Family Vacation to Nauvoo

The Hinkypunks and parents are expanding their territory. They took a family vacation to a new state... Illinois. We now understand why they are called "Flatlanders". We visited the city of Nauvoo, with an LDS temple, and much church history. It was set on a beautiful hill, overlooking the Mississippi River.


We visited many living history buildings the church has set up in the old part of town. One of our favorites was the wheel wright shop. They showed us how many pieces it took to make a wagaon wheel. There was a sudden demand for wagons and wheels when thousands of people had to exit Nauvoo due to persecution. Below is a wheel hub.

Getting an even wheel was a tricky business. The hinky punks were impressed.

In the Blacksmith shop, the blacksmith made a mini-horse shoe for Sylvia since it was her birthday that week.
Here are the smiling children, in front of an oxen shoeing stall. They are glad they are not going to have horse shoes put on them.
Sylvia's favorite part of the brick kilns was climbing on the bricks.

Sean and Deb both had ancestors who lived in Nauvoo and were chased out. We went to the lands office, and visited the plots in town where their homes once stood. Here is Sean in front of a Harris plot of land. Since the Harris family was converted in England and travelled to Nauvoo after it was settled, he had a plot farther from the river, up on a hill.


Here is the plot of land belonging to one of Deb's ancestors, Theodore Turley. He was the first LDS settler to build a house in Nauvoo. It is down in the old part of town, close to Joseph Smith's home.
We also visited Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were shot. I didn't realize you could still see the bullet hole in the wooden door where the mob shot into the room. The boys were in awe.

Here is a part of the upper level where they would lock up dangerous prisoners. It was very dark and hot. It would get up to 120 degrees in the summer.
The statue of Joseph and Hyrum at Carthage.

Here is the tribe, minus the mom-photographer, in front of the Nauvoo temple, at dusk. Sylvia was creative in her posing.
Here is another picture of Sylvia's face she pulls when she sees a camera. I'm sure she learned it from a senior Hinkypunk.
This is a view of the temple at night from Parleys Street. We walked along and read excerpts from pioneer journals, that were posted along the road. Parleys St. is the main road that leads down to the Mississippi river. In February 1846, wagons were backed up for miles, as thousands of people and thes of thousands of livestock rolled down it to leave Nauvoo.
One of our favourite parts of the trip was sitting on the grass outside the picket fence surrounding Joseph Smith's house. It was evening, and the old part of the town was quiet. Everyone had gone up to the Visitors Center and the main part of town to see some of the entertainment the church puts on. We could see the Mississippi, hear its birds, and imagine how beautiful the place must have been to those who lived here earlier.
Noel started making clover chains for everyone as we sat on the grass. It turned out into everyone wearing clover crowns and necklaces.

A Hinkypunk on alert. (Mattias)
Asher looking a little confuse in his lopsided crown.
Sylvia looking like a nature princess in her clover accessories.
Sylvia got into the decorating act. She would follow Noel around yelling "Wait! Wait!" and try to stick random clover buds into hair. I am modeling her first attempt at clover hair fashion. It was later to become a hit with daisies at a midsummer fest we held.

All in all... it was a good trip. Swimming in the pool, watching the folk dancers, and eating pudding snacks are highlights not pictured here.