Nauvoo, May 13-14, 2026

 After we left Carthage Wednesday morning late, we went to Nauvoo 's Historic area that the Church has reconstructed/restored over the past decades. Many homes and Businesses are manned by full time missionaries, young and old, every day from 9 until 5. They all rotate through each of the homes daily. One day they'll be making horse shoes, the next day, people shoes! Or bread. 

 Wednesday afternoon we had time to view a number of sites and enjoyed a lunchtime picnic on the park-like grounds. 

Each place shared facts, quotes, stories of the people who lived there. We really enjoyed it a lot. 

Wednesdays sites were:

* Smith Family Homestead

* Nauvoo Mansion

* View of Nauvoo House

* Seventies Hall

* Webb Blacksmith Shop AND Wainwright Shop

* Riser Boot and Shoe Shop

* Calvin and Sally Pendleton Home ( school)

* John Taylor Home

* Scoville Bakery

* Family Living Center

* Lucy Mack Smith Home

WOW! That was a lot of places!! 

Thursday the 14th, we had a 10 am Temple session appointment, and we got there on time and enjoyed it very much. I was surprised to find that the session moved through rooms with murals representing the creation, garden, world. But that's how the endowment was first introduced in the latter days. It was the first place the endowment was offered to most members, but then they had to leave their beautiful new temple!  They sacrificed so much!

After the temple session, we  drove all around the teeny tiny town of Nauvoo. We kind of wanted to eat lunch there. But there's nothing in this tiny town of 1,100 souls. We drove down the long dirt road to our cottage in the Hayfield to change clothes, but first we drove down to the river! Saw people fishing and a dead end road. 

After we changed, we thought we'd find something in the next spot on the map. Nope. Tinier, still. There was ONE eatery in Nauvoo that had cars parked at it, even after the usual noon hour lunch. ( Another place had zero customers). So we went back there, grabbed a burger and fries. It was good, AND the first time in our four day road trip that we've bought food. Other than an ice cream bar. We also wandered thru the few open shops and I bought us a refrigerator magnet. And Bee soap!

 We also spent some time with Randy Douglas on the phone to find out where their home and businesses were when they lived in Nauvoo several years ago. But we didn't talk long before the poor cell phone service cut us off. We did find them, though. I wish I would have known he still owned Nauvoo Vacation Villas. We would have rented from him! They are much newer and nicer than what I got ! ( AND on a paved street, instead of a dusty gravel road). At least it looked that way on the outside. I'm sure they are! And he'd said we would have been given a really great discount. <sigh> Next time? 

By then it was after two, so we headed down to the historic area and visited the following sites:

* Red Brick Store

* Lyon Drug Store

* Orson and Marinda Hyde Home

* Heber and Vilate Kimball Home

* William and Caroline Weeks Home

* Edward and Ann Hunter Home

* Stonecutter Pavilion ( only brief)

* West Grove

* Monument to Women

It was after 5 pm by then, so we headed back to our rental, mailing birthday cards on the way.

I think we will try to see just a few more things tomorrow before we leave Nauvoo. Randy said we should go to the land and title office, but that doesn't exist any longer. But there's a family search center that will help us find any relationship of people who lived in Nauvoo. And the Woodruff home will have a nice presentation, too. Live actor portraying Phoebe Woodruff.  And I think that's it! Maybe the Kimball home, too. If we're there by nine am, that should work. 

We'll have to wash our truck ( tiny Nauvoo DOES have a car wash!) when we leave this rental place. The dust from the white gravel road has really done a number on the exterior AND the enclosed/covered truck bed. 

Some photos from the days:

Our first view of the Mighty Mississippi River on the Illinois side, heading up to Nauvoo.

Our cottage/ cabin

It's down a gravel road through the woods.

There's a Casey's in Nauvoo, but we didn't buy gas there! Almost thought about having gas station food for lunch, however. 

Down by the river. Snags in all.

