A Tour of Nauvoo and Carthage Jail

No doubt, the temple in Nauvoo is very impressive. We went right there before going to our hotel, it was late, but we couldn't wait to see it up close. Of course, in such a small town, it wasn't hard to find at night or in the day time. 

Carthage closes earlier, so we started our day out here. They had some incredible paintings at the visitors' center.  Here is the brethren leaving Nauvoo, leaving the temple they had spent so much time on. I have never spent a significant amount of time on something that I had to leave and no longer enjoy. And I certainly have never had something important that I built, get destroyed. Who knows how they felt, and how much anguish they experienced and this must have been a large part of that. 

Starting the tour of the jail....

The senior missionaries were terrific, I had to take this picture. I did a lot of this on temple square. It was a little different there, but the same idea. 

Not a great picture, but the gardens at Carthage were amazing. They had some amazing plaques/tributes/quotes, along with statues. 

Inside the jail, this is where the jailer and his family slept. 

Once they were in jail, they started their time on the bottom floor in a well lighted room. This was their window. Once the jailer became afraid for their lives, he moved them upstairs. 

Here is the jail upstairs, same time of day, and so very dark. You can see when you look at the windows just how thick the walls were. 

They had these tiny windows that let in little slivers of light. 

When the mob came, they were in the room adjacent to that part of the jail. I love these old nails, so imperfect, square, and incredible to see. 

This is the window that Joseph Smith fell out of when he was shot. 

A bullet hole in the door to the room, this is the bullet that took Hyrum Smith's life. 

Window from the outside, where Joseph fell. 

Joseph and Hyrum, an inspiring brotherhood. 

This is where Joseph Smith is buried. 

Joseph Smtih Sr, and wife, Lucy. 

The blacksmith, where you get the famous nail rings. The senior missionaries were so thoughtful and informative. I enjoyed the challenges and spiritual messages they shared with us all along the way. I didn't get a picture, but the houses were amazing! A lot of them are used for tours but a lot are also used for housing missionaries. My mom has her eyes set on being a missionary in Nauvoo and living in one of these historic homes! 

The shows at night were hilarious and fun! They had some throughout the day as well. I enjoyed all of them, very entertaining. I didn't get to go to all of them I wanted to but now I have a reason to go back! 

A mouse trap, how perfect is that? They'd put a piece of cheese on that piece in the middle of the bucket. The mouse runs up to grab the cheese or piece of food and end up falling in the bucket. Caught! 

A beautiful view from the Smith Family Cemetery area. 

Amen! This is what it is all about....