Mt. Rushmore

Mt. Rushmore isn't really on the way to anywhere or near anything.  So we after many years of wanting to visit, we decided that we would just have to make a point to go there, and we are SO glad that we did! 

QUICK NOTES:

When we visited: early Sept. 2017

What the weather was like: cool and clear.  Definitely jacket weather, it got chilly as the sun went down

How long we spent there: 3-4 hours

Was that long enough?  Yes.  You really need half a day to do the hiking around, visit the Sculptor's Studio and visit the gift shop (Sadly, I just found out that the Sculptor's Studio is closed until Spring 2019 for renovation.)

What was the price:  the National Park is free, but parking is $10

Where can you get more information:

• Mt. Rushmore National Memorial Official Website
• The History Channel: Mt. Rushmore

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The Black Hills of South Dakota are beautiful!  Those who lived there knew it, but very few others.  In the early 1920's, South Dakota’s state historian Doane Robinson came up with the idea to sculpt “the Needles” (several giant natural granite pillars) into the shape of historic heroes of the West. He suggested Red Cloud, a Sioux chief, as a potential subject. In August 1924, Robinson contacted Gutzon Borglum, an American sculptor of Danish descent who was then working on a carving of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Stone Mountain in Georgia.  Borglum suggested that George Washington and Abraham Lincoln would make better subjects for the carving because they would attract more interest from people from all over the country. Later, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt were added to the list. 

Why were these presidents chosen?

• George Washington, the father of the new country, because he was a leader in the American Revolution, the first president of the United States, and the man who laid the foundation of American democracy.  
• Abraham Lincoln was selected for preserving the Union during the Civil War and abolishment of slavery.  
• Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence and began America’s westward expansion by purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, which doubled the size of the country, adding all or part of 15 present-day States. 
• Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States and extremely popular in the early 20th century, linked the east and the west through the construction of the Panama Canal.  

Mount Rushmore in South Dakota’s Black Hills National Forest is now the site of the four large carved sculptures depicting the faces of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Led by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, work on the project began in 1927 and was finally completed in 1941. During that time, some 400 workers worked on the sculpture under dangerous conditions,  a total of 450,000 tons of rock was removed in order to create the enormous carved heads, each of which reach a height of 60 feet (18 meters). In sculptor Gutzon Borglum’s original design, the four presidents were meant to be represented from the waist up, but the project ran out of money and  stopped the carving after completing only their faces. Doane Robinson got his wish and Mt. Rushmore attracts about 2 million visitors every year, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in America.

Fun Facts About Mount Rushmore:
From this site

• Thomas Jefferson was originally started on George Washington's right. However, after 18 months they realized that it was not working. Jefferson's face was dynamited off and carved on the other side.
• It took 14 years to complete Mount Rushmore.
• No one died while building Mount Rushmore.
• The sculpture cost $989,992.32 to build.
• There is a cave behind the carving called the "Hall of Records." It was intended to house the story of Mount Rushmore but was never completed due to lack of funding.
• George Washington's face is 60 feet long.
• 90% of the heads were carved with dynamite
• You can visit the Avenue of Flags at Mount Rushmore representing the 50 states, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. 
• Borglum was often away during the sculpting of Mount Rushmore. While it was being completed, he also made a sculpture of Thomas Paine for Paris and Woodrow Wilson for Poland. His son supervised the work on the mountain during his absence. 

Clowards Untethered Notes:

• Our favorite part was visiting the Sculptor's Studio.  There you find the original replica that was used to make measurements during the carving.  It's 1/12 the size of what was sculpted on the mountain.

• If you can time it right, try to listen to a Ranger's program.  The Rangers are extremely knowledgeable and can explain how the sculpture was made and answer any questions you have.

• While you're there hiking around, try to find where we took this picture...

5 Lessons We've Learned in Two Months of Travel

Today is November 7, 2017.  We left Utah on Thurs. Aug. 31 and have been on the road for 68 days - 2 months and a week.  Wow!  It's flown!  But at the same time, we've seen so many things and been so many places that I feel like I've lived several life times!

We've gone around 8,800 miles and have driven through 24 states!

Here are some of the things we've learned along the way:

#1 - Canvas tents don't like humidity and condensation

During our first month on the road we were taking our time getting from Utah to the East Coast.  We planned to visit family along the way and camp a lot.  We bought a wonderful spring-bar style, 10 man canvas tent.  It was easy to put up and easy to take down.  It fit the 6 of us perfectly and we loved camping.  Then we got to Ohio.  Our first night in Ohio was clear and beautiful.  We woke up
the next morning and our tent was soaked!  Had it rained in the night, I wondered?  Nope.  The canvas tent had just absorbed humidity and condensation from the air.  We were still cozy and dry inside, but the canvas was soaked!  It took direct sunlight until 2:00 in the afternoon for it to dry out enough for us to pack.

