It has been said that you can't have the complete Nauvoo experience until you have left Nauvoo. And so it was with some sadness that we "took one last look at the temple and crossed the Mississippi into Iowa".
Straining the comparison, you may remember that Brigham Young and the first group of Saints had hoped to quickly cross Iowa and perhaps reach the Rocky Mountains the first year. However, they were bogged down by bad weather and took far longer than expected in Iowa. Well, we had hardly boarded the train when it stopped and the conductor informed us that we had to wait out some bad weather ahead. (How bad does weather have to be to stop a train?) For the next hour it was stop and go as they watched the weather. As we pulled into Ottumwa, Iowa the conductor informed us that wind had overturned a coal train just ahead of us, and that the tracks were out. It would be 12 hours and a long bus ride across Iowa before we would be able to get back on the train and be on our way home.
So the adventure was exciting to the end. We are home and filled with memories of that wonderful place. We all learned so much and grew so much. We made lots of friends and gained a better appreciation for the things that the pioneers did.
This is the loveliest place and the best people under the heavens.
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