We had a really nice time. I loved that our visit to Nauvoo included family time (8 hours in the car together!), history lessons (as we learned how hard life could be in 1840 and how much one had to work), faith-promoting activities (meeting missionaries and visiting church sites), opportunites to experience nature (crossing the Mississippi River and seeing turtles and water snakes on it's banks) and lots of entertainment (the Nauvoo Pageant and pioneer games.)
Our main purpose for going to Nauvoo was to see the Nauvoo Pageant. This was our first time and we really enjoyed it. It is a wonderful production that is spiritually uplifting and very powerful. The pageant is held outside and a couple of hours before the pageant starts, there are pre-activities which are based on a county fair that would have been held during the mid-1800s. Lots of people are in costume and children can play games and learn all about pioneer life, hands-on. Our girls were given a string and for each activity they completed, they were given a bead, once they collected 10 beads they could go a receive a wooden "pioneer" bead. The girls had lots of fun walking on stilts, quilting, learning to braid, and sawing wood.
After the games, we quickly ate some hotdogs and nachos for dinner and then took our seats for the pageant. There were a lot of people there but it didn't feel crowded to me (even though we learned that there were no vacancies in the hotels in and around Nauvoo.) We had come and saved our seats earlier in the day so we sat on about the fifth row on an aisle and had a great view of the stage. In accordance with our very temperate weather this year, it was very cool that night, so we wore sweatshirts, pants and blankets. (On the second day of our trip, Paige said, and I quote, "Beautiful Nauvoo?? More like COLD Nauvoo."
We saw the pageant on the first day we were in Nauvoo, we also spent a lot of time touring the Old Nauvoo historic sites and the Visitors Center. Unexpectedly, one of my favorite parts of this trip was the sculpture exhibit at the Visitor's Center. It is called, "The Healing Power of Jesus Christ, " the artist is Angela Johnson and her work is on display until October. I included a lot of pictures in my slide show because the sculptures are so beautiful and really moving. I wish I could buy them!
Anyways, we started the second day of trip by letting the girls take an early morning swim in the hotel pool, while I went for a walk to get a little exercise---okay I walked about 4 blocks to a bakery, but at least I walked instead of taking the van! After that, we visited the temple grounds, drove out to Carthage Jail, explored the banks of the Mississippi and then returned to Nauvoo to visit a few more homes and buidlings then finally headed home. We squeezed a lot in in two days but it was fun!
This really takes me back... My family visited Nauvoo two summers ago, and I loved all of the fun pioneer activities. You're pictures are great!
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