Our goal with camping was to have an inexpensive way to sleep and then get up early the next day, pack out and get back on the road.  A tent that takes more than half the day to dry wasn't going to let that happen because if you know anything about canvas tents, you know that they have to be completely dry or they mildew when you pack them.

After only 3 nights of camping, we had to quit.  We were only moving into more humid areas and we didn't have time to let our tent dry out.  Bummer!  We adjusted and stayed in hotels instead.  But we're still packing around a tent, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows and air mattresses that we don't use any more.

#2 - States in the Northeast have toll roads

We started hitting toll roads around Pennsylvania.  Almost every interstate
freeway is a toll road in the northeast.  No biggie, a dollar or two here and there wasn't bad and it keeps the roads in good condition.  But after a few weeks of slowing down and paying our toll at a toll booth, we realized that an EZ Pass would have been much easier.

I was introduced to EZ Passes when my sister moved to Cambridge, MA.  She has one and can zip right through toll areas and she's billed for the toll.  So I  knew that an EZ Pass would help us in Massachusetts.  What I didn't know was that all of the states use EZ Pass.  If we'd bought the EZ Pass before we left, it would have saved us quite a bit of time stopping and paying cash at the toll booths.

You can use the EZ Pass in all of the following states: Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.

Here is their website if you want to check it out before traveling in the Northeast.  EZ Pass

What was the most expensive toll we've paid so far?  The New Jersey Turnpike.  We drove on it for about 2 hours from New York City to the Pennsylvania state line near Philadelphia.  It cost us $29.45!!!

#3 - Ranger Presentations in National Parks are the Bomb!

If you can time it right, try to listen to presentations by the park rangers in National Parks.  We were able to do that twice, at Mt. Rushmore and at the Wright Brothers in Kitty Hawk, NC, and it made all the difference in what we experienced at the National Parks.

It's one thing to briefly read the brochure and look at a monument, but when someone tells you a story of what happened there and why it's important to them and to America, it's amazing!  You get all kinds of details that you'd never get in a brochure and the rangers LOVE what they do and are excited to share it with others.

At Mt. Rushmore we heard the ranger in the Sculptor's Studio and learned so much about how the presidents were sculpted.  She explained things I never would have understood if I'd just been looking about the museum and trying to figure it out myself.

In Kitty Hawk, the ranger did an inspiring 40 minute presentation on why what the Wright Brothers did there changed the world forever.  He passionately reviewed what happened there on that momentous day of the first flight and told us that that day represents the death of impossibility.  Nothing would ever truly be seen as impossible again because man had learned to fly that day.  I'll never look at the Wright Brothers the same again.

Without the rangers our experiences would not have been the same.  We will always try to attend ranger presentations from now on.

#4 - Hotels often have rooms that will sleep 6 people if you look for them

Once we had to give up camping and stay in hotels we were trying to do it as inexpensively and conveniently as possible.   With 6 people we don't fit in a regular room with 2 beds.  So we would get 2 rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls.  Occasionally we would happen up on a room that would sleep all of us.  We finally realized that there were plenty of rooms for 6 if we looked hard enough.  Usually it was a suite with 2 beds and a sleeper sofa.  Not ideal, but for one night, totally doable.

Most of the large chains have the family suite rooms.  We would typically pay $70-$80 a night each for 2 rooms.  But once we started looking for suites, we could find them and sleep all 6 of us in the same room for around $120-$130.    Not a huge savings, but a savings.  And it was much more convenient to all be in the same room instead of having to go back and forth multiple times at night and in the morning when you realize that the toothpaste is in one room and your tooth brush is in the other.

#5 - I really do LOVE the ocean

After spending some time near the ocean, I have realized that I do really love the ocean as much as I thought I would.  I've never spent a lot of time there and thought that after a while I would get used to it or even get tired of it.  But neither has happened for me.  Hearing the waves and seeing the endless stretch of water still makes my heart happy and is every bit as healing and grounding for me as it was the first time.  I really need an ocean in my life for the rest of my life!

