Family Vacation 2012 - Part I

My family went on a big vacation this year! In the past we have gone to Disneyland, but this year in order to accommodate those living out of state we decided to do something different. My brother and his wife (they live in Texas) organized a trip for us to Independence, Missouri and Nauvoo, Illinois. I have always wanted to go there so I was super excited! We opted to go during the week of July 4th which was fabulous, expect for one thing: the heat. Several days were well over 100 degrees and with the heat index (heat + humidity) we were looking at about 113. We were never dry, always sticky and it was hard to breathe. I'll never complain about the dry heat again! Here are just some of the highlights:

Day One & Two: We drove. And drove. And drove. I won't say this was the worst part of the trip (the medal for that goes to the heat!) but it was definitely a LONG drive. We stopped in Cheyenne, Wyoming our first night and then from there traveled on to Missouri.

By that point it was about a 19 hour drive, I believe. And that doesn't count stopping for meals and bathroom breaks. We spent 2 days in Independence though and that was a LOT of fun!

Day Three: we went to Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Haun's Mill and Far West.

There wasn't much to see at any of these places, other than a lot of land. But it is such pretty country there and if you know the stories of what occurred there with the early LDS saints then you can definitely feel a special spirit there. I am excited that the Church bought the Haun's Mill site from the Community of Christ church because now hopefully they will turn it into a nice historic site with more to see than just a little post that says "Haun's Mill". Far West has the temple site marked with the original cornerstones of the temple encased in glass. That temple never got built but it's amazing to see the cornerstones and the monument that now stands where the temple should have been.

Day Four:
We went to the Independence Visitor's Center and the Community of Christ temple. I swear, that temple looks like it came out of a science fiction movie, but it was very pretty.

We took a tour of it and that was also very interesting. We all walked out though feeling rather confused. Confused mainly over what they believe, exactly. Even the girl who took us on a tour couldn't tell us exactly. She just kept saying members believe certain things but "officially" they believe __________ (fill in the blank). They believe in Joseph Smith and consider him their prophet but they don't believe in the first vision. They profess to believe in Christ (hence the name "Community of Christ church) but he wasn't mentioned once during the entire tour. I personally felt very confused after walking out of there. It was a stark contrast between that and the LDS visitor's center, that's for sure! Definitely a unique experience.

Our last stop this day was to Liberty Jail and the Kansas City, Missouri Temple.

It was such a neat experience to visit all these historical sites and learn more about LDS Church history. It didn't end here though! The next morning, Tuesday July 3rd, we packed up, said goodbye to Independence and headed for Nauvoo, Illiois.