Arizona to Utah to South Carolina Trip, Part II

Ok, here is Part II of the Arizona to Utah to South Carolina Trip:

Our drive out of Utah... some more views of the majestic mountains from the freeway

And, we're driving. The official route was from SLC to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Coralville, Iowa, to Cincinnati, Ohio, back to Charleston. I tried to take pictures of different places while we were on the road, but I can't remember exactly where everything was- I think this is in Wyoming. Or Nebraska.

And this is probably Iowa... we drove through a lot of farmland...

We spent a 1/2 day up in Nauvoo, Illinois. The drive up the west coast of Illinois was BEAUTIFUL. It was a little country road right next to the Mississippi. It was so quiet and peaceful. I love driving through little towns in the middle of NOWHERE!

The Nauvoo Temple- it was huge! It was rebuilt in the same dimensions and everything as it was back then. I can't believe the pioneers built this. Amazing work.

It was right at the top of the hill overlooking the small town of Nauvoo, which was right next to the Mississippi. Nauvoo in its hey-day was a busy and bustling town. A lot of trade and travel was done on the river. It was a well-planned and laid out town.

Here are statues of the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum leaving Nauvoo, heading for Carthage Jail (approx. a 30 minute car drive away). This was right next to the temple.

This was in the bakery (of course, I have to go to the old time bakery) in Nauvoo. Here are some of the tools used in the kitchen.

These official Nauvoo plates were cool- around 12 plates are known to exist at this time. Around the time the pioneers were starting to move out of Nauvoo, Elder Scoville- the guy who owned the bakery- took a picture of the Nauvoo temple, and took that picture to England, and had plates made with the picture on them. Around the picture of the temple are the names of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles at the time.

Some old town buildings

This is by the Pioneer Memorial- my favorite part of the Nauvoo experience. There's this path called the "Trail of Hope" on the south side of the city, and there are posts that have quotes of the hardships the pioneers went through to cross the plains. The path leads straight to the Mississippi River, the first of many the pioneers would have to cross. Here is a statue of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young- Joseph is telling Brigham Young about his visions of the Rocky Mountains, and his revelations on how the people of Nauvoo will have to move west...

This was cool- this is a full-scale replica of the barges that would take the covered wagons across the River. I would be terrified trying to cross such a HUGE river on this thing.

The Mississippi River is GORGEOUS.

We also took some time to go see the Carthage Jail in Carthage, Illinois. This was where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith were murdered by a mob of around 200 men. This is the side of the house.

This is the front of the house/jail. A family with 4 or 5 children (I can't remember the exact number) lived in the house during the imprisonment of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith. They were there when the mob broke into the house.

Here is a straw bed in the jail and some chains and irons on the ground.

This is in the "martyr room." This is the bed that John Taylor rolled under when he was shot. Not the EXACT bed, but you get the idea.

The stairs leading up to the jail cell and the martyr room...

Another statue of Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum Smith. This was a really interesting experience. I'm glad we spent some time in Nauvoo and Carthage.

And we're driving again... presumably in Illinois. Which I would like to return to, so we can go to Springville and see the tomb of Abraham Lincoln, and go to his "world famous museum," and then we could go up to Chicago. So many places, so little time and money...

So, here we are in Cincinnati, Ohio. Land of the delicious Skyline Chili. It's a Greek inspired dish- there are lots of spices in the chili. It is sooo good. We were introduced to this chili by a Ohio native friend of ours that lives in Charleston (apparently a LOT of Ohioans move down to Charleston).

Skyline Chili was a really good place. You could get the chili on one of many things- potatoes, fries, hot dogs (in the picture above), and most importantly spaghetti (also in the picture above). We ordered the 4-way spaghetti- it has the noodles, chili, chopped sweet onion, red beans, and cheese. And you crush oyster crackers on top. It is divine.

Speaking of skylines, here is the skyline of Cincinnati. It was a pretty big city- we weren't expecting that. We also got Graeter's Ice Cream- another favorite of Ohioans, so I've been told- didn't get a picture of that- we ate it too fast. It was very good.

Cincinnati is right on the side of a river. One side is Ohio, the other side is Kentucky.

This is Kentucky (I recognize the rock cliff faces on the side of the freeway).

This is pretty North Carolina- another state I wish to visit. It is my goal to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall and go to an apple cider stand. Overall, it was a very fun trip. I'm so glad we went! It was much needed.