July 22, 2009, Wednesday DEER ISLE AND STONINGTON
Today we took the scenic drive all the way down to Stonington. I’m so glad that the lady here at the RV Park told us to go to this area as well as Bar Harbor. It is so beautiful and the quaint (and some huge but quaint) houses are beautiful. The port is lovely and the boats seem so tranquil. As we came up from this very south point, we went North to Bucksport. Just outside Bucksport they have a very large bridge that has an observation deck on one of the bridge towers. We went up the elevator and looked all around. You can see up and down the river, and we could also see the big 700 foot mountain off to the North! The observatory is called the “Penobscot Narrows Observatory”. It’s on the bridge that spans the Penobscot River. This is the only bridge with an observatory in North or South America and there are only 3 in the entire world. There is enough concrete in the foundation of the bridge to fill a football field to 19 feet high. The observatory is 42 stories above the river. The observatory elevator is the tallest and fastest in the State of Maine. “That’s the facts!” But what is really cool, is how far you can see and how the people look like ants when you look down. Next door to the bridge is Fort Knox. But it’s not the Fort Knox with all the money in it! It’s just an old fort built to keep the British out during the Revolutionary War. We came home tired, and of course…you guessed it…went to bed early. Old poops!

July 21, 2009, Tuesday ACADIA NATIONAL PARK
Today we drove into the National Park of Acadia which is near Bar Harbor. We drove up the mountains (it’s kind of a laugh ‘cause they call these mountains and to us they would be hills, and the tallest mountain in this area is barely over 700 ft!). At the top of the mountain is a hill called Cadillac Mt. There are wonderful views from this area. We took pics and saw an artist painting the view. Saw lots of pretty stuff, came home, ate and played cards.

July 19, 2009, Sunday PHIPPSBURG, MAINE
We went to Church in the Topsham ward today. The people were so friendly. Everyone spoke to us. The bishop gave a talk right out of the scriptures which was excellent. Today is the first bright and sunny day we have had. (It rains a lot here and that must account for all the green everywhere you look). We thought, why not check out the beach today. It was so crowded the parking lot was full and the cars were parked about a mile up both sides of the road. We went through the ticket booth and asked if we could just come in for 10 minutes to take pics ‘cause it was foggy the last time we came and we are leaving tomorrow. She said we could and we did. Beautiful day at the beach. We took off and went to LL Bean in Freeport just to look around. The home for LL Bean is Freeport and this is totally a shopping town. It has outlets for everything and was extremely busy today. They manage, however, to keep the town looking quaint with Cape Cod style architecture, etc. It’s cute, but busy.

July 15, 2009, Wednesday TO WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETS
OK, we didn’t quite make it to Massachusetts. Ralph had a blow out on a trailer tire. He and Mike changed the tire, but then we had to stop in Albany, NY at the Wal-Mart Parking Lot overnight and get a tire mounted. Ralph had a tire; he just had to have it mounted. Betty and I went into the Wal-Mart. Now you wouldn’t think that would be a big deal, but this was a two story Wal-Mart. The grocery and the pharmacy were downstairs and the rest of the stuff was up the escalator. OK this is where it gets really exciting. There was the regular escalator stairs for people that went up and down. In the middle of the up and down stair type escalator for people that was an escalator for grocery carts! No kidding! You push your cart into this thing and it goes up right next to you while you’re going up on the moving stairs! That way you can shop for stuff on both floors and use just one cart! OK when you’re just travelling around like this, small things can be very exciting on the boring days…

July 14, 2009 Tuesday PHELPS, NY
We drove to Canandaigua today. It’s a little bigger town and they have a Wal-Mart. We did some grocery shopping there and then went to Main Street. It’s one of Mike and my favorite towns here in upstate New York. We walked up and down Main Street and went in some of the stores (mostly Galleries). We went down to the pier and looked at the lake and the cute tiny houses on the pier. Betty and I wanted to go inside one of them so bad to see how they are laid out. Some must be just two rooms, but some of them are two story. We had lunch at Arby’s. We drove back to the campground and rested for awhile. I stayed home resting and the rest of the gang went to Palmyra to look at the printing office where the Book of Mormon was first printed.

