The Sights and Sounds of Illinois

On our trip to Illinois, it was easy for me to see, or to envision, it as where the Garden of Eden was—well Adam Ondi Ahman is really in upper Missouri, but the landscape is so similar. There were flowers and plants there that I’d never seen or imagined before.

This picture is of a weed that grows off the side of the highway.

And now I also know what it would feel like in the jungles of Africa. The (summer) air there is so thick that it’s almost something entirely different than oxygen, and extremely difficult to breathe. And, while walking through an untouched patch of forest, the sounds were strikingly similar to my TV idea of a jungle. I half expected a boa to come and wrap itself around my leg.

We had a lot of fun just hanging out and visiting with my son’s family, but we did also venture out to see some pretty spectacular sights. We went to Nauvoo, and saw the Nauvoo pageant. They were both very interesting—and I saw one of my cousins (from Arizona) there that I haven’t seen in ages. Very interesting. It’s a small world, right?

We also went to Carthage and saw the small jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred. It’s interesting, isn’t it, how such important events always seem to happen in such insignificant places. I felt the reverence there, and know that the place where the Prophet Joseph died is hallowed not only to those in this life, but to those in the Heavens as well. This is the original door with the bullethole that went through and shot Hyrum Smith.

I hadn’t realized until I saw it, that the Mississippi River is still flooded. Yes, this is the tip of a statue near the Saint Louis Arch.

We got to go into the arch, it’s inexpensive and well worth the $10. The visitor’s center underneath the arch is full of interesting displays of American history, and also sports a few shops.

It’s an old tram that looks like an old TV version of a space capsule that takes visitors to the top viewing tower. There are eight on each side of the arch that go up every 15 minutes. Come to think of it, the people of Saint Louis shouldn’t have to pay city taxes because they make an insane amount on the Arch alone.

We went other places, too, like the Saint Louis Zoo, and to a really great park called Boo Park. It sports a castle, dragons and fun things like that for kids to play on. Now we’re back in AZ, missing our son and his family, and find change staring us in the face. We’re moving back to the big city, and are faced with the daunting task of squeezing the belongings on an acre property into a smaller home and a city lot.