Brother/Sister Road Trip Day Two: Winter Quarters

We woke up very early in the morning in Omaha in a pretty sketchy hotel. We quickly got ready, tried to eat at the hotel's continental breakfast (fail), ate at McDonald's instead, and zipped down the interstate toward Winter Quarters. It was still dark when we first arrived, and we tried to pull the car into the temple parking lot. However, we were promptly stopped by a maintenance worker who said, " 'These people' are pretty strict on who they will let in here", but offered to let us in the parking lot for $20.00. We politely declined and took some pictures from outside the gate.

 

 

The gate to the cemetery was also still closed, but we were able to walk around the perimeter of the grounds as the sun came up. The temple grounds encompassed the pioneer grave yard, and the temple itself was very small. There was no one around, and it was nice to be there and watch the sun rise on such a sacred place.

 

This is the view of the Mississippi River looking back toward Council Bluffs and Winter Quarters. I was surprised at how close the burial grounds were to the river, how hard it must have been to cross the Mississippi, and how many houses an neighborhoods had popped up on an area of history so profound to my ancestors. It was really a blessing to be there with Brandt and to think about so many of our pioneer ancestors. 

 

I thought it was pretty cool when I saw the Mississippi River for the first time. Little did I know, I would see it many many more times on this trip.