July 13, 2009 Monday PHELPS, NY
Today Mike and Ralph had to get the oil changed in the trucks. We also shopped for groceries, and then rested. You can’t imagine how exhausting this traveling can be! And, I cannot tell a lie, we went for ice cream again, but this was what was funny. Ralph was the last one to order and we had taken our ice cream and sat down. The lady asked him if he wanted small, medium, or large. Well he likes ice cream quite a bit, so he said large. He watched as she filled his cone with four, count them, four LARGE scoops of ice cream and he could see her back by the freezer and she was laughing as she was building it. When he came around the corner and we saw the cone he was carrying, we all burst out laughing. Boy we wished we had a camera! Mike keeps sing a song he made up that goes, “it was 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide!...”

July 12, 2009 Sunday PHELPS, NY
After last night, no one got up early enough for church. I was still exhausted, but the rest of the gang went to the Hill Cumorah and hiked up to the top where the golden statue of the Angel Moroni is. I’ve been there before and that’s quite a hike! They went to the Smith farm and the Sacred Grove. After they returned we had dinner that I had put in the crock pot. A little later we thought, wouldn’t ice cream be good tonight? We found a fabulous ice cream shop, and had banana splits! Boy were they goooooooood! Haven’t had one of those in years.

July 11, 2009 Saturday TO PALMYRA (PHELPS, CHEERFUL VALLEY)
We took off this a.m. and went to a campground in Phelps, NY which is close to Palmyra, the Hill Cumorah, the town of Canandaigua and Lake Canandaigua. After setting up camp, we went to the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center. At 9 p.m. we went to the Hill Cumorah pageant. It is amazing what they have done with this stage on the hillside. They had an actual waterfall! They have pyrotechnics like crazy and a cast of over 800! What we didn't expect was for it to start pouring rain about 2/3 of the way through the show. There was a lot of lightning and thunder and they announced that they were shutting down because of danger to the cast, not to mention we were sitting in metal chairs! We took off and ran for the truck. However, by the time we found it we were totally soaked. We were laughing though ‘cause it was funny, all these people running for their cars and wanting to find them quickly they were beeping their electronic key bobs, but everyone was doing it, so it didn’t help much! It was really funny.

July 10, 2009 Friday NIAGARA FALLS (LOCKPORT)
Now this was interesting...as we left to see Niagara Falls today there were police all over the road outside our campground which is in the middle of a lot of corn fields. There was also a police helicopter circling overhead. They were searching the corn fields for some excaped prisoner or something. We all hoped they found the guy before we came home that night. So, about Niagara Falls, it is so spectacular! We went on the “Maiden of the Mist” boat which takes you right by the American Falls, Bridal-veil Falls, and right up to Horseshoe Falls, as close as is safe. Boy did we get wet! It’s amazing how you can feel the power of the water. After that we rode the trolley over to Goat Island and rode the elevator down to the riverbank. Then we proceeded to climb some stairs that are right alongside the Bridal-veil falls. Once again getting very wet! Fortunately these venues give you plastic ponchos to wear to keep your clothes “mostly” dry. It is a beautiful and powerful view from this spot. Very much fun. We then went back to let the dog out and grab a bite to eat. I was having a bad fibro flare so I went to bed. The three musketeers took off for Canada. They took pictures, shopped at the gift stores and got lost! Eventually they showed up back at the CG and we all went to bed, exhausted.

