The Shows....

or as we liked to refer to it---The Elder Brandon Dickson watch---

Elder Dickson and his family are one of our dear friends and neighbors.  He lives just around the corner from us except while he is serving his mission in Nauvoo.  He actually was one of the missionaries who spoke when Jena did.  Brandon and Jena have been close friends since kindergarden when they moved in and have been in many plays together over the years.  Although taking Jena to Nauvoo had always been on the list of things to do, since she was just a baby last time, we decided to go this year so that we could share Nauvoo with Brandon.  He is one talented young man and it was so fun to share our time in Nauvoo watching him (and texting pictures to his mom).

Here is a sample:

"Sunset on the Mississippi"--this was an evening variety show and the first time that we saw Brandon.  He knew we were coming but didn't expect to see us until Friday.

The Brass Band is also young performing missionaries

I think this is one of the opening numbers where Brandon (in the blue hat) did a long whistling number.

 "Grandmother's feather bed"

 Brandon has good comic timing and did great in this "advertising song" about a rug whip.

Brandon had seen us as he with the other missionaries had walked through the audience during the Children's parade.  When he did his solo, he came and sang to Jena during part of it.

 These trumpeters are playing each other's trumpets.  It was fun to watch.

 Closing number where the young performing missionaries did sign language with their song.

 Our favorite performing missionary!

Elder Dickson and Jena

We quickly left that show and headed to "The Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo".  This was performed in the Cultural Hall by the Senior Missionaries. This show talked about some of the emotions and experiences of the Saints as they prepared once again to leave their comfortable homes and head west.

This song, sung by the men alone, was my favorite.  I wish that I had the words because they were so powerful sung by these men, many I am sure who have never performed before their mission here. The dialogue right before this talked about whether they should fight the mobs with guns or should they leave like their leaders had asked.  They left, because they had to----and they left because they wanted to-----definitely worth seeing just for this song alone. 

Friday morning we got tickets for "Just Plain Anna Amanda" and to our surprise--after the puppet show part of the show

 out popped our favorite performer---

 He was grandpa on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday casts.

This is a cute little show about Anna Amanda learning that she is special just the way she is and she needs to be the best at what she is.

Friday afternoon was "The Promise", a show that we knew that Brandon would be in.  It was held at the visitor's center.

We still got surprised when we were waiting in line.  All of the sudden we heard singing from above and looked up and saw the missionaries sing in the balcony.  I had not even noticed the upper floor.  I think they sang "Love at Home".  It was beautiful.

 A bit fuzzy from my cell phone but there is Elder Dickson who smiled when he got our glance.

"The Promise"-

Waiting for the show to start---

His "Bishop" role---

After this show, we got a family shot with Brandon.

As we waited to take this picture, we got to observe Brandon as he interacted with the other audience members.  One part of their service is to talk to people after their shows and share their testimonies when appropriate.  Watching Brandon talk to these "strangers" with his happy nature and kind heart, I realized that he wasn't just called on this mission because of his great talent in performing and music but because of his sweet and kind nature and his happy smile. I wish that his mother could have been there that moment (although as I write this, they are in Nauvoo sharing these experiences with him. Nauvoo is the only mission where families are encouraged to come and visit their young missionaries.)

Brandon asked us to come back again to the "Sunset by the Mississippi" because he wanted Jena to come with him during the Children's Parade. He pulled a tambourine for her and she walked with him through the audience and up on stage for the opening number.  Clearfield Falcons--on stage again!

How fun was that!!!

And there was still one more show "Trail of Hope".  At dusk, they light some kerosene lamps along the Parley Road down to the Mississippi River and some of the young performing missionaries tell the stories of different Saints who traveled down the road and across the Mississippi.  Often these were words from the person's journal (how did they keep a journal in those days when I can't today with all of the modern conveniences?)

No pictures were allowed along this short walk but we did get some before it started:

When we visited in 1997, this was known as the Trail of Tears.  When Pres. Hinckley dedicated the Nauvoo Temple in 2002, he asked that the name be changed to the Trail of Hope.  There were certainly tears as the Saints left their homes and headed west, but they did it out of hope for a better future for themselves and for their families.  And now that the Nauvoo Temple once again sat on the hill of their beloved Nauvoo, it is a reminder that their hopes were realized in the west.

