Travel To Mission

Thursday, 29 April 2010:  So it snowed all during our late morning and afternoon training.  We viewed all the white stuff from the 20th floor and made frequent checks of Weather.com on the trusty iphone:  To drive east or To not drive east.  That was the question.  A couple of people offered their local home for us to spend the night, but it looked like the worst of the storm was sitting on SLC and predicted to move south.  We went for it!  Crazy, but blessed, as the snow got lighter as we got farther away from SLC on I-80. 

Blessed indeed!  The weather in Wyoming (and later Nebraska) was beautiful, but still more like winter than the summer heat we'd left in Las Vegas. 

After 440 miles we were ready for a cozy room at Warren AFB (where the antelope were playing the next morning). 

Friday, 30 April 2010:  Still going east on I-80, we went through Nebraska.  We called ahead to the Winter Quarters Visitors Center for basic info, and they asked where we were and if we had considered going to the Kanesville Tabernacle just across the state line into Iowa - and by the way, if we "stepped on it" we might just be able to get there before they closed for the day.  So we stepped out and arrived 30 minutes before closing (and all that without even getting a speeding ticket - or even a warning!).  The senior couple gave us a condensed, private tour inside and out.  We highly recommend this stop.  Geff checked to see if he agreed with the new First Presidency's plans for getting everyone to SLC.  It looked good.  BTW, after Brigham arrived in "The Place", he returned to Iowa where he was sustained as the second President of the Church on 27 Dec 1847 in the Kanesville Tabernacle. 

So, backtracking west across the Missouri River over "The Mormon Bridge" into Nebraska, we made it to the Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters in North Omaha.  Here they closed later, and we had time for a good tour of the Center.  Our guide, Sister Meryhew, also got out her rolling tape measure and helped us find the plot of the young Samuel Flake (Grandmommie Gibson's line) in the nearby Winter Quarters Cemetary from where we could see the stained glass window of the Winter Quarters Temple glowing in the dusk.  The Marine Corps Reserve between Omaha and Lincoln hosted us for the night.

Saturday, 1 May 2010:  South on I-29 to the Kansas City, Missouri, area.  As we drove some back roads to find Adam-ondi-Ahman, we speculated on whether the local Joe-resident would even know of some future happenings in the area..., and at what point he couldn't help but notice.  The area is well maintained and very peaceful, but you have to use your imagination a lot....   

Near Tower Hill and then down to the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman.

We drove south to Liberty Jail in hopes of finding Sister Katie Robinson, Ed and Jane's daughter, who had just been transferred from the Independence Visitor Center to ???  They told us she was actually assigned to the Jail, but that she was on a tour of local church sites with other missionaries who had been in the mission less than 6 months.  That gave us time to go on down to the Independence Visitor Center for a few hours.    

Back at Liberty Jail, we met up with Sister Katie and her tour group.  Sisters missionaries make such sweet tour guides. We took the tour of the Jail with the Sisters.  Very impressive and humbling place.

Sister Robinson and her companion, Sister Bowman.

We spent Saturday night at the USMC Heart of America Inn in Kansas City.  Nice accommodations, but it was hard to sleep without knowing where we would be going the next day.  Heavy rains from St. Louis to Nashville had caused big flooding and the closure of a big junk of I-24 - our charted course! 

Sunday, 2 May 2010:  Tempting as it was to try to follow right on the heels of the storm as it made its way northeast, we decided to play it smart and drive directly south  from Kansas City through Arkansas and Louisiana.  This meant a few extra miles, but we had excellent weather.  We stayed the night in Meridian, Mississippi, at the Meridian Naval Air Station. 

Monday, 3 May 2010:  We drove on up to the northern part of Atlanta and spent the evening in Buford, Georgia with the Prichards, the couple we were to replace in South Carolina.  They had been released for about two weeks, but they insisted on putting us up for the night, driving us to SC and getting us oriented to the Charleston area.  Quite nice of them. 

Tuesday, 4 May 2010:  Followed the Prichards from Atlanta to Columbia, SC, to the home of President and Sister Stephen McConkie.  Had lunch with them and his two assistants, then met with the president for a 20-minute interview/orientation.  The young Elders are to GROW the Church.  We are to STRENGTHEN the Church, and watch over the young military guys.  OK.  We can do that.  Followed the Pritchards on down to Goose Creek (16 miles northwest of Charleston), where we stayed the night in a furnished 2BR/2BA unit they had reserved at our new (their old) apartment complex, Coventry Green.  We will be comfortable here.