July 9, 2009, Thursday TO NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK (LOCKPORT)
OK, I’m going to try and write this so that it sounds funny, however, during the whole thing I thought I would scream! Actually I did yell at the lady in the Campground. We took off for Lockport, NY to see Niagara Falls. We had plenty of time to get there, set up camp and have a nice dinner and rest and relax. We plan on seeing the falls tomorrow. I called the campground where we were going to stay and asked for directions. The Campground lady says; follow 78 east until you see the 104 sign which is after you go through town. I said that that doesn’t sound too hard and we took off. We get to Main Street and go through town. OK now we are on the wrong highway, 35 instead of 78. So we wander around the town’s narrow street for awhile and get turned around and this time we don’t turn on Main Street but go straight ahead. We ended up in the middle of a residential neighborhood and drove around in circles there for several laps trying to get back on the correct route. It’s so scary when you’re driving this big rig and you’re on a narrow street and the worst thing that could happen is that you hit a dead end and can’t turn around. So I called the CG lady back. She says it’s OK you do go through some residential. So we start off again. We come to a really steep hill that we can’t even see the bottom of, and we are scared to go down it, so we turn left and end up in a park. At least we can turn around in the park right? So we go into the parking lot type circular drive and there are several cars parked along the drive, people having lunch, etc. But wait, all the cars are pointed one way and they’re looking at us funny (nothing odd about people looking at us funny I must say!). Oh, guess what, we’re going the wrong way on a one way that isn’t going our way! Oh well, it’s not like there’s a lot of traffic. We get turned around and decide to call the CG lady again. I tell her that we were about to go down this very steep hill and it just didn’t look like it was made for large rigs. She assures me that there is a hill and semi trucks even use this road. I say, OK????…. We went down the hill and ended up in a cemetery! Had to admit it was a really old and a very pretty cemetery, however the road was like a one lane and I think, “this can’t be right.” It’s no easy job to drive this rig and Mike is under a lot of stress. He’s had it by now and he stops dead right in the middle of the street. Now, Mike and I are yelling at each other. Ralph and Betty are about to have a cow and they are stopped half way down the hill! We’re getting a little stressed now (little Ha! Ha!) I call the wicked (by now she is known as wicked) CG lady yet again. She says oh no (all innocent like)…you’re supposed go right when you see the sign that says highway 78 is straight ahead or right. Now you tell me! We get out of the cemetery, fortunately, and go back around…again… and take the right fork. We have passed some of these houses so many times we feel as if we know the people in them! This time it turns out good and we end up at the CG which was not easy to find even once we were on the road practically in front of it. By now I know I can’t go into the CG office and meet this lady because I want to do bodily harm to her. I have never had such bad directions in my life! So all is well now right? Not so fast! She gives us a camp site that already has someone in it! We pull into the one next to it and get stuck in the mud! After several tries we have to drop the trailer and have Ralph drop his trailer and come over and pull us out. (Ralph has 4-wheel drive). We have Ralph pull us up on our blocks because of the mud and the unevenness of the ground, but the blocks slide right out. I’m standing on the sidelines letting the men do their “men work” but I can’t stand it any longer. I pull out my phone and call the “Wicked CG Lady” yet again. I told her in no uncertain terms that we were not going to stay in this swamp field and we were pulling ahead where the ground was hard and dry. We worked it out and Ralph pulled us up a row. Sounds simple, right? All this took about one and a half hours! We went and grabbed a bite to eat and then went to bed! Whew! This was not one of the good days!

July 8, 2009, Wednesday KIRTLAND, OH
Today we went to the John Johnson Farm in Hiram, OH. All the revelations found in the Doctrine and Covenants Sections 73, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, & 99 were received while Joseph and Emma were living at the Johnson Farm. This is a most sacred place. When the Johnsons owned the farm it was over 200 acres and they had the second largest dairy in the territory. It included 19 cows. When the church purchased the land in recent times they were able to acquire a little over 100 acres. When the Johnson family first moved to Kirtland they had 8 children and lived in a small cabin across the street from where they were building their home. Elsa eventually had 15 children, 10 of which lived to adulthood. The Johnson’s were such generous people. They gave Joseph and Emma a place to live, and they made a room for Joseph as a study. He had many meetings in that room and some of the brethren even watched him while he translated and Sidney Rigdon wrote what he said. They remarked how they would go so slow and would always repeat and make sure it was perfect. As we sat in the room you could feel such a strong, sweet, calming Spirit. It made you feel like you just wanted to stay there. Brother Johnson later became an Apostle. The Johnson home was so different from all the homes we have been seeing, like the ones in Nauvoo. This home is really quite spacious. They had a sitting room off the kitchen and also a parlor. The parlor became Joseph and Emma’s bedroom. This is the room in which Emma had her twins that died. Then later Joseph and Emma were given twins, whose last name I can’t remember right now, but their mother died during childbirth and their father couldn’t raise them alone. One night the twins were very sick with the measles and that was the night that a mob came and pulled Joseph out of bed, drug him across the snow and ice and tarred and feathered him. The extra exposure with the open door as they drug Joseph out resulted in one of the sick twins dying. They also grabbed Sidney Rigdon who was staying in the cabin across the road. They drug him by his feet and his head bounced so hard on the ice that he was delirious for several days besides being tarred and feathered. The mob was quoted as saying something like, “that should keep Joseph from preaching tomorrow.” Nine o’clock the next day Joseph was outside preaching to the Saints as well as the mob. I’m so glad we have freedom of religion today. I have lots of pics of this place, but will only post these two right now.

