CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP -- Part A

CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP -- Part A

"And awaaaay we go..........." Jackie Gleason

On September 13, 2008, we left the MTC and started our cross-country trek to Canada. We made the decision to drive our own car based on information that we would need a car in Canada and the mission would not have one to provide for us. On the recommendations of the Mission Office, we planned to drive no more than six or seven hours a day. We assumed they didn't trust us old "Seniors" to drive too long each day, and didn't want us arriving in the mission field exhausted. So we planned our trip accordingly.


The first day, we spent a few hours visiting with Elder Wright's brother and his wife in Orem while using their washer and dryer to do a week's worth of laundry from the MTC. At about noon, we headed out. Our car was packed to the hilt! We tried to make careful selections in what we took, but still had a real car-load.


We drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming the first day. We saw a lot of flat land and a lot of HUGE WINDMILLS (used to generate power--what a great idea!)


The second day, being Sunday, we found a ward to attend, then drove to Grand Island, Nebraska. More flat lands, less windmills. Third day, we drove to Omaha, Nebraska. Here we took a brief side-trip to visit the WINTER QUARTERS church history site. We had always dreamed of taking a "Church History" tour, and were thrilled to get a tiny taste of that as we visited Winter Quarters, then later Kirtland, Palmyra, and the Sacred Grove.

WINTER QUARTERS, NEBRASKA

Monument in front of the Winter Quarters Visitors Center

A built-in bed, a fireplace, and a hand-hewn table in a typical cabin

Supplies for crossing the plains

Elder Wright (Grampa) looking at a device invented to count the turns of the wheel so they could tell how far they traveled each day.

Violin owned by Isaac Morley that he played as the pioneers crossed the plains




How they built the wooden wagon wheels

Sister Wright (Gramma) pulling her handcart

The Winter Quarters Cemetery. Many pioneers didn't survive the winter.



It was amazing to see what the Saints did during their very brief stay at Winter Quarters on their way west. They built an entire town and planted crops, etc., and left it all behind in the Spring for the next group of Saints to use as they passed through the area.

The Winter Quarters, Nebraska Temple, September 2008


We were thrilled to have the opportunity to visit that historical site. We spent a couple of hours there, and were still able to get in our six hours of travel for that day.

STAY TUNED! NEXT STOP: Kirtland, Ohio