Mt. Pisgah

I had not originally planned to stop here but there were great signs pointing the way so we decided to go.  I was very glad that we did.

Garden Grove was a very beautiful spot, but according to the literature, it was infested with rattlesnakes.  So Brigham Young decided to leave some of the Saints there and moved forward to find another location to stop and plant crops.  They said that a scout found the location and called it Mt. Pisgah after the hilltop where Moses surveyed the promised land.

Mt. Pisgah is actually on private land but the landowners have allowed access to a pretty park and pioneer cemetery located on the property.  Located on the top of a hillside, it overlooks the northern end of the Grand River Valley which includes the area of Adam-ondi-Ahman in the south.  It was a gorgeous site.  Again the Mormons settled this area and built house and put in crops for their use and those following behind them.

The Back and Front of the Historical Marker.

It includes a statement from an Indian chief , Pied Riche, who visited the Mormons here.  It reads:   "We must help one another, and the Great Spirit will help us both.  Because one suffers and does not deserve it is no reason he shall suffer always.  We may live to see it right yet.  If we do not, our children will."

Views down into the valleys where crops are flourishing...

These are taken for the 1-acre cemetery.  Although it was a pretty location, many many Saints died here for the hardships of the six month journey.

 A marker with the names of the known pioneers buried somewhere in or near this location.

It was here that I had my "Come Come Ye Saints" moment which I had thought I would have at the Locust Creek.  Gary and Jena were still finishing dinner and I was walking around by myself taking pictures.  As I stood on this holy ground, I read some names and then began to sing the words to that beautiful hymn  "And should we die before our journey through, happy day All is well".  It was a place of holy ground on a hillside in Iowa.

They had brought in and restored this old log cabin similar to the type the Saints built on this location.  Notice the roof which is covered in sod which actually grows some weeds and grasses during rainy seasons.

It was in this location that Brigham Young was approached by the US government to provide soldiers for the war with Mexico. This mural is inside the cabin to mark the occasion.  The soldiers didn't have to leave until a bit later and further up the trail but their families still had over 1,146 "pioneer" miles to go to the Salt Lake valley.

This is a newer marker placed to acknowledge four missionaries who were killed in a car accident in 2001 near this location.  It seemed fitting that someone thought to place a marker here to represent those "missionaries" who came back to the locations of the pioneers and also gave their lives while serving their God.