After the temple tour, we walked over to the North Cemetery next door to the temple. We took pictures of the memorial to Joseph and Emma’s twins who were born and died on the Johnson Farm. Mike also found the graves of John and Elsa Johnson who owned the Johnson Farm. I found the grave of Parley P. Pratt's wife Thankful. What a cute name. Next we went to the site where of the Isaac & Lucy Morley Farm. In its day the farm was large and productive. The Morley’s offered shelter to anyone who was passing through town or to people who needed a temporary home while they were building their own. Isaac was known around town as “Father Morley” because he tried to take care of everyone, even building a school house for the children and hiring a teacher for them. Thanks to the powerful preaching of Parley P. Pratt and his three missionary companions, the Morleys and many of the families living on their farm joined the church. Today the Church owns only a small piece of what was the Morley farm, a wooded hill on which the school house resided. At one point Joseph preached in that school house during the Priesthood session of the first conference of the church

We next drove up to the Kirtland Temple. The RLDS church has a Visitor’s Center there. We watched a film they had in a small theater. When the film was finished, the screen went up and the curtains parted and you had this spectacular view of the temple. It was quite moving. Next the tour walked through the temple grounds to the temple. We were able to walk through the first and second floors, which look remarkable the same with the Aaronic Priesthood seats on one end and the Melkezedek Priesthood risers on the other end of the room. It was neat how they did the benches on the second floor. They had writing tables which could swing up with supports underneath. This second floor of the temple was used for study and learning, so they had the writing tables. Many missionaries studied here prior to leaving on their mission. Many wonderful things happened in this temple. At the dedication, many people saw the angles who came to the dedication, and the people who were outside said that the whole building glowed, and even God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared here. OK now the sad thing is that there is no longer that special Spirit there. There is more Spirit in the Sacred Grove than there is in this building. It’s sad. It’s also sad that the RLDS don’t seem to treat it in any way as special. Meetings are held there, anyone can go tromping through and it just doesn’t feel special.

We got to go inside the Johnson Inn which they have changed to something like a visitor’s center with a film and other info. When John Johnson sold his farm to help finance the building of the Kirtland Temple he was up in years. John and his wife Elsa moved into the town of Kirtland. The Church gave him the Johnson Inn so he and his wife could have an income and a place to live.

It was really fun going though the Whitney’s store. They had it set up like it was back then. I learned a lot about how smart the women were back in that time. For instance they wore plane white bonnets for day-to-day living, but when they dressed up and wore a fancy bonnet, the bonnets were always lined with peach colored silk. This would give their face a nice peachy glow! Hopefully you can see the bonnets in the picture. They also sold hurricane lamps made of tin. They poked holes in the tin to let out the candlelight. The holes were poked from the inside out so that the wind wouldn’t blow the candle out; even in a… you guessed it a hurricane.

Next we went to the Newel K. Whitney Home. Newel and Elizabeth Whitney were such kind and giving people. They had heard of the teachings of the Prophet Joseph and had prayed about it together. When the Prophet showed up at their store he walked in, looked at Newel and said, “I am the Prophet Joseph Smith, you have prayed me here, now what do you want of me?” Elizabeth walked in from the bartering room, saw the prophet and began to cry as the Spirit was so strong. They believed and were baptized and gave everything they had to move with the saints to Missouri.

July 7, 2009, Tuesday KIRTLAND, OH (THOMPSON)
Today we went to a place called “Historic Kirtland.” The Mormon Church has a Visitor’s Center there and offered us a tour, and we said we would love one! We started in a gathering room outside a small theater. When we walked into this room I was immediately captivated by an oil painting that has to be the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. It was by Walter Rane. We also saw some other work of his here; they have a whole Book of Mormon gallery by him, but nothing like this one. It is a painting of the building of the Kirtland Temple with the temple about ¾ of the way done. It's about 4 x 5 feet. The perspective is absolutely perfect. The contrast of the blue sky and the brown building is exquisite. The people around the building are perfect. The folds of their clothes, their faces, are perfect. Oh my but I love this painting almost as much as the statue of David in Florence, Italy! This picture doesn't do it justice! We next went into a little theater and watched a time period film about Kirtland in the 1800’s with a whole group of RLDS members.

