We headed East in search of Nauvoo
and decided to run a mile in every state we passed through. We ran our first mile in Rawlins, Wyoming, starting at this double front end car.
On an upper road to South Dakoda we happened upon Martin's Cove at Devil's Gate.
That night we ran and slept in Chadron, Nebraska.
The next morning found us in South Dakoda and headed to the reservation.
We found Pine Ridge
and with some prayer and help from the neighbors we found Adida's trailer.
Adida was very shy and sweet. Here she is with her Auntie Valerie and little cousin, Precious. Adida lives with them and her Grandpa Terry.
We were so glad we had found her!!
This is Grandpa Terry on the left. He and Valerie seem very good to Adida.
Another picture of their yard
Adida agreed to spend the day with us and we headed off to Rapid City - her favorite place to be! We passed through the Bad Lands on our way.
And took a picture
After lunch we invited Adida to go with us to Mount Rushmore, which she had never heard of before. It was just 20 miles from Rapid City.
We took pictures
picked up some souveneres and began the 110 mile trek back to her Pine Ridge home.(Not the teepee:)
Along the way we stopped and ran our South Dakoda mile by the Bad Lands.
The next day we finally arrived at Keokuk, Iowa where we ran another mile and stayed for the next 3 days.
It was just 25 miles from beautiful Nauvoo!
We started our visit with a wagon ride around the town
We took a tour of the RLDS sites
and saw many other places.
There was a beautiful Spirit everywhere we were able to visit.
and we have a much better sense of the faith and the sacrifices of the early saints.
I loved spending so much time by the mighty Mississippi!
and attending Joseph's beloved temple.
By far the favorite mile we ran was down Parly's Street in Nauvoo one night where the fire flies, frogs and crickets cheered us along. (Note the fire fly by Bekah's leg.)
My favorite experience was the day we visited Carthage. I was certainly unprepared for the power of the Spirit that fell upon me there!
Rob, whom we picked up at the airport in Omaha, captured nearly every minute of our trip on the video camera :) It was a wonderful and unexpeced blessing to have him with us!!
Some spontaneous planning took us to Missouri to see more sites. Here we stand at Adam-ondi-ahman
This is Tower Hill where Joseph Smith taught that an ancient Nephite alter once stood.
Here Rob shared his spiritual impressions about Adam-ondi-ahman with us.
Then we drove to Haun's Mill
where Rob and Bekah reenact the massacre
The kids were still fighting when we got to Liberty. I think the miles started getting to us!
We were impressed with our visit to Liberty Jail
Community of Christ temple
Corner stone for the Independence temple
Site for future temple
Community of Christ tabernacle
LDS Independence visitor's center
Running a mile in Missouri by the corn fields
and Kansas (okay - so these last two pictures are re enactments, but we really did run in each these states that morning in :)
After some more driving we dropped Rob back off at the Omaha airport and continued our journey home.
We saw lots of road side flooding along our way, particularly on the Mississippi, the Missouri and the Platte and North Platte rivers. We were so grateful for our safe arrival home!
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How we loved our trip to Nauvoo!! We found Adida. We visited many wonderful church history sites (including Winter Quarters, of which I have no pictures) and we received countless blessings along the way.
Sending our love to you!!
