The next portion of our trip will focus on the Mormon Pioneer Trail and the history of the church. Dick and Shirlene are both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and many of their ancestors joined the church at its start, and lived the history we will be following.

We started early this morning at the Liberty Jail. Here Joseph Smith, prophet and founder of the church, and several other men were kept for six months on unfounded charges. The jail itself is very small and has been restored using the original floor and parts of the walls. The visitor's center was built around the jail. It was interesting to hear how these men were kept here while their families and followers were being persecuted and driven from their homes.

Missouri was not kind to the early members of the church. Due to cultural and religious differences, misunderstandings and distrusts because of the church's position that slavery should be discontinued, and rumors that the church was attacking the state, hostilites grew until mob violence drove the saints from several communities they had established. we visited three of these sites: Haun's Mill, Far West, and Adam-ondi-Ahman.

If you look at a map of Missouri you will see it is checkerboarded with state, county, and farming roads. We rode on many of these today, some of them more than once as we tried to find the sites. We were so impressed with the area. It is truly beautiful! The homes and farms are lovely, and from an era long ago. The streets of the small towns are tree lined, which offers welcomed shade in the summer. The recent rain had left the streets clean and the fields green, dotted with new wildflowers. These roads are a bikers dream! Relatively deserted, except for the occasional slow moving farm equipment, with enough curves to keep it interesting. The rolling hills are lush this time of year with green grass and trees. It is easy to see how the early saints loved this area.

We rode yesterday with the idea of eating at a BBQ restaurant in Liberty. We were disappointed to find what we thought was the BBQ place didn't serve BBQ! We were too late to search for another, so you can imagine how pleased we were to find a place in Bethany, on our way to Nauvoo. They weren't serving anything but sandwiches until the dinner hour, but we were able to charm the ladies into fixing us plates of ribs and brisket. It was worth the wait!

Our destination today is Nauvoo, Illinois, the city Joseph Smith and his followers built after being driven from Missouri. We have been blessed on this trip with many beautiful sights, but none can compare with what was waiting for us as we crossed the Mississippi River. As we crossed, we could see the sun starting to set in our rear view mirrors. As we rode north on the river bank, we were treated with the setting sun over the Mississippi. It was breathtaking!

We checked into Historic Nauvoo Hotel and walked over to the newly restored Nauvoo Temple. Another beautiful sight! As the saints were ultimately driven from Nauvoo, it broke their hearts to look back and see their beloved temple burning. It brought tears to our eyes when we saw the restored temple for the first time. We felt a oneness with our ancestors who had sacrificed so much to build that temple.

We look forward to exploring more of the Nauvoo area tomorrow. No long rides. It should be a special day.