July 6, 2009, Monday TO KIRTLAND, OH
We drove all day to reach Kirtland, Ohio. Got there, set up camp and went to a café for dinner because it’s late and we are all very tired!

July 5, 2009, Sunday TO PORTAGE, INDIANA
Happy Birthday Ralph!!! 69 years young today. You’re doing great! We were off to Kirtland today, but it’s a long way so we stopped in Portage, IN and stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot. It was noisy enough to require a sleeping pill but it was OK. We took Ralph out to Applebee’s for his birthday. He had steak and the restaurant gave him a hot fudge sundae for desert! Should have seen the smile on his face.

In the Family Living Center the missionaries have the most interesting displays. They show you how the pioneers used to make yarn out of wool and flax. I had no idea you could make yarn out of flax. And then they also used the seed for oil. Actually, linen is made from flax. Who knew! They demonstrated how to make bread in the old brick ovens and even gave us a piece of bread to taste. Then we watched as they made rag rugs on the loom. I took a picture for Marilyn. Her looms are the only ones I have ever seen up close until now. Then we went to where they make rope from flax. They had a demo of barrel making, and we learned that a person who makes barrels is called a cooper!

Outside the Smith Family home they had a Summer Kitchen going. This summer kitchen is what they used to cook in during the summer when it is too hot to cook in their houses. Sometimes they are just open fires outdoors. Sometimes they are small buildings with open doors and windows.

When we were in the Stoddard Tin Shop some people came in who were also named Stoddard. They were hoping to get some genealogy information, which they did, from the missionary demonstrating the Tin workings. It was neat that they could make that connection!

Sunset on the Mississippi is the name of a variety show some of the missionaries and other hired players put on in an outside theater in the evening. It was so much good clean fun! They had some wonderfully talented people, a couple of girls who played the fiddle like I’ve never seen, so fast. They had a clarinet player from Brazil that was brilliant.

The senior missionaries put on a play called Rendezvous in old Nauvoo. We went to it tonight at 7 pm before we went to the Sunset on the Mississippi show. It was held in the Cultural and Masonic Hall, so we got to see that building also. It’s much like a theater with benches and a stage. The missionaries were really cute and the music was fun.

We went to The Brigham Young Home. This was the Young’s second home in the area. At first they settled across the Missouri in Montrose, Iowa. When Brigham was on a mission his wife Mary Ann purchased an unfinished log cabin in Nauvoo and moved the family of six children. When Brigham came home from England he finished the cabin and then began work on the house. After Joseph Smith was martyred, he added an East wing to accommodate meetings of the Apostles. The members completed the temple and did as many ordinances as they could before they started the trek west.

John Taylor’s Home was next. Most of the homes are pretty much the same, but this one was a little nicer and a little bigger. Most of the homes are also red brick and two stories tall; however, each storey is only about 800 to 1000 sq feet. John Taylor was the third President of the Church. They were converted by Parley P. Pratt who is one of my favorite characters in history. He’s the one who was incarcerated for no good reason and was able to escape with the Lord’s help. When they set the dogs on him they were yelling, “go get him,” and the dogs ran past each jailer after Parley. When the dog reached Parley he stopped running and started pointing and yelling, “got get him.” The dog then proceeded to run right past Parley and he got away!
Anyway, back to Nauvoo…When the Taylor’s got to Nauvoo, many of the Saint’s had already left and the rest were getting ready. They started out in a cabin and then were able to move into this home. They lived there for less than a year before they made the trek west. John Taylor was with Joseph Smith when he and Hyrum were killed in Carthage. John was wounded but recovered. The missionaries tell the story of when the Taylor’s were leaving Nauvoo, their little boy cried and cried because they had to leave his little wooden rocking horse behind. John risked his life sneaking back into Nauvoo to get the little horse and tied it to the outside of their wagon for the trek west. They actually had the horse in the home for the tour.

