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.