 Our guide down the path---one of the performing missionaries

Brandon told us that he performs the part of Brigham Young on Sundays for this walk, but tonight he only had to sing some songs while we were waiting for the walk to start. (We were able to pass him some chocolate candies for which he was very excited.)

We ended up at the Mississippi River and had some quiet moment there looking across this river--about a mile across at this point, and imagined what it was like on those winter days so long ago.

Like many others, I knelt down and touched the water's edge.  I have mentioned before that there were some things which must be touched--to cement the moment or honor the experience.  I don't know why--that is just how I am--and this was a quiet touching moment as I ponder not only the Mormon pioneers who crossed this wide river, but my own relatives who traveled west to Oregon. This river has thousands of stories to tell!

Humid weather is not good for my hair.

Another magical moment happened as we left the river and started walking up the hill.  We saw Brandon and he was able to spend some time with us, sharing more about his experiences as a missionary and things about their daily lives.  It was great.

One reason we had chosen June to make our trip is so that Jena could see the fire flies.  I love fire flies but she was too little to remember them from Plano, but I knew that they were in Nauvoo. However we had not seen any at all on the first night we were here.  While walking down the Trail of Hope, I had seen a few but not quickly enough to show them to Jena.  I mentioned that to Brandon and immediately fire flies were everywhere.  We had turned a small turn and along the base of a row of trees were hundreds of fire flies.  Brandon was able to catch one and showed it to Jena.  They were like little fireworks going off all around us.  It was the perfect end to the Trail of Hope and our visit to Nauvoo.

Brandon told us that when he saw us the first time, it was like his two worlds collided.  At each show he would look for us and sing and dance for us to enjoy.  I asked if it made it harder for him and he (being the kind person he was) said no, he loved it.  He knew his parents would be there in a few weeks as well and in a day or two our neighbors and his friends, the Allens would be there.

It was wonderful to be in Nauvoo and share these moments with Brandon.  It was perfect.

Nauvoo (continued)

For those reading who don't know, Nauvoo is a historical city which was very important in the history of the Latter-day Saints.  After being kicked out of Missouri in 1838/39, Saints came into Illinois and were welcomed and cared for by the citizens of Quincy, Illinois, before they eventually settled into the swamp bend in the Mississippi which Joseph Smith named Nauvoo.  As the Saints moved to the area, it became the second largest city in Illinois and an important stop along the Mississippi River. The city prospered until Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed and again in 1846, the Saints were again forced to leave their homes in the winter and seek refuge to the west. The Church has bought most of the historical area and rebuilt many of the homes and filled them with items from that period.  Senior missionaries serve here and tell the stories of life in Nauvoo and in this section of the US in the 1840s.  In addition to the many restored buildings, you can take wagon rides around and learn other interesting things about the people and the places of the times.  And on top of all of that, there are the shows which include not only the senior missionaries but a group of Young Church Performing Missionaries who serve for 3 1/2 months and perform in 3-5 daily shows throughout the summer.  If you like history and theater, Nauvoo is a great place to be.  Everything is free and it is great family fun.

Our wagon ride through some of the unrestored areas of the city-

A typical wagon of the times

The Women's Garden outside of the Visitors Center---these statues were done in the 1980s, I believe, and represent some of the significant aspects of women.

Joseph and Emma Smith

 Gary decided we should pose like them and Jena took this picture.

Then things got silly as Gary's head became Jena's model while she posed as "Creativity". (GAry can be silly)

Another wagon ride through the restored area of town on Friday morning--

Many of the houses were done in this red brick because there was a perfect mud nearby for making it.  Now the senior missionaries make little bricks and provided them for all of the visitors who come to the Brick yard.

Some of the houses are actually still private residences where people live.  In addition, some of the buildings were restored on the outside but set up on the inside to house the missionaries who serve at the temple.

This is the dance hall on the third floor of the Cultural Hall.  Dancing, music and acting were important parts of life in Nauvoo and that continues today.

Through the dance hall's windows you can see the top of the Nauvoo Temple.  The senior missionary said that served as a good reminders to the couple courting during the dances.  The goal was the temple.

Just a sample of inside the tinshop--this is an old fashion mouse trap.  They would put a small piece of food on top of the stick and then the mouse would follow into the water and drown.  Uck!!

The tinshop--it is hard to imagine that EVERYTHING they used was mostly made locally, either by themselves or by a craft men.  Even to make a simple pan was quite a process when it was done by hand.