The Saints were commanded to build a house of shelter for people who were travelling through Nauvoo or people who arrived there and did not yet have a cabin or a place to live. The Mansion House was built and Joseph, Emma and family moved into it and ran it like a hotel. In the beginning they offered free shelter, but eventually they had to start charging because of the great strain on their finances. For a time before the temple was finished, the Mansion House served as a venue where several temple ordinances were performed. At this time Joseph was active as President of the Church, the Mayor of the City, and had many other jobs. He finally had to hire a man to run the Mansion House. One part of the agreement was for the Smith’s to give up their master bedroom to this man and they moved down the hall to a smaller bedroom. One unique thing about the master bedroom is that one of the closets had a false wall where Joseph could go to hide when the mobs or the law with trumped-up charges would come looking for him. After the martyrdom of the Prophet and his brother in Carthage, the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were displayed in the Mansion House for the saints to view. It is estimated that over ten-thousand people viewed the bodies that day.

We went on a tour with the Reorganized Church because you can’t get into any of their properties without being on a tour. They keep them all locked up. One of the places we went to was the Red Brick Store. In the old days it was Joseph Smith’s store and all kinds of good could be purchased there. We looked at a book there that actually showed things that were purchased and by whom and on what date back in the day. That was fun and there were a lot of familiar names. The Relief Society was organized in the large room above the store.

While on their tour we visited the Smith Family Cemetery which is next to the first Smith home. Joseph, Emma, Hyrum, Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith were some of the people buried there. It is a beautiful site along the Mississippi River. The Smith Homestead was originally a log cabin and then they built onto it. The Reorganized Church tour took us inside so we could see it. It’s amazing how these people could live in something so small. We were thinking about how opulent our homes have become these days.

The Land and Records Office was so exciting. They had a computer program that you could put a last name in and see everyone who lived in Nauvoo during the pioneer’s time with that last name. Then you clicked on that name and you could see his family names, and any land they may have owned, etc. It was great! Betty found out that her family owned the very land the Land and Records Office was on!

The Sarah Granger Kimball Home was probably my favorite. Even though it was quite a small home, it was a little outside the city and was clapboard instead of brick. Lots of flower gardens around it because she loved flowers. She used to have the ladies over all the time to quilt and make shirts for the men working on the temple. It was in her home that the idea for a women’s club came about. Sarah asked Eliza R. Snow to write up a constitution for the club, which she did. Sarah showed the constitution to the Prophet. Joseph took it under consideration and prayed about it and he told her that the Lord had something even better in mind. That’s how the Relief Society came about. Sarah became a ward RS president after arriving in SLC and remained that ward’s RS president for 40 years! When the Saints started leaving Nauvoo, of course Sarah wanted to go. Her husband, however, was well liked, well off and not a member. He didn’t want to go. She bought a wagon and loaded it and went without him, but he followed later when his business was taken care of. Three years after they married he was baptized into the church.

July 2, 2009, Thursday, NAUVOO, IL
The Jonathan Browning Home and Gunsmith Shop was Mike’s favorite. I didn’t know that the famous gun maker was a Mormon! He joined the church in 1840 and moved to Nauvoo in 1843 where he had a very successful business on Main Street. They had many pistols and rifles on display from the 1800’s. It’s interesting, but even before he joined the church he was a very spiritual man. He put a silver plate on the butt of the guns he made which said, “Holiness to the Lord” which is what it says on each and every temple.

July 1, 2009, Wednesday TO NAUVOO, IL
Drove to Nauvoo today and arrived about 3 p.m. After getting our “camp” set up we went into the city and drove around. We ended up at the LDS Visitor’s Center. We got some info on what to do and what to see. We got free tickets for the show Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo for tomorrow night. This truly a beautiful city. Nauvoo actually means beautiful city in Hebrew (I think it's Hebrew, I'll have to look that up). We came home and ate Betty’s delicious dinner of Spaghetti. Went to bed early ‘cause we have a big day tomorrow!

