then found a Mexican restaurant that had their own horchata. Muy delicioso!! The hotel was decorated in the style of the 1800’s style and was quite comfortable. Some of our hotels seemed to have rooms that kept shrinking the further along our journey went but this one had plenty of room.

We headed northeast the following morning along the I-90. Occasionally we saw glimpses of Lake Erie and eventually decided to take a secondary road to see if we could actually stop somewhere and get a full view of the lake. We deviated onto highway 5, the Great Lakes Seaway Trail. Along that trail we did ditch into a little village and found a tiny park with picnic tables. We bundled up because the weather was only 3C and with a strong wind coming off of the lake. It was brutally cold but we had to step onto the sand and take photos.

Interesting observation I had was about the state of the freeways and the cleanliness. We were only in Pennsylvania for a tiny bit. The ditches were so dirty with a lot of debris and garbage. Once we entered New York state, the highways were pristine again. Some states are better than others at cleaning up.

Continuing along the I-90 we drove until reaching highway 21. This put us south of Palmyra. I could feel excitement building because we were on the final stretch; the last half hour. After 11 days on the road, we were definitely ready to stop driving. We drove past the Hill Cumorah and the excitement continued. Soon we were going to be “home”. Driving into Palmyra was surreal because we had been dreaming and planning for months and seeing it in person was very exciting.

We found our temporary apartment and started unloading the car. Knowing that we needed to get some supplies, we headed out for a shopping trip. Everything is close by in nearby towns. Unfortunately, Palmyra does not have a grocery store, but within 10 minutes there are stores to be found.

Road trip complete and now it will be day jaunts to visit other sites. The apartment wasn’t cleaned but I got right to work and started cleaning, while Erik was unloading the car. It reminded me of when Braeden went to Africa and the housing hadn’t been lived in for months and was left dirty too.

Time to do laundry and try and get some semblance of order back into our lives.

We headed out after a last minute mad dash to pack what we think we will need in the coming year. For those of you who know how much I like to be prepared, this was a little overboard (even I will admit that). I have my big Breville food processor, my Instantpot, my air fryer, sewing machine with embroidery module, to name a few things. I know how I need to prepare food so I packed what I thought was neccessary. People kept saying, “Just buy what you need when you arrive!” But for those of you who know the value of our Canadian dollar, I just can’t bring myself to buy it in New York. Our SUV looks like it’s loaded for bear!

Erik & I stopped in Calgary for a short visit with our daughter and to see her three children. What a joy to spend a few minutes with those toddlers & baby. We then carried on to Lethbridge to see our son and his family. I am known as Grandma Cheryl by my two year old grandson. We went to church in the snow in Lethbridge and watched it fall all day, hoping that the roads were going to be passable the next day. Jasmin & I attended the world wide Relief Society broadcast which was a celebration of the anniversary of our dear Relief Society. It was spectacular!

Monday morning brought us a stoppage of snow so we loaded and decided to try our luck. The day started ominously with heavy fog. The roads were wet and slushy for a while but then the slush was melting as the sun was trying to burn through the fog. Within an hour we arrived at the border. It was less than 15 minutes processing time to process our visa and permit us to enter the USA for a year. Our goal for the day was to get to Billings, Montana. I’ve decided to call Montana the “Black Cow State”. All the herds were black cattle. It was fascinating!

From Great Falls, we took the I-87 to pass by Geyser, Stanford, Moccasin & Hobson. While I am passing through remote looking areas I always wonder, “What brought these people here? What do they do for a living? How many generations have lived here?” It’s very pretty countryside through the mountains. We came to the Little Belt Mountains and that was fascinating too.

As we turned south onto the I-191, we entered the Judith Basin. It’s a huge basin for growing crops and cattle, surrounded by mountains. We stopped to refuel in Judith Gap. Of course, I needed to know how these people settled here. We met a lovely couple who run a mom & pop service station and mechanical repair. Jeff tells me that his dad started the business and recently retired so Jeff & his wife purchased the station from him. It might have been the cleanest station I have ever stopped in. They told me that they usually don’t get a lot of snow (except for this year) but they get a lot of wind. The wind whistles through the gap at quite the velocity. This is an historic town situated in the small gap between the Little Belt Mountains and the Big Snowy Mountains. The gap was used by settlers and Native Americans for centuries, including Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce during their famous flight to Canada in 1877. The railroad brought many people there to settle and in 2005 they had a bit of a boom because of a major wind farm being constructed. Ask questions and you can find out a lot of information.

We carried on to Harlowton and turned east for a spell. Then at Lavina, we turned south to Billings on the I-3. Billings is situated on the Yellowstone River. As we drove in we were driving along the rimrocks which gave a spectacular view of the city. They are sandstone cliffs along the north side of the city. Pausing at a viewing spot across from the airport, we were able to enjoy quite the vista.

We plugged in the address to the Billings temple and went to see it. On Mondays, temples are closed for cleaning, but we took photos and Erik got an amazing shot of the sun behind the spire with angel Moroni. I messaged my friends (Elder & Sister Hanson) who live in Billings but are serving a mission in Oaxaca Mexico right now. I wanted them to know that we made it to their hometown.

The weather took a turn for the worse and blizzard conditions started on our route for the next day. The highway was closed due the conditions so we opted to spend another night in Billings. It gave us the opportunity to go to the temple and preform some work for our ancestors. I may have met the nicest ladies in that temple. They had true characters of disciples of Jesus Christ; full of love and kindness. The temple is now 26 years old. It is absolutely stunning! The layout is all on one floor (no stairs or escalators needed). What a wonderful stop over this turned out to be!

Of course, I met people in businesses and helped people with their shopping, always asking about their lives. I had cooking discussions in the grocery store with a couple of people. One of the things I love is seeing the cultural makeup of areas. The Native Americans here are from the Crow Nation and there is a reservation towards Cheyenne. This is where the Little Bighorn Battlefield is. It’s so wonderful to be in historic areas and feel the energy of the past. This is also known as Custer’s Last Stand. Lots of controversy with that subject.

Erik is always checking the weather reports and it didn’t look good to head to Cheyenne. We considered going northern routes through the Dakotas. But in the morning we decided to go south after all. The roads were great, only wet in some places and a little hard packed snow just south of Sheridan. I prayed for sunshine to follow us throughout the day and we were blessed with that gift.

Alas, another storm system has the highway closed (I-80) going to Nebraska. The semi trucks are stacked up here everywhere waiting for the road to open. Hopefully the morning will bring sunshine and the highway will be open.