***Bonus lesson - Bug spray gets permanent marker out of clothes

With a 9 year old boy, you don't even need to ask why I know this!  But yes, it really does work.  Spray the bug spray all over the Sharpie mark and blot the Sharpie right out of the cloth with a paper towel.  Then wash like normal.   Abracadabra!  Good as new!

LDS Church History Tour

We couldn't travel across the country without stopping at LDS church history sites along the way.  Ideally you would do the trip from east to west because the church started in New York and as it grew, they moved further west eventually ending up in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah.  But we were driving west to east, so we did the trip backwards.  For timeline chronology, I will share our stops with you from east to west.

Birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith - Sharon Vermont
(here is the link to the official site)

We drove up to the birthplace of the prophet Joseph Smith on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  It was a short drive from where we were staying in Killington, VT.  It was a beautiful drive in the early fall.  The leaves were just starting to think about changing colors.

The site is beautifully landscaped and a visitor's center gives you an opportunity to find out more about the Smith Family and the prophet.  The monument is a beautiful smooth polished obelisk shaft that is 38 1/2 feet tall, one foot for each year of the Prophet's life.




Palmyra New York


During our visit to Palmyra New York we saw the Smith Family Farm, the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah.  Upstate New York is beautiful!  The Palmyra temple is also in the same area.  The temple is stunning and has stained glass windows of the Sacred Grove all around the outside.   It was a sunny, warm Sunday and after attending church in one of the wards in the Palmyra Stake, we toured the sites.

Smith Family Farm
(here is the link to the official site)

 The Smith Family Farm is, of course, right next to the Sacred Grove.  In his early teen years, Joseph Smith lived in this home with his family.  A religious revival was taking place in that part of the country and he was confused over which church to join.  He read in his Bible, in James 1:5 - "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God."  He decided that the only answer he could get would be from God.  So one morning he went out into the woods near his home to pray.  The answer he got changed the world when he saw God, the Father, and Jesus Christ and they told him not to join any of the churches but that through him they would restore the true church of Jesus Christ back to the earth.  (you can read the full account in his own words here or watch a quick video about it here)

The Smith farm consists of two homes and several out buildings that have been restored as they would have been in Joseph Smith's time.  We loved seeing how they lived in the 1800's and we loved hearing the stories the missionaries told us about the events that happened there.

The Sacred Grove 
(here is the link to the official site)

The Sacred Grove is a beautiful piece of forest that has been left untouched other than the addition of walking trails, rest rooms and benches.  We walked in expecting to walk TO something, but finally realized that the entire grove was where we were going.  There wasn't a place to get to.  The trails lead all over the grove and allow for a peaceful, contemplative walk through and around the woods where Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Hill Cumorah
(here is the link to the official site)

The Hill Cumorah is about 5 miles up the road from the Smith Family farm and Sacred Grove.  There is a beautiful visitor's center there with videos to watch about the area and missionaries on hand to answer any questions.  The monument to the Angel Moroni giving the plates of gold to Joseph Smith is at the top of the hill and can be driven to or walked to.  We opted to drive up because it was late in the day and we were tired.  We love this area of New York and could have sat in the peaceful forest for hours.

Kirtland Ohio
(here is the link to the official site)

You want to start your journey through old Kirtland at the visitor's center.  They have a film to watch about what happened in the church during the years the church was headquartered in Kirtland Ohio.  The grounds now include the Newel K. and Elizabeth Ann Whitney Home, the Newel K. Whitney Store, the John Johnson house, a saw mill and several other period homes that have been restored.  We took a great tour with fabulous missionaries telling us stores as we went.  Most of the Whitney Store is original!

Up the hill from the visitor's center is the Kirtland Temple, the first temple built in this dispensation.  It is currently owned by the Community of Christ church and after watching a short video on the history of the area, we were taken on a tour of the interior of the Kirtland temple.  It has been fully restored and is so much bigger than I thought it would be!  We were able to sit in the main chapel and sing "The Spirit of God", the song that was sung at the temple's dedication in 1836.  That was one of the coolest things I've ever done!


Independence Missouri (we visited here in May 2017)
(here is the link to the official site)

Independence Missouri was the headquarters of the church for a short time and has been revealed to be the place where Zion - The New Jerusalem will be built when Christ returns to earth.  The dedicated temple site is a grassy field near the visitor's center.



Adam-ondi-ahman - Missouri
(here is the link to the official site)

Adam-ondi-ahman is a beautiful piece of land in northern Missouri.  It as been revealed that this is the place that Adam blessed his righteous posterity before his death.  The acres and acres of land are farmed and beautifully landscaped.  It is very peaceful there.  Our friends, Kathy & LaMar Losee, from Payson are missionaries there.  We loved meeting up with them and having them show us around their mission.




