August 24-25, 2019
It has been a wonderful couple of days on the road. We are off to a great start!
Anna and I arrived in Omaha, Nebraska with excitement and high expectations. We had heard that there was a historical visitor’s center at the Winter Quarter’s temple. The temple was small and “tucked” into the existing geography. It was small but ornate. It was designed with additional details such as silver door handles with intricate flowers and vine designs. The outside doors were brass with vines (symbolizing Christ as the vine) with references to the Living Waters and the Tree of Life throughout the temple including a beautiful 3-pane stained glass window in the celestial room. We did an endowment session and the session was completely filled. There were many beautiful paintings that I had never seen such as the “bluffs” over looking the Missouri that hung in the garden room. Everything else was very similar to our Louisville temple in size and ceremony. We met with the temple president who gave us lots of insight into the symbolism in the temple and the things that made it unique. He gave us good ideas for activities in the city and a restaurant for dinner.
We left the temple and went to the Visitor’s Center next door. We had a tour by a cute missionary and learned a lot about the history of Winter Quarters and what the saints suffered during the winter of 1864. We went across the street to the cemetery where many of the early saints were buried. It was not what I expected. There seemed to be a heavy feeling throughout the property. A sadness maybe? Not like touring Nauvoo or Salt Lake. Very different.
Anna and I went downtown to see the life-size sculptures by the LDS artist who creates the busts of the prophets. They were made of bronze and were magnificent! We rented electric scooters and zipped all over the streets of downtown! We had such a good time.
We then treated ourself to an Omaha steak in Omaha. YUM… But nothing is as good as one of Dad’s steaks from the grill!
We stayed at an AirBnB with a cute young couple as our hosts. They had a 2 year old little boy who was darling. Our room had a rustic “barn” wall and was very comfortable. We had access to a private bathroom and use of their kitchen and living room.
We attended Sacrament meeting on Sunday morning and then stopped about 30 minutes down the road at a Sunflower Festival! It was AWESOME!! So cute! Sunflowers taller than me – rows and rows and rows of them. We took lots of photos and videos and played in the sunflower maze. It was a wonderful way to spend the day. We then jumped in the car for the long (7-1/2hrs ) drive to Mount Rushmore. We stayed in a small town about 30 minutes from the park due to the outrageous prices for hotel rooms. The drive was nothing but fields, windmills and sunflower fields. Flat. Flat. Most of the day was overcast and cool (67 degrees) but now at the end of the day the sun has come out and it has warmed to 86 degrees. Anna and I continue to enjoy one another’s company. We are good travel partners and are making the most of our time together.
Living All In 