48stateroadtrip.com

Wendesday, Telkontar and I went out to Nauvoo, Ill. If the name’s not familiar, then you’re probably not Mormon. (You can check out Nauvoo Mormon history separately if you want or here’s the two-sentence version:

Nauvoo is a city on the Mississippi River in Illinois to which the Mormon church relocated in 1839 after the state of Missouri legalized exterminating them. After eight years, mobs forced the Mormons to leave Illinois for, well, Mexico (present-day Utah), leaving behind a bunch of pretty cool old brick buildings and the sites of some key events in the church’s history, some of which have since been re-acquired and restored.)

Anyway: I gotta figure out how to take better architectural photos. Maybe next trip.

Seventies Hall, grass, fence. Back in the 1840s, there would’ve been a bunch of out-buildings on the grass.

My great-great-great-grandfather’s porch. And house.

My bro and I posing in front of our own grandpa, who started the restoration of Nauvoo back in 1960 (or so) and ran it for a couple of decades. Our great-great-great grandpa is in the portrait in the room behind us.

The re-built Nauvoo Temple.

Joseph and Hyrum Smith ridin’ home with the temple tower straight ahead.

Same statue, other direction.

Illinois sky, ground.

It was a fun trip. My bro drove the whole way, which was a very welcome change. The missionaries in the homes seemed like they all had just gotten yelled at by the mission president that morning. I figure someone spouted space doctrine to a local journalist or something. It was kind of weird. Made a rope, though, which was cool. Got another prairie ring. They always seem like a good idea until you realize they don’t really fit. Oh well. Also got to introduce someone to the paradox of choice, which may or may not have been appreciated.

Nauvoo is my favorite part of the church’s history. It’s the time in church history that I best identify with — “we’re sick of getting treated like crap, so we’re going to do something about it — we don’t need you”. I kind of wish more (any?) of that spirit showed up at church on Sundays.

I also get a little choked up at seeing a portrait of my grandpa in a place that doesn’t belong to one of my relatives. And one day I’d like to claim my 1/24th of that house.

bkd

I’m catching up. Oh yes, I’m catching up. Went to Chicago (all things go, all things go, I know) to meet up with my buddy Dayn Perry and check out burger #18. Was in Chicago sort of recently, so I didn’t make much of a day of it. And I only took my cell phone cam.

Here’s a picture I took with my phone from the train:

Taking photos in trains always makes me feel like I’m part of a Journey video — although I suppose that’s a bus rather than a train. Tja.

Yep, it’s a large city at sunset alright.

There should be a chili restaurant inside.

Those last two photos were not taken from the train. Ended up at Poag Mahones, the only Irish pub I’ve ever seen that closes before, I dunno, 2 AM? They were kicking us out at 8:30. Here’s the burger.

Pretty standard.

Regarding the burger:

• It was straightforward.
• It was good.
• Any burger place that will allow you to order medium-rare is good, IMHO.
• It wasn’t spectacular.

I sort of wish the GQ list had more gimmick burgers on it. So many of them are just plain, straight-up burgers and therefore hard to differentiate. #18? Eh, sure, why not? Seemed like a nice enough bar/restaurant, didn’t think it was cool to get kicked out at 8-fetchin’-30.

• This was the seventh I’ve eaten so far out of the 20.
• Stay tuned to hear about the eighth, which has (in the actual now) been eaten and digested.

Always cool to hang out with old friends, btw. I’m always sort of surprised how well I always still get along with people I haven’t seen in a long, long time.

bkd

Arguably the most stirring photo to date:

No electrons were harmed in the uploading of this photo.

One particularly good thing about last week is that I got everything done that I needed to get done.

bkd

Spent most of Day 60 working on my grad school apps (and Days 61 and 62 — so you know what you got to look forward to!). Eventually, though, at my nephew’s insistance, went to Cabela’s with my brother and his two kids. My and his wife have trained the kids to believe that Cabela’s is a museum — handy, since it’s only 15 minutes away from the house (Chicago’s real museums are 90 minutes or so away and, IIRC, charge admission).

I was going to go with “joy” initially, then changed to “dark underbelly”. I suppose “reality” would have also worked, but it sounds less inflammatory.

And when you shoot the snake, it hisses at you.

My niece and nephew both like the stuffed animals best — well, not “stuffed animals”, animals that were shot, then stuffed by a taxidermist. That kind.

bkd

Right, night-time, on-freeway going 75 photograph:

So I took a make-up photo day before yesterday. It’s a little more legible.

I ended up staying in Illinois till yesterday (Friday). I am, as you may thereby deduce, way behind on postings.

bkd