Another thing we had been wanting to do since moving East was to do a tour of historical sites for our church. We decided since the sites we wanted to see were spread out from New York to Missouri that a good time to do it would be when we were already planning on driving across the country. Moving back to Arizona was the perfect opportunity!
^ We started our tour visiting the prophet Joseph Smith's home in Palmyra, New York as well as the Sacred Grove. It was so beautiful and such a peaceful place. *if you would like to know more about what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believes related to Joseph Smith and the Sacred Grove, please follow the links which can be found by hovering over the typed words!*
^ Our next stop was the Hill Cumorah, which is where Joseph Smith found the Gold Plates which were later translated into The Book of Mormon, which is scripture that we study alongside the Bible. It was a steep hike to the monument at the top of the hill, and it was humbling to think of the circumstances surrounding what happened there. My testimony was definitely strengthened just setting foot in such an important place.
^ We took a slight detour between church historic sites to make our way into Canada to see Niagara Falls. Border patrol workers going into Canada are super crabby (apparently I'm a criminal because I keep pepper spray in my car? Guess what, I also have one that fits nicely on my wrist for when I go running. I'm a 5'2" wisp of a female human, not a felon...IT'S PEPPER SPRAY!?!?!?!), and the city of Ontario is not trailer or puppy friendly. After every single parking lot for 10 miles turned us away because of our trailer, Taylor ended up having to drop me off and drive around while I sneeked a peek and a few photos at the falls and then ran back to the road to jump back in the car. It was incredibly stressful, but I'm glad I have a sweet husband who sacrificed experiencing this gorgeous view so that I could. Thanks for being a champ, Taylor!
^ Since we came back into good ol' USA via Buffalo New York, we decided to stop and have some authentic Buffalo wings. They were amazing.
^ We stopped in Kirtland, Ohio to see the first LDS Temple. It is currently owned by the Community of Christ Church (formerly known as the Reformed LDS Church), the tour guide was very friendly and sweet, but definitely had different beliefs than we do in the LDS church. Along on the tour were a senior missionary couple from the LDS church and it was interesting to the have the perspective from both groups on one tour. The building was beautiful, and well restored.
^ Nauvoo, Illinois was my favorite! It truly was the most beautiful place! And the temple! New favorite! Or maybe tied with the Mesa Temple. Funny story: there is a statue of Joseph Smith on a horse across the street from the temple grounds and a massive field right next to it. We took the puppies for a walk and headed towards the field to let them run around a little bit. When Indy saw the statue he went into defense mode and growls we have never before heard from our sweet little Indy came in full force! He was so mad that horse for threatening his humans! He had no idea it wasn't alive, it was hilarious! We walked around the temple for a while and then headed into the historic neighborhood to check out the visitor center there. I'm so glad the church was able to purchase this land back and rebuild the temple (which had been damaged by a fire and a tornado). It is such a beautiful building and such a sacred place.
^ From Nauvoo we headed to Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered. It is so sad to me that religious persecution is what we were trying to escape when America was founded, yet it continued for so long, and continues today. Visiting Carthage Jail was a humbling experience, and I'm so grateful for everything that was sacrificed so that we can have the gospel on the Earth today.
^ Our last stop on our Church History trip before booking it back to Arizona was Liberty Jail in Liberty, Missouri. Another humbling experience (and a rather ironic name for a jail, don't you think?).
After stopping here and doing the tour we were reallllllly ready to not be in the car anymore. We spent one more night on the road before we made it home. Arizona was a sight for sore eyes, and it took us a good long weekend hibernation to feel ready to greet the world again. We had an amazing drive west and had some amazing experiences. Even though the car was extremely uncomfortable on my pregnant body, I'm so glad we spent a few extra days on the road so that we could visit such important historic sites!
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