The plan was to drive north in Missouri to Keokuk, cross back east over to Illinois and go up the exceptionally scenic stretch of The Great River Road to Nauvoo, but as soon as we crossed the River, there were detour signs. Probably more flooding. So we took an inland route north to Nauvoo, passing an interesting front yard with old gas tanks.
Nauvoo is where Joseph Smith and his Mormon followers fled Missouri after the governor signed an extermination order. The Mormons built the town here from 6,500 to 20,00 over a few years and ran it as a theocracy with their own courts, militia, schools, etc. Non-Mormon neighbors became incensed when disagreements had to be heard in Mormon courts where they questioned the fairness of judgments and eventually violence erupted.
There was also a schism in the LDS church beginning with Joseph Smith's adoption of polygamy and other issues. The problems escalated and Joseph Smith and his brother were jailed in a nearby Illinois town where a mob assaulted the jail and lynched them. Most of the inhabitants of Nauvoo followed Brigham Young west to Salt Lake City. The LDS church as done massive restoration and reconstruction of the historic district as it was n the 1840's. The original $1,000,000 temple was reconstructed exactly as the original in the same spot. We took a horse drawn carriage ride to get an understanding of the story and the town. We were impressed with the determination, courage and faith of the Nauvoo people.
We drove the rest of the day to northern Iowa to the Winnebago plant in Forest City to have a few things repaired. They have electrical hookups, so we stayed right there and were in line at 7am when they opened to sign up for the earliest available service. We were lucky to have them look at it the same morning and we spent the day in their comfortable waiting area, returning to the campground for the evening to await a part scheduled to arrive the next morning.
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