Gracie Enjoys More of Illniois

This is a state of sights to see as well as a state of a joyful reunion.

The message on every Illinois license plate reminds Gracie that she is in the Land of Lincoln. They are rightfully proud of the largely self-educated 16th President of the United States who led the country through its bloodiest war, reunited the union, and orchestrated the abolition of slavery.  Small surprise that many historians consider him one of the greatest presidents this county has ever seen.

Mural by R. G. Larsen with permission by the Dickson Indian Mound Museum.
Illinois about 16,000 years ago during the last major glaciation period.

Gracie decides to revisit The Dickson Mound State Park - as it is a truly remarkable museum.  She enters and begins an extraordinary journey into the past of a unique, ancient, ice age people which inhabited the Illinois River valley. Gracie is a proponent of glaciation and finds their survival fascinating.  She begins by taking an elevator to the roof to look out over the beautiful landscape. She then descends through the exhibits of  pottery, cooking, and agriculture; continuing until she reaches the area set aside for spirituality. “Reflections on Three Worlds reveals the world of Mississippian people whose 800-year-old sites surround the museum today.”* This award winning exhibition depicts the complex life and culture of these people. The entire museum is informative and uplifting, and is laid out in a way that contributes immensely to the experience.  Gracie thinks this museum is a crown jewel for Illinois’ state museums, well worth more than one visit in a lifetime.

Gracie's trip to Illinois also gives her an opportunity to visit some friends who moved from Gracie’s town.  They are the first of quite a few friends who now live along Gracie’s route and have kindly offered food and lodging as she winds her way across the country.

It is such fun to enjoy their beautiful home and spend time in their happy family circle.  One of the children just blossomed with the move.  She was so shy when Gracie first met her, she would barely speak to Gracie. Now she talks incessantly and invites Gracie into her room to meet her dolls and stuffed animals.  What a turnaround! The other children are also thriving.  Gracie appreciates the noisy taco dinner with all the chaos a family provides. Chaos is always more enjoyable when someone else is in charge.

The next day, Gracie heads to a mechanic to resolve an issue with her car.  She is concerned going over many of  the 2,200+ reasons an engine light can go on.  She is happy to discover that the light only appeared because the gas cap wasn’t securely tightened.  She knew about this car quirk, but had forgotten that soothing bit of information. “Look on the bright side,” Gracie lectures herself, for she is also aware that negative thinking is a destructive habit of hers.  It's paradoxical that we forget what we know, but knowledge is what makes forgetting possible. 

A gift from a fine young man from his visit to Nauvoo

Encouraged by one of her hosts' children, Gracie decides to visit Nauvoo, an historic site which has great significance for Latter-Day Saints. The years between 1837 through 1846 were tumultuous for the Saints who exited Ohio moving westward into Illinois because of persecution. In 1840, the Saints bought the small community of Commerce, IL, and renamed it Nauvoo meaning “beautiful city.” The town's population grew to 12,000 in a less than five years - rivaling Chicago in size. With their own militia the surrounding areas begin to fear that a voting block may come from the expanding group.  This makes Gracie chuckle as she know quite a few Mormons and they run the gamut of conservative to liberal on any given subject. Unfortunately, the Saints were forced to abandon Nauvoo following the murder of their first prophet, Joseph Smith. Today, Nauvoo's predominately Roman Catholic population stands at 1,100.

After her visit to Nauvoo, Gracie must move on, so she says good-bye to her friends and to Illinois.

*Dickson Indian Mounds web site

Copyright © 2015 Martina Sabo