June 30, 2009, Tuesday CAMERON, MO
Today we drove up to Adam-ondi-Ahman. It is a large area of land which the Church as purchased. We have been told by revelation that this is the place Adam and Eve went when they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. We are also told that Adam will return here to conduct a meeting of all the Prophets around the time of the second coming. It is beautiful here. We first went to the lookout where you can stand and look over the valley below. Then we went to Spring Hill where the first house was built by Lyman Wight. (On this trip I have discovered that I might be related to him, but will have to check it out some more when I get home). Then we went to Tower Hill. This is where Joseph Smith found a small construction of stone that was the remains of a Lamanite building. It is no longer there but we were thinking how exciting it would be to find something like that.

Next we drove over to Far West. This was a Mormon community at one time, but of course after the government ran them out of town there is nothing left the of the original city. (Try not to sound bitter Jan). However, they did lay cornerstones for the temple there and they remain. There is a beautiful spot there where you can look at the stones and read the plaques which tell what each stone represents. The church has quite a bit of property here also.

June 29, 2009, Monday TO CAMERON, MO
We left Independence, MO and drove about 70 miles to Cameron where we stayed in a beautiful State Park called Wallace. We set up camp and enjoyed the beauties of nature. We walked some of the trails and enjoyed each other’s company. That night we took the dog out for a walk in the dark. All of the sudden Mike says, look! And there they were "fire flies" just lighting up all around the bushes. No wonder people believed in fairies. Ralph was already in bed when Mike and I went and got Betty out of her trailer and showed her. They are so cute. One sat on my hand for a few seconds and lit up so Betty could see up close and personal.

June 28, 2009, Sunday INDEPENDENCE, MO
OK be proud of us. We were up and to church by 8:30 this a.m.!! (I thought we were on vacation!) Yes, it’s true, Betty and I like to linger in the supine position for as long as we can. We have no “mind over mattress” like Mike and Ralph do. Fortunately the church was right next door and all we had to do was walk down the grassy hill and we were there!
We didn’t realize there is such a large population of Polynesian people here in Independence. These are Mormons who have a great desire to be in “New Jerusalem.” They are faithful Saints and they are awaiting the Second Coming. This was by far the most spiritual Sacrament Meeting we have been to in many years. I started crying during the Sacrament Service and didn’t stop until we left the building. The Spirit was so strong and the people so reverent. One Polynesian Sister who is currently on her mission here in Independence spoke. She had no notes, no books, and no scriptures, just stood and spoke. It was absolutely beautiful. She truly spoke from her heart. She even quoted from the scriptures and from other leaders in the church with no reference to notes. I cried all the way through. Then a Polynesian returned missionary spoke. He only had his scriptures with him and spoke and quoted without falter. He had been on his mission in South America (I forget what country). It was cute, he could speak Samoan, English and Spanish. It was a beautiful talk and yes, you guessed it, I cried. He told about the day he got to his mission. He got off the bus, was met by his companion and they began to walk. It was about 70 uphill to their residence. He thought, “I can’t do this!” They started walking and people would literally come out of their houses and ask them if they were the Mormon Missionaries that they had been waiting for. They walked and taught the whole way. People would feed them wherever they went. He was so filled with the Spirit he forgot about the walking. He also told us that one time they went in to teach a man who was a Jehovah’s Witness. He thought to himself, OK this will be good, I’m ready. I’ve got all my scriptures memorized and know others to turn to and I’m ready . I'm up for the battle! He was with a companion at the time that didn’t speak Spanish. He and the JW went back and forth for quite a while, getting nowhere, and then his companion put his hand on his arm and stopped him. The companion looked at the JW and spoke the only thing he knew in Spanish, “I know the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.” The Spirit was very strong and the investigator looked at him with tears in his eyes. They were able to leave the home with a good Spirit.

After church we walked over to the Visitor’s center and took the tour there. It is by far the most inspiring VC I’ve ever been to. Their movies and displays were awesome. The sister missionary from Bountiful did a wonderful job showing us everything and explaining the displays. The Spirit was so strong in this building that a started crying again.

Next, we changed clothes and went to the cemetery in Richmond. We saw David Whitmer’s grave and Ralph and Betty found some Holman’s, a name that is in Betty’s family tree, and I found some Morehead’s, a name which is in my family tree, but the stones were so old it was very hard to read first names and dates. We went home and ate chicken and Mike’s special potato salad. Yum!