Palmyra and Niagara

How does one accurately describe the "feelings" felt in Palmyra? Well, I can't. We started the day with a visit to the Cumorah Hill. Miles loved seeing the mini Christus. He loved climbing up Cumorah Hill even more. Next we went to the Smith Family Farm... saw the buildings... listened to the (long-winded) tour guide...dealt with a tantruming 2 year old. Then we went in the Sacred Grove. We found a private spot and read from the Joseph Smith History as a family. We quietly walked through the grove thinking and reflecting. Even Miles was quiet. It was lovely. We visited on a clear, early spring day... just as Joseph did. The ground was muddy at times. The trees are bare. The signs of spring we just beginning to emerge. It was special. Next we walked over to the Palmyra mini-temple. Then we went to the Grandin Building and learned about the printing process in 1829 (from another long-winded tour guide... they don't know how to condense their tour into 2 year old attention span level) and what it took to get the Book of Mormon published. I loved Palmyra. I realized that not a single thing is for sale at the church sites... how many other places are there in the world that invite you to come see their special sites, invest in restoring them, give free guided tours, and then sell nothing, nor have donation boxes set out?

We finished up in Palymra mid-afternoon so we headed for Niagara Falls. The river that feeds the falls is still partially frozen and large chunks of ice sit on top of the water. The flow was impressive. I recall that when I saw the falls as a child, I could see the rocks at the bottom of the falls. Not yesterday! We saw American Falls then took a footbridge over the river to the other side of the falls where we could sort of see Horseshoe Falls. It was fun to see Canada as well.Currently I am sitting in a hotel about 10 miles outside of Kirtland, Ohio. That is where today's adventures will begin.