The rest of the trip

So my last post took us about one third of the way into our trip. The rest of the trip was spent visiting church sites. So on our way to Palmyra, we decided to stop at Woodstock, since we saw in on the map. Um.... yeah, after we got there and talked to some people we finally remembered that the concert wasn't actually held in the town of Woodstock because the people who lived there wouldn't let them stay, so we figured out where it was ACTUALLY held (Bethel, New York) and drove another few hours to make it there. At around 5 pm we were actually in the same town we started in that morning. YEAH! Anyway, we did make it to the actual site of the Woodstock concerts. The next day we finally made it to Palmyra, just outside of Rochester, New York. We were able to visit the first home of Joseph Smith in New York, as well as the Sacred Grove where he prayed to Heavenly Father and received a very significant revelation. The grove was amazingly beautiful and peaceful.
Tyler and I would just love to have some woods like those near our home. We were also able to visit the Hill Cumorah where Joseph retrieved the golden plates left centuries ago. The hill is pretty steep. It was quite a climb! But the view, and more importantly the feelings at the top were well worth the effort. The next day we were able to visit the printing press where the Book of Mormon was first printed, the Martin Harris farm, the grave of Alvin Smith, Josephs oldest brother, and the Peter Whitmer farm where the church was first organized. It's amazing what the church has been able to acquire and recreate. The stories the missionaries share make you feel as though you were there. We were also able to stop by and see the Palmyra Temple that was dedicate d in 2000. My mom and I actually attended the dedication in the tabernacle in Hawaii!After visiting all the significant locations in Palmyra, we made our way to Niagara Falls. I don't know how many of you have had the chance to visit, but if you didn't ride the maid of the mist and get soaking wet, you've never experienced the falls! My goodness, we figured we'd get a little wet, but we had no idea what we were getting in to! It was amazing.
The next day we drove (actually John drove- very nice of him) all the way to Kirtland, Ohio. We visited the church visitors center and saw the Newel K. Whitney store and the school of the prophets (one of my most favorite spots), and the saw mill where the timber was cut for the Kirtland Temple.
Our next visit was to the Temple itself. The Community of Christ owns it, and there was definitely a different spirit there, but when we sang "The Spirit of God" in the main meeting hall, it was the most amazing feeling I've ever had. Tears were streaming down my face. I LOVED it!
After Kirtland, we headed to Nauvoo Illinois. This town had more for people to do than any we'd visited so far. I would assume this is because it's the closest to Utah, so more people are able to visit there. But we were able to park at our campground right in the middle of town and walk to everything! The new temple there is absolutely breathtaking.
We saw all kinds of fun stuff, but my most favorite was the pageant. If you've never been, make the effort- it's well worth the trip!
I think Tyler and I will go back to Nauvoo some time soon. We were able to see the blacksmith shop, the brick makers, the hall of the seventies, the trail of tears, the redbrick store, Joseph and Emma's homes, and the graves of Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum. While in Nauvoo, we were also able to visit Carthage jail. This was a very sobering stop. We listened to a recreation of what happened that day, while sitting in the room where everything took place. For those of you who don't know, this is where the prophet Joseph Smith was martyred. I would recommend everybody visit here someday.
After Nauvoo, we headed to Independence, Missouri. This is basically in Kansas City. We saw Far West, Haun's Mill, Adam-ondi-ahmen, many graves of early church leaders and pioneers, and Liberty Jail. It's amazing that all of these locations were once very densely populated and completely built up, and there is almost no evidence that people ever lived and died there. We were also able to go to the church visitors center in Independence. This is the only Temple visitors center with no temple. But someday there'll be one! I flew out from Kansas city to my conference, but my family continued on to Winter Quarters, and then followed the Mormon trail all the way back to Salt Lake. I met back up with them in Rock Springs. To get there I took the SMALLEST plane I've ever seen in my life! We ended in the Salt Lake valley, at the "This is the Place" monument. What an amazing trip!!!