Carthage Jail - Carthage Illinois
(here is the link to the official site)

Carthage Jail is in the middle of the bustling town of Carthage Illinois about 20 miles from Nauvoo.  It was here that the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred by a mob.  Every time I'm there I'm surprised that life can go on like normal in the town where the prophet was killed.  I don't know what I expect, exactly, but I just feel a little surprised every time.  There is a very special spirit on the grounds of the jail that can be felt walking around and touring the jail.

Nauvoo Illinois
(here is the link to the official site)

Nauvoo was headquarters of the church and home of the members for several years.  They built a beautiful, thriving community out of swamp land on the banks of the Mississippi River.  Most of the old town has been restored as it was in the 1800's.  The modern part of the town is up on the hill behind the temple.  There are many homes and shops you can visit in the old town.   Start out at the visitor's center and go from there.  There is a Family Resource Center that teaches about rope making, baking, weaving, coopering and several other every day activities in the life of a pioneer.

Our favorite shops to visit were the bakery where we got a gingerbread cookie, the brick yard where we got a Nauvoo brick, the blacksmith shop where we got a "diamond ring".  We also visited the Browning gun shop, Red Brick Store and Smith family cemetery.

We love Nauvoo!  We could spend a week there, but sadly we only had a day.  We also walked down Parley Street to the Mississippi River where the members of the church crossed into Iowa to get away from the mobs and persecution.  This is the closest you can get to the Mississippi River in town.  You can walk right up to it and stick your feet in.  But don't stick your feet in!  I did and got "swimmer's itch" also known as duck mites and wanted to claw all of the skin off my legs for the next week!  So whatever you do - DON'T stick your feet in the Mississippi River!   

Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters - Omaha Nebraska
(here is the link to the official site)

Going to Winter Quarters Nebraska was a little bit out of our way, but we were excited to see the Trail Center as well and the temple there.  It was well worth our time!  The Trail Center is very informative and is right across the street from the temple and the old pioneer cemetery.  We loved the spirit of the area and loved the stories the missionaries told us about the people who wintered over there on their way to the Salt Lake Valley.

All of the visitor's centers are fabulous.  Most have a 20-30 minute, very well done, video that we watched about what happened in that area and why it's important.  They are also staffed with missionaries there to tell us stories, take us on tours and answer any questions we had.  Several even have hands on activities to make the learning fun for kids.  I love that the church has preserved all of these sacred spots and that we can visit them now to deepen our understanding of what they early members of the church endured so that we can have what we have today.  I love this quote from Maureen O'Hara:

"My heritage has been my grounding, and it has brought me peace."

We truly found our heritage and felt it's peace as we visited these sites.  We also had some very special experiences.  Afton told me one day as we neared the end of our church history visits, "I think the most important thing I've learned as we've visited all of these spots is what the Spirit feels like."    That is a happy mom moment! 

We didn't get to all of the historic sites.  Some were just a little too far out of our way.  And for some, there just wan't enough time.  The places we didn't get to visit will have to be saved for another trip.
They are:

Far West - Missouri
Liberty Jail Historic Site - Liberty, Missouri
Book of Mormon Publication Site: Grandin Building - Palmyra, New York
Peter Whitmer Log Home - Waterloo, New York
Priesthood Restoration Site - Oakland Twp (Susquehanna), Pennsylvania

Why we visit temples as we travel

In April 2009, Elder Gary E. Stevenson gave a talk about the temple that reached me to my very core.  You can find the full talk here.  He said,

"You are never lost when you can see the temple. The temple will provide direction for you and your family in a world filled with chaos. It is an eternal guidepost which will help you from getting lost in the “mist of darkness.” It is the house of the Lord.  It is a place where covenants are made and eternal ordinances are performed.

The First Presidency has invited 'adult members to have a current temple recommend and visit the temple more often' where time and circumstance permit... They also encouraged 'newer members and youth of the Church who are 12 years of age and older to live worthy to assist in this great work by serving as proxies for baptisms and confirmations.' Even our young children have been encouraged to visit the temple grounds and touch the temple. President Thomas S. Monson once counseled, 'As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us.'”

