If we learned anything at all in Sunday School, its that our Mormon ancestors had to endure all kinds of nasty stuff while crossing the plains, most of which was far more tragic than what happens to us during our daily commute downtown and back. The church is really good at commemorating such tragedies through the medium of flowers, visitor centers and statues. The site of Winter Quarters in Omaha, Nebraska is no exception. Even the cat was impressed with the beauty all around. Now that I've actually been to Winter Quarters, I better understand why the Mormons decided to spend the winter there, it's like a tropical paradise. Who'd have known that Nebraska would be the oasis between Nauvoo and Salt Lake City. Don't worry, Randy told me all about how nasty the winter really was there while he was serving his mission in Omaha. Something about ice coming directly at you in the wind. Yuck.
As I was quartering the remnants of my Diet Pepsi in the Visitors Center, I pondered the upgrade of the current facilities from those of 1846. I doubt they had 2-ply back then, not to mention touchless hand soap dispensors. I was super impressed with the giant statue of the mommy and daddy burying their little child. Look how much movement there is in the statue with the wind blowing their clothes, as they look down on the perfectly still body of their child. That is super sad stuff. I guess the wind kept on blowing for these great forefathers of ours regardless of the tragedy at hand. The Winter Quarters temple was dedicated in April of 2001, and it is right next to the cemetery where many Mormon pioneers were buried. The building sorta hides in all the trees, I love it when temples do that, you know, sorta just jump out at you from nowhere when you don't expect it.
I'm glad we took the little detour to Winter Quarters, it's great to stop and smell the roses sometimes.
If we learned anything at all in Sunday School, its that our Mormon ancestors had to endure all kinds of nasty stuff while crossing the plains, most of which was far more tragic than what happens to us during our daily commute downtown and back. The church is really good at commemorating such tragedies through the medium of flowers, visitor centers and statues. The site of Winter Quarters in Omaha, Nebraska is no exception. Even the cat was impressed with the beauty all around. Now that I've actually been to Winter Quarters, I better understand why the Mormons decided to spend the winter there, it's like a tropical paradise. Who'd have known that Nebraska would be the oasis between Nauvoo and Salt Lake City. Don't worry, Randy told me all about how nasty the winter really was there while he was serving his mission in Omaha. Something about ice coming directly at you in the wind. Yuck.
As I was quartering the remnants of my Diet Pepsi in the Visitors Center, I pondered the upgrade of the current facilities from those of 1846. I doubt they had 2-ply back then, not to mention touchless hand soap dispensors. I was super impressed with the giant statue of the mommy and daddy burying their little child. Look how much movement there is in the statue with the wind blowing their clothes, as they look down on the perfectly still body of their child. That is super sad stuff. I guess the wind kept on blowing for these great forefathers of ours regardless of the tragedy at hand. The Winter Quarters temple was dedicated in April of 2001, and it is right next to the cemetery where many Mormon pioneers were buried. The building sorta hides in all the trees, I love it when temples do that, you know, sorta just jump out at you from nowhere when you don't expect it.
I'm glad we took the little detour to Winter Quarters, it's great to stop and smell the roses sometimes.
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