Nauvoo Trip: Day 3

Thursday (July 11) we toured the Lincoln state capitol and arrived just as the tour guide was starting. There was a lot of artwork on the main floor, so he explained the symbols involved. Nebraska has a unicameral, non-partisan legislature with term limits. He said, “I know what you’re all thinking: Why doesn’t my state do that?” Lincoln’s is a very tall capitol, so we took the elevator up to the 12th floor and looked at the view from there.

After a short drive we stopped at the Strategic Air Command Museum in Ashland, Nebraska. I don’t think it was even on our radar; Glenn just saw a sign for it and immediately headed toward it. It had tons of airplanes and some exhibits featuring veterans and specific battles, and it had a section on space exploration and had capsules from the Mercury and Gemini programs. The boys got to try out a helicopter cockpit.

Corin and Caelan

Then we drove through Iowa. Nebraska and Iowa are both very flat and full of corn fields. There are lots of trees, but it strange not seeing mountains or hills on the horizon, and the ground was perfectly level. I mean, they can build highways wherever they feel like it.

The front seats of the car developed a ton of water, soaking everything by my feet. It mostly got the tour books but also got a library book. It may have been caused by condensation, exacerbated by the air conditioner, but I don’t really know.

We got to Nauvoo at 8:30 or so. It was dark, and our rental house was rather isolated and up a dirt road. But we found it soon enough. Glenn’s parents rented out two houses for us to stay at: a big one and a small one. We settled in, ate some leftover pizza, and visited with the relatives who were there.

I was really looking forward to a shower, but there was no hot water in the house. At least I hadn’t taken all my clothes off before discovering that; I learned my lesson that time in Colfax.