A garden is at this rental. The gardenER was there weeding or harvesting when we returned.

Kinda weird to have some there. I felt like we were being checked on. 

There's flowers in their garden.

Some sort of greens.

Asparagus in cages.

Some sort of solar thing for maybe an electric wire fence.

?

And a big tree. A dead tree.

A row of potatoes. 

And Many wasps nests and spider webs in the eaves. But not in the house, thankfully.

This is a piano! 

Back at the Historic Nauvoo Women Monument.

There IS an Angel Moroni above those trees.

Carthage, IL

 We left Columbia this morning, drove through the rest of Missouri, in to Illinois.

First stop was Carthage.

Old, falling down house in Carthage.

Inside the visitors center were some lovely paintings and furniture. The whole area was peaceful and park like.

The walls are two feet thick.

This is the well outside the upper-floor window that the Prophet Joseph Smith fell from after being shot to death by a mob.

Park, monuments, benches.

This is a REALLY cool side-board.

The scene in this painting was mentioned during the missionaries' presentations.

Some houses were NOT falling apart. 

Midwest USA has some really pretty towns. And back roads. And rich farm fields, and a really big river. Here's a view of that big river from the bridge at Hamilton. 

And the river as we approached Nauvoo.

Hmmm. "I've seen worse"

 It's very remote, this VRBO cabin in the woods.

The view from the front door.. . The only door, now that I think about it.

Mike, rolling his eyes at me. "How did you find this place again?" 

I think a couple of hundred yards past those trees is the Mississippi River.  Yeah. And my brain is totally turned around here. Seriously. 

Unfortunately, the sofa, which is terribly uncomfortable, reeks of dog.  It took me more than a minute to register that. 

But, the TV works. ( Mike found BYU-TV and he is a happy camper!!) I have wifi with which to blog, I brought my own soaps. But not dish soap. There is ONLY enough to wash the dishes I'll use, but that's about it. There's no hand soap in bathroom! The bottle of soft soap is empty. So sad. But, happily, had stuff I brought ( mini hotel shampoo mixed with water in  their empty foaming container works very well for hand washing. And soap is soap, right?

We haven't figured out yet if the bed is comfy.

I found out my nice bag of beautiful, washed-and-ready-to-eat apples are back home in my fridge. :-(.     Oh well. We just had to settle for Oreos and milk for dessert to night. We had cheese quesadilla with ham for dinner, queso and chips, celery with peanut butter. And Oreos! We won't die. Oh! And the fridge is full-size so we can refreeze our jugs of water for our cooler.  It's all good. 

Just a little REMOTE. Haha.

View from the windows:

Views around the room:

A bed. On blocks. Not our bed, a twin bed in the other corner of this one big room.

Bathroom vanity. It's not an antique. Or restored vintage. It's just really old. And kind of dirty inside.

And same with kitchen sink. It's just really old. And dirty inside with no extra dish soap. Or dish towels.

This kitchen thing may just be an antique. All three bottom drawers are rounded metal "bins". That's cool. Only the drawer are kinda yucky. Empty, for the most part. But, again, no extra towels or kitchen clothes.

BYU TV sports. I suppose Mike has been going through withdrawals since he watches more than one BYU sports shows each day, and he hadn't seen any since Saturday!!! 

I think the place is about a 40 x 40 foot square box of a cabin house with a bathroom in the corner, beds set up in the perimeters. . . Well, it's called "Hayfield Cabin."  Less than $80 a night. I can't complain. Our single night hotel room in Columbia was more than that I think. Mike paced it off and it's about 32 x 32 in his estimation. Over 1,000 square feet, so it's roomy, but not really normal. No place for luggage ( Again! -- remember Oahu in February??)

Mike took out his tape measure the next time we went out to the truck. It is: 30 feet wide and 28 feet deep. 

But Mike said that we shant be scrimping when we vacation back east in the Fall. Ha! I'm using HIS credit card for our $400 per night rooms in Boston, MA. Haha.