Sugar Creek Camp and beyond

Well, actually we couldn't find it.  Turns out that our GPS on our phones didn't work in the hills of southern Iowa (alert for future travelers) and our map directions were not adequate to find this spot. After the early pioneers left Nauvoo in February of 1846, they traveled northwest to this location and made camp for a couple of months.  Brigham Young and others traveled back and forth from this location to Nauvoo to help with the organization of the bulk of the Saints who were leaving Nauvoo later in the spring.  By the time, Brigham Young and the first of the Saints left this site the encampment had grown to about 2500 men, women, and children--much larger than the 1800 Brigham Young had wanted.

Ely Ford Mormon Trail Crossing is located in the beautiful Lacey-Keosauque State Park.  As we entered into the State Park we couldn't find anywhere to get a map of the area and we wandered a bit around the park which is beautiful as advertised on our map.  I was ready to call it quits when Gary tried one more road and we found it.  This was a location where the Saints crossed the Des Moines River.

 A small bridge unrelated to the pioneers which led to one of the many trails through this State Park.

When I would look at the river banks along the many rivers we saw along this trip, I was often struck about how hard it would be to pull horses, oxen and wagons up and over on to the land.  Even to walk from the river up these banks would often be a struggle.

 And in the honest of blogging, Gary would harass me if I didn't tell you about this little "map incident".  As we decided how to leave the park, I suggested that we take the road going directly south rather than heading north and back around on the roads we had already been on.  As we headed down the road, I commented that I thought we might be traveling on a small bridge across the lake.  When GAry asked me why, I said, "Because I can see a road on one side of the lake and on the other side, but it doesn't show anything across the lake".  I think Gary started laughing then but drove on.......

and here is the end of the road that we were traveling on.......

 and here is the other section of the road.....

with the lake in the middle.  Gary thought that was hilarious that I thought there might be a bridge. Actually it turned out the pioneers crossed here as well

We however didn't cross here, but backtracked and took the long way around that didn't require fording a lake or building a ferry for the RV......we are lame pioneers!!!

Our next planned stop (noticed the key word "planned") was Locust Creek Camp.  This was the location that William Clayton wrote the hymn "Come Come Ye Saints."  The story is that he had heard about the birth of his son back in Nauvoo and wrote this song which became the anthem of the pioneers as they traveled across the plains.  One pamphlet stated that it was tradition if anyone started to sing the hymn then all in the company would join in the singing, no matter how tired or cold and hungry they were.

The map indicated that it was one mile south of this small town.  It is somewhat hard to determine exactly one mile from a town because when does that measurement actually start?  We kept driving assuming that there would be a brown historical marker to show us the way.

Wrong-----however after about 2 miles we did see a big sign that advertised "Mormon Trail Handicrafts".  That sounded promising.  Afterall, wouldn't you put such a store near the trail and an important spot.  We turned along the designated road which quickly became a dirt and gravel road and headed through the country side of Iowa....and we drove and drove and drove...up hills and down.....around corner and over railroad tracks....and never found the spot (or the store).

We did see a number of the Mennonite farmers who live in this area.  I think they (especially the children) were surprised to see a RV driving down these dirt roads but maybe they are used to these "odd Mormons" who do this type of thing.

as we were driving down the road from the RV

   

In some literature we got the next day from Winter Quarters, it looks like we likely drove very nearby the spot.  It isn't marked and is located on the west side of a cemetery. Although we didn't see it, I loved the drive through these hills.