I am sooooooo bummed!  I spent a few hours this afternoon working on the next post and then I couldn't get it to publish.  I think I put to much stuff on the post and lost it.  I tried several times to save but it's all gone so I have to start over.

I'm up to SATURDAY, the 21st.  We planned on going on the wagon ride and you have to have tickets.  It doesn't cost anything but they have tickets to know when the wagon is full and they can't take any more.  The visitors center opens at 9:00 so Jim and I went to get our tickets.  They almost didn't have enough for all of us for the 11:00 ride.  There was a group of youth that came in on Friday and they were doing baptisms at the temple Friday night.  I think 3 of the cabins where we were staying had people from that group.  They were from Kansas.
  Anyway, we got our tickets and the wagon was full.  I do not know what I was thinking but I didn't take any pictures of the horses, the wagon or anything.  BRAIN FADE!
  We had a sister missionary that gave a information of all the places we passed and one of the teamsters talked about some of the areas to.  He was the one who told us that the river wasn't as wide when the saints had to cross it as it is now.  There is a dam down river that makes it so wide now.  But a lot of is it very shallow and the barges and boats have to stay in the marked channel or they are in danger of running into a sand bog.
  After the wagon ride Amy & Brian went to a couple of the shops and Jim & I went to the Family Living Center.  It was very interesting and again, I didn't take pictures.  Saturday must have been a really off day for me.
  At the Family Living Center there are displays and demonstrations on weaving, making bread, candle making, rope making, pottery, rug making and I think a couple other things.  At the bread making demonstration they actually give you a slice of fresh bread.  The rope making is hands on and you get to take a rope home with you.  It was very fun and interesting.
  I had been asking around to find out if the was a pottery shop in the area.  A couple of old Nauvoo native ladies knew there once was and told us where to try and find it.  Before we went to lunch we tried to find it but there was no pottery place.  Instead there was a glass blower shop but it wasn't open.
  We went lunch at the Nauvoo Mill & Bakery.  I think I expected it to be a little bigger but it was simple and had pretty good sandwiches.  Amy & Brian went back to the cabin to put Sara down for a nap and we went to see if the glass blower was open yet.  He was.  He said that the potter use to be there but sold out to him and went to some other town and was doing really well.  It wasn't on our way to anywhere so didn't plan on finding him.  But the glass blower was very interesting.  He had been gone for a few months and was just opening and getting things set up.  I, of course, had to buy a few things!
  We had been seeing some trees that looked like they had lost all their bark from about the middle all the way to the top.  He had several around his place so I asked him what kind of trees they were.  He said they are sycamore trees.  There was one we saw on our way to Keokuk one day that was very interesting.  I actually took a picture of it.  Imagine that!

 

  Saturday afternoon we watched the kids so Amy & Brian could go do some site seeing alone,