Maquoketa and Nauvoo

Maquoketa Caves State Park

We left on a Friday afternoon to drive a few hours to eastern Iowa to go camping and hiking around Maquoketa Caves State Park. We were disappointed to find all the camping sites at the State Park occupied, but made the best of it by going to the nearby Horseshoe Pond park and camped there for the night.

Horseshoe Pond

Fun Fact: We have decided we hate camping in Iowa. It never really cools down enough to actually enjoy the fire (you just roast your brats and sweat), the bugs are plentiful, and the humidity is killer. Nonetheless, we enjoyed eating camp food, chatting next to the fire, playing catch, and catching lightning bugs.

One of the better s'mores ever made...and for breakfast!

On Saturday, we drove back to the State Park and did some exploring. We were impressed! People in Iowa would probably call walking these trails hiking, but coming from the northwest, that's a little generous ;) It really was beautiful though. It was a park in Iowa that didn't look like it belonged in Iowa.

The best part about Maquoketa Caves State Park were the caves. Surprisingly, there were no tour guides or precautionary trail workers, the people at the Park were free to explore wherever and whatever they wanted. Some of the caves you simply walked through--a cool, refreshing change from the humidity and heat in the sun. Other caves were so narrow that we were actually on our stomachs sliding/army crawling through small holes that opened up into caverns. At points the cave floor was touching our stomachs while the ceiling was touching our backs! Sometimes we would be climbing through a cave for ten minutes without reaching an ending point. All of the caves were dark, muddy, and bit claustrophobic, but really cool.

This cave was the main culprit of our muddiness

We felt absolutely disgusting by the time we headed home, covered in a mixture of sweat, campfire smoke, bug bites, and cave mud.

For those visiting Iowa that aren't a fan of the forever stretching corn and soy bean fields, this is a place to see!

The Nauvoo Pageant

The weekend following our camping adventure, we spent a couple days in Nauvoo, Illinois. For those who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Nauvoo has some history for the church as early Latter-Day Saints moved there in the 1800s to escape religious persecution in Missouri. The  Saints began establishing a life there, and under the direction of Joseph Smith, built the church's first temple. Every summer, Nauvoo puts on a pageant that tells a little bit about the history of Nauvoo and the church. It is put on in a huge outdoor theater and the play goes on nearly every night during July and the beginning of August.

We had a blast spending our time with the Rhotens, one of the first families we met and became friends with in Fort Dodge. (We immediately became attached to their children.) Together, we shared a tiny little one bedroom condo in Nauvoo for the weekend.

Struggling with the selfie stick

Two of the Rhoten kids, Jordyn and Jackson!

On Friday we attended the British Pageant, which is a play that tells the story of how the people in the British Isles learned about the church and traveled to America to show their faith in God. We loved the music and dancing in this one--so catchy!

On Saturday we were blessed to have the opportunity to go to the temple for the first time this summer (having temples 4 hours away is hard). I had done baptisms in the Nauvoo temple before, but it was a great experience to do an endowment session.

Before attending the Nauvoo Pageant in the evening, we did a myriad of fun activities: rode in an oxen pulled cart, grilled/ate burgers (thanks Rhotens!), played card games, had a carrot war, learned about Nauvoo blacksmiths and brick makers, bought fudge, played field games, made crafts, and square danced.

Multitasking at its finest

Kenny and Dustan battle!

Dene' and I made headbands! 

Baby Laney Rhoten. So precious. She makes Dustan baby hungry.

The Nauvoo Pageant is the story of some of the first members of the church as they lived in Nauvoo  in the early 1800s and began to build a temple there. We loved the play, and what a phenomenal way to teach others about the church as well!

Part of the Nauvoo Pageant when they erect the temple.

Fun Fact: The Nauvoo Pageant is made possible solely by volunteers--which include over 1,000! To learn more about the Pageants and see awesome pictures, go HERE.

On Sunday, we went to church in the Muscatine, Iowa ward where the Kraus family used to live. They loved seeing us (but mostly Dustan) and did their best at convincing us to move there :)

Coming up this weekend--a trip to Seattle!!