I immediately knew that we needed to make it a priority for our entire family, not just those over 12, to visit the temples.  We made a goal that before the end of the year we would visit all of our local temples in Utah to walk the grounds, read something about them and touch the temples.  It made a great Sunday afternoon activity for our closest temples.  As the year progressed we had other activities further out of town and made visiting the temples in those parts of the state a priority.   We reached our goal and by the end of 2009 had visited every temple in Utah other than the St. George and Monticello temples.

That year set a habit in our lives of visiting temples.   After that, whenever we travel, we go out of our way if necessary to see the temples in that region.

As of today, October 19, 2017, our family has visited 36 of the 81 temples in the US. 

We LOVE visiting temples.  We see the temple and feel it's spirit.  We are truly never lost when we can see the temple!

Why do we build temples?

Ogden Utah temple

St. George Utah temple

Nauvoo Illinois temple

Palmyra New York temple

Ft. Collins Colorado temple

Kansas City Missouri temple

Raleigh North Carolina temple

Washington DC temple

Louisville Kentucky temple

Nashville Tennessee temple

St. Louis Missouri temple

Denver Colorado temple

Spring Break trip NM & AZ

I grew up in the Southwest and had never been to see the sites!  For spring break in 2014 we took a trip to check it all out!  We spent 6 days doing a loop from our home in Utah, down through Arizona, across to New Mexico and then back to Utah through Colorado.  It was amazing!

Itinerary:

Day 1 - leave home and spend the night in Cedar City

Day 2 - St. George, Zion National Park & the Grand Canyon

Day 3 - Snowflake AZ & the Petrified Forest

Day 4 - Aztec Ruins National Monument

Day 5 - Mesa Verde & the Anasazi Heritage Center

Day 6 - Arches National Park & then back home

Zion National Park is beautiful!  We love driving through.  There are so many things to do in Zion NP like hikes and playing in the river.  My boys have had scout camp outs there and had a blast!   But this trip we only had time to drive though.















In St. George we stopped to see the temple.  The weather was beautiful in March and we loved walking around the grounds and visiting the Visitor's Center.

The Grand Canyon is quite a ways off the beaten path.  It's not really on your way to... anywhere!  Because of that, we'd never been to the Grand Canyon before.  We decided that if we were ever going to get there, we'd just have to make a point to get there!  It was amazing!  We only had a few hours to spend there and wished that we'd had a few days.  We drove through and got out to look a few times but weren't able to do any of the hiking that the Grand Canyon is famous for.

We took a short detour to stop by the Snowflake AZ temple.  It sits atop a hill and over looks the whole valley.  My great grandparents are buried in the cemetery in Snowflake so we enjoyed visiting the area where my grandpa grew up.

We loved our time in the Petrified Forest National Park!  It is a small space COVERED in huge pieces of petrified wood.  Petrified wood is ancient trees that have completely transitioned into stone.









Often on this trip the kids would ask, "where are we?"  And I would answer, "The middle of no where!"  Here's a picture of "the middle of no where!"

I grew up in the small town in northwestern New Mexico of Aztec.  Aztec got it's name from the ancient ruins that are there.  When they were first discovered, they were thought to be Aztec Indian ruins.  Later it was realized that they were actually Anasazi Indian ruins, but the town's name stuck.  The Aztec Ruins National Monument is a well kept secret.  The ruins are amazing and there is a fully reconstructed Great Kiva.  If you're ever in the area, this is not to be missed!

Mesa Verde National Park in in southwest Colorado.  We had never been to Mesa Verde before and once we got there, we wished we had gone years earlier!  Mesa Verde has nearly 5,000 known archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.  The most famous is the Spruce Tree House and we loved being able to walk right up to it and in and around it.

 Close to Mesa Verde in nearby Cortez CO is the Anasazi Heritage Center.  It brought all of the things we had seen in the ruins to life as we saw how the ancient Americans really lived.  We were able to weave cloth on a loom and grind corn with grinding stones.  We were also able to see what their villages and home would have looked like.  Well worth the few hours we were able to spend there.

Back in Utah, we stopped at the Monticello temple and walked around the grounds.

Arches National Park was our final stop on our spring break trip.  I think Arches is by far our favorite national park to go to and play.  There are dozens of hikes and dozens of arches to see.  We have only taken short hikes when we have been there, but there are hikes of all distances from beginner to advanced.  Our favorite is Sand Dune Arch.  It is a very short hike inside the rocks and it opens up to a huge sand pit.  My kids could stay and play in there all day!  Even on hot days, the sand is shaded and much cooler than the outside temperature.  The little ones sit down and play in the sand while the older kids hike further in and explore more arches.  We can't wait to get back to Arches NP!