Dinner with Old Friends




Temple Ordinance Workers from the Seattle Temple



We were surprised to find out that there were several people from the Seattle Temple serving in the Nauvoo Temple.  The McKinney's (sitting at the open ends) are from Lake Tapps and were called at the same time as we were, but they were asked to arrive in March.  On the left side, next are the Lassen's from Tacoma.  They were called on a 