Here is one of the senior missionaries who explained the process of making bricks to us.  He and his wife were also in charge of teaching dancing to all of the senior missionaries.  These senior missionaries were very impressive--learning the long stories they told and the information that they shared plus dancing and singing and acting in the shows.  Gary's dad also served in the brick yard and his mother worked in Lands and Records and also the bakery.

Nauvoo the Beautiful

When we went to Nauvoo in 1997, there was no temple built.  There was simply the fenced off temple grounds where you could see some of the cornerstones and a small replica of the original temple.  I can't find our photos from the trip (they are in a box somewhere) but here is a photo from Gary's parents that I have on my computer.

You could walk around and learn a bit about the site and the purposes of temples.

Now--

our first views of the temple from the RV

 Then from below looking up at the temple.

This temple is especially special to us, because Gary's parents were serving a mission in Nauvoo when this temple was announced.  Mom Hall said that the missionaries were all gathered watching conference together when Pres. Hinckley announced it.  You can imagine the cheers and tears that filled that group of Saints, serving as missionaries in Nauvoo at that very moment. Dad Hall was one of the few missionaries who were actually allowed on the site to prepare it before building began. Because of his prior experience with excavation, he helped move things off the site like plants etc, that they were planning to reuse.

Another one of Wayne and Holly Hall's pictures from their mission
Dad Hall with the replica of the temple which had sat on the site

We talked a bit with Jena about Grandma and Grandpa Hall serving their mission here.  She was just a little girl when they served (1999-2001).  She has rarely talked about Grandpa Hall since he passed away but the two days we were in Nauvoo she made several comments about him and things she remembered about him.  It made Nauvoo just that much sweeter to think about the two of them being here and serving a mission together.  Like the senior missionaries we were soon to see, they served in the sites of Nauvoo and talked about life there in 1840s.  They also performed in the plays.  Here is a photo from "A Bushel and a Peck", one of their numbers.

Gary and his family have ancestors who lived in Nauvoo and left with the Saints to Utah.  We read (from the Jick and Ruby Hall book) about Esther Eldredge Garn who wrote..."I can remember seeing the house where Joseph and Hyrum were killed and also remember going all though the Nauvoo Temple."  She would have been about 5 or 6 at the time.

It was fitting that we first saw the temple as we entered into the historical city of Nauvoo and began our sightseeing in earnest.  We had finally arrived!

Crossing the Mississippi- 2017 style

When you plan a vacation, you make a general idea of where you are going to go and what you are going to do and then the vacation happens---sometimes you have a flat tire and sometimes your tent blows down--those are the makings of memories.  BUT sometimes, little amazing things happen that you couldn't have planned for, but they are perfect for you.

For Gary and I, lovers of trains and bridges, we had that moment crossing the Mississippi River on June 8th.  Now we had been on this bridge before on our first trip to Nauvoo in 1997 (notice exactly 20 years ago--with all five of our kids ages 14 through to 9 months old) but we didn't know it was "magic" until this trip.

As we approached the bridge, we noticed first that the traffic was completely stopped. And then we noticed the draw bridge portion pulled out of place. People were out of the cars and taking pictures as the barge was slowly pushed under the opened area of the river.  How cool is that!  Definately a photo taking moment!

 The piece of bridge pulled out of the way to allow the barge to past.

 This was both a car bridge on the top level and a train bridge on the bottom level.  Here is the train tracks running beside and below the road where we were stopped on the bridge.

Here is the barge along with a tog boat which is used to power the barge through the opening in the bridge.  While in Nauvoo they talked about the Mississippi and shared some amazing facts about these barges.  They provide transport for goods from around 36 states and replace something like 2435 18-wheelers (or some big number like that) when they are a fully loaded barge which can have containers three across (like this one) and four or five deep) . This one was three deep, I think.  I didn't really think about river travel of goods anymore, but it is quite important to our economy.

The Mississippi River--it is a slow, muddy river with lots of debris floating in it.  Nothing like the fast paced and clean waters of the Columbia River where I grew up.

 Here comes the beginning of the tug boat.....

 The bridge begins to move back into place.

Almost......

 And off we go--

making our journey across the river in about  5 minutes or so of driving. It was nothing like the crossing of the pioneers in February of 1846 when they walked across the ice. More on that later.

And with that, we entered Illinois and prepared to head to Nauvoo, just a short journey to the south.