Lilies in the Mississippi

There are acres of lilies in the river. They are all white (the ones in Guyana were both white and pink) Lilies will not grow in water that is over 18 inches deep. The river here, is more like a lake. In the 1930s a dam was built at Keokuk to create a hydroelectric power plant. The backed up water has changed the river and Nauvoo. Much of the waterfront of old Nauvoo is now under water. This picture was taken by Elder Ogden. I admired it and he said he does what his wife tells him. They make a good team.

Old buildings - Iowa

 

This is typical of what we see. The stone first floor was built in the early 1800s, the brick second floor was added later.

Turtles

 

I was very surprised to notice turtles out in the river. This log only has three but some of the logs are so full, they are on top of each other. Now I know what it means when someone says, "Don't sit there like a bump on a log." They look like bumps.

geese

 

Here are two families of Canada geese. I have been watching them and had a tough time getting good photos of them. Usually I am in the car and we are whizzing by. The goslings have gained their adult coloring. Notice the lilies growing in the river.

Nauvoo Brass Band

 

 

There are 20 young musicians from BYU who serve a three month mission here in Nauvoo. They are very good and entertain the tourists about three times a day when they are not on stage for one of the shows. This day, their wagon was parked and they were playing. The kids were marching to the music and the little girl did not miss a chance to stamp in the mud puddle as often as she could.

4th of July

 

We had a pot luck picnic on the 4th of July. All of the temple missionaries were invited to come and bring food and visit behind one of the apartment buildings. There is a lot of green space and a lot of trees. We had a great time.

 

 

There are a bunch of log cabins up on Mulholland Street. They are for rent by the night or the week. They are a change-up from a motel or hotel. On the property is one log cabin that is a museum. It is so full of stuff, that I couldn't get any good pictures. The uniform is from the Nauvoo Legion. It is not Joseph Smith's uniform. There were thousands of members of the Nauvoo Legion. Every museum has a uniform. What makes this museum fun is the variety of stuff in there. All of the walls are full of picture frams with either pictures or documents of some sort. All of the documents are copies. There is no one tending the place, so they aren't worried about theft. It was fun to inch our way through it. If you come to Nauvoo and would like to stay in a log cabin, we'll find out the price and make a reservation for you if you wish.