Days 33-34: Home at Last

We spent the last two days of our trip traveling through Nebraska, Wyoming, and finally, Utah.  We made it!  We're exited to be home, but the kids (ok, well, with a little push from Dad) are already planning next year's trip.

We've played a lot of games, and we've gotten through about 6 seasons of Family Matters (thanks for the fun, Steve Urkel!).  We've slept, showered, cooked, and cleaned across the amazing freeway system of the Good Ol' USA.  Thanks for the good times, Uncle Burt.

The charm bracelets that Mom spent so much time getting together are now full.  How cool to have memories of so many cities, so many places, and so many historical events.  Thanks for putting together such amazing charms, Mom!

A common site in the RV during the trip:

A few hours after arriving home, the RV is all cleaned out and ready for next year.

Day 32: Winter Quarters

Winter Quarters is a perfect place to stop on a Sunday.  It's a quick stop, so we were able to attend church, have a nice Sunday dinner, and go to the Visitor's Center. 

A Bible from the 1800's:

Laurel found some artifacts owned by one of her ancestors:

Days 29-31: Nauvoo and Carthage

Welcome to Nauvoo.  The Church has made this such a fun place.  It's like the Mormon Disneyland: Mormonland!  There's a band that walks around singing and playing all day.  There's a pioneer play area for the kids.  There's a show (or two) every night by the missionaries, especially by the young missionaries who were called specifically for that purpose.  There's a gun shop, a bakery, and a market.

I'm ready to be part of the parade!

We took a horse ride through the city and its outskirts:

At the dress up play area.  The younger girls played for hours.  HOURS!  The older girls even got into it.

In the Mississippi river where the Saints headed to Utah.  We owe so much to our ancestors who were driven from city to city.

Carthage:

The mansion house.  The foundation is partially original to Joseph and Emma's time.

We were able to make two temple trips in Nauvoo: one for the girls and one for us.

After three days in the City of Joseph, we headed toward Winter Quarters.  We stopped at a famous diner called the Hamburg Inn #2 in Iowa City.  We've eaten at some great diners on the trip!

Day 28: Have Pizza, Will Travel

Today was a travel day.  As we said yesterday, it's a long way from Kirtland to Nauvoo.  We decided to stop South of Chicago to at a waterslide park in Joliet to break up the trip.  And being near Chicago, we, of course, had to stop for pizza.  Dad learned to love Chicago-style pizza on his mission here.

While some in the group still preferred New York thin pizza to this new monstrosity, all of us appreciated the layers upon layers of cheese.  And those who prefer NY pizza know deep down that they just haven't graduated to true pizza yet: the deep-dish kind. :)  Mazey certainly loved the cheesy perfection.

  It's a never-ending battle with the bugs Uncle Burt collects:

Day 27: Kirtland

We arrived in Kirtland!  We went through all the houses the Church has restored in the area, and we went through the Kirtland Temple.

Here, we are inside the Kirtland Temple's top-floor rooms.  The prophet used these rooms to hold school for the brethren as well as for an office.

One of the best parts of the day was singing "The Spirit of God" inside the Kirtland Temple.

As dusk came, we drove on to a rest stop in Ohio.  It's a long way to Nauvoo, the next stop, so we figured we better get going.  Who would have thought that Ohio rest stops have RV spots with all the services?

Day 26: Niagra Falls

Welcome to Canada!  We left Uncle Burt in the Cabelas parking lot (he forgot his passport) and took the truck across the border.  Canada has the best view of Niagra Falls.

And, of course, we had to visit the Canadian Costco.  Here's a Canadian special: Poutine! (fries & cheese curd with brown gravy.)

Yum.  It's been a while since we had a Caramilk...

We bought Lyndsie a full-sized Costco cake.  They are just as big in Canada.  We had high hopes....

...and were sorely disappointed.  Hey Canada Costco, your cakes are terrible, eh?

The sleeping arrangements in the RV are pretty tight.  It's common to see what looks like dismembered body parts sticking out of curtains in the middle of the night. A little disturbing at first, but you get used to it.