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Busy, busy, busy...these last couple of weeks have been filled with stuff to do to get ready to leave.  So much to do before we depart and the fact that I'm getting "trunkier" every day isn't helping.  But, I will try to catch things up a bit.

Last Sunday we were invited over to President and Sister McArthur's house for a sort of "last dinner" before we go.  It was a very nice dinner something like a Thanksgiving dinner or, I guess, a pre-Thanksgiving dinner.  Very nice dinner.  

President and Sister McArthur

Later on President and Sister Hansen, the 2nd Counselor, showed up and we had a fun conversation for a little while.

President/Sister McArthur and us together.

On Tuesday we had the opportunity to go on a site tour with Cal Christensen to the "Mounds" in the area.  The mounds are burial sites for indigenous tribes members in the area.  It's where they buried their dead and performed ceremonies of various types.  There are mounds all over the place in this area.  Literally, thousands of mounds.  We visited a few of them.

Brother Christensen starts discussing the mounds and what they mean to us as members of the church.  He handed us a pamphlet that describes the whole area around Nauvoo and the role the Book of Mormon played in this area.  

Not too far from Bro Christensen's house is the Curlee's property.  They have 20 acres that they have preserved due to the nature of what resides on the property.  The upper end of the property has the remnants of a Nephi defensive fort on it.  He explained the way the fort was laid out and arranged.  

This is a picture posted on the site that approximates what the fort would have looked like when it was originally erected in the area.

A replica of a hut on the top of the fort.

A little farther up the road there are several mounds with an explanation.   

Best shot I could get.

Driving around, listening to Bro Christensen is a real treat.

Over on the Ft Madison side of the Mississippi we visited the Little Mound Cemetery.  This is an interesting site.  You hafta realize that this place is absolutely flat and this mound is, well, huge!

You can see how high the mound is.

Other side.

This is taken from the very top of the mound so you can see how flat the surround area is and how high this particular mound is.  Bro Christensen said that this mound dates back to around 400-0 BC or thereabouts.  

We then moved over to the site of Zarahemla and the temple site there.  The wooden post are the approximate cornerstones of the temple location. 

The other direction of the temple site site.  The temple is large.  You can see more post in this field.  

Standing next to the wooden posts in the field and turning due East, looking across the Mississippi, what do you see through the weeds but, you guessed it, the Nauvoo temple!  According to scriptures, there were two temples in Zarahemla, directly across from each other, one on each side of the River Sidon.  One on the West side and one on the East side.  The East one has been rebuilt.  The West one needs to be rebuilt and is yet to be.  Bro Christensen pointed out that the current Nauvoo temple is the third time that temple has been built on the site.  The property is owned by an organization that will eventually do extensive archeological research in the area.  It's not really open for access but Bro Christensen has permission to take tours through the area.  But, think about it, walking in the area that many of the prophets once walked, as well as the prophet Joseph Smith.  What an experience!

Back in Nauvoo, there is a cobbler's house that once belonged to Daniel Butler.  Wonder if this is any relation to Bro Butler in the Pleasant Valley Ward?

Well, we are getting very close to the end.  We only have a few work days left then we are taking off to visit a few temples before we start the trip home.  Our countdown calendar is almost out of days...our last day is Saturday and we should get our release paper that day or before.  'Course, we're running out of time, aren't we?  But, something will need to be done here pretty soon, won't it?