Winter Quarters: July 23

As we were going through Nebraska, we stopped in Winter Quarters. It was kind of cool. There was a visitor's center with all sorts of displays, as well as a cemetary for all of those who died at Winter Quarters.

The displays sort of followed the journey of the saints as they left Nauvoo, stopped at Winter Quarters, then continued on to Salt Lake. One of the first displays was a small partial model of the Nauvoo Temple.

This was a model of a map of Winter Quarters. I didn't realize how big it was or how many people actually stayed there that winter.

This was the type of house they might have stayed in at Winter Quarters. I remember reading something that said one of the pioneers was gratefull to have a house to live in after traveling so long, but the hosue was tiny! It was hard to imagine being grateful for a hosue even that small. Since we saw the houses at Nauvoo the next day, it's even more amazing.

This picture was really cool. It shows Joseph Smith, who was martyred before the Saints left Nauvoo, giving them spiritual direction, as the sign said. I don't know if you can see it, but he's gesturing towards a distant image of the Salt Lake Temple just over the edge of the hill in the background.

This was a little model of the ship the Wyoming. The Church chartered it to bring immigrants across the sea from England, and it brought thousands of converts to America.

Finally the Saints reach Salt Lake! Just like they had a small model of the Nauvoo Temple, they had a small model of the Salt Lake Temple.

We went out to the cemetary, which was really pretty.

The statue is a mother and father burying their baby. It was built over the actual grave cite of a baby who died in Winter Quarters, as well as I think seven others.

This had all the names they knew of people that died at Winter Quarters. It is a lot of names.

The Temple was right next to the cemetary. The cemetary was almost an extension of the Temple grounds, though it isn't technically part of the Temple grounds. The Temple is almost the same as the Columbia Temple, but it has one extra story.