Sunday, April 1, 2007

Travel Log Part 3: Palmyra

We pulled ourselves away from the falls and made the two hour drive to Palmyra. We were a little crunched for time but were still able to fit in all that we wanted to see.

Here we are at the Smith Family Farm, in the tiny log house that Joseph Smith shared with his large family.

The Sacred Grove. We were the only people there. It was quiet, peaceful and easy to feel the special spirit of this place.

Because of the movies and pictures, I always imagined the grove as very green and lush. I'm sure it's gorgeous in the summertime, but as I thought about it, it is currently "early in the spring" and "early in the spring" in 1820 could have looked exactly like this. Perhaps it wasn't in full bloom and green when Joseph knelt there?


We had a great tour of this historic site! It was very interesting and informative.

This is the monument of the Angel Moroni on top of the Hill Cumorah.

The Palmyra Temple. This picture was taken from the Smith Family Log Home. It's amazing to think that a temple now stands in view of the place where it all started! After we took the various tours we were shown the new Joseph Smith movie at the visitor's center. It was really great. We were the only ones in the theatre and I got my own personal box of tissue! :)


Since this was the beginning of the road trip part of our vacation, I had to get a shot of Jon driving. We have the priviledge of driving a BRIGHT blue Pontiac Vibe! When we finished in Palmyra we drove about three hours to Scranton, PA. to stay for the night. We wanted to stop in at the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin "Office" to say "hi" to Michael and the gang, but it was late and I'm sure they were all home for the day. :)

6 comments:

Granny said...

Such a wonderful experience! I think I am jealous, especially of the bright blue Vibe.

Jen Childers said...

What a fun looking trip! I want to go visit those sites again so bad. Have a great time. Scranton, PA, eh? very cool.

Granny said...

Alyssa says, "I wish my mom and dad were home. But, I'm glad they are having a good trip. It's fun to see the pictures."

jenny said...

I hope to one day go to the church history sites. Love classic Jon driving that AWESOME car. Very jealous. Did it have lots of power? :)

Do they actually film The Office there? Fun road trip.

Lucy said...

I am loving your trip! Jay and I loved visiting the church history sites six years ago. I remember thinking the same thing about the sacred grove. It was so cold and I kept singing, "oh how lovely was the morning????"

Bridget said...

I have relatives would live in Palmyra, very close to the temple, in fact, I think their property is adjacent to the temple property.

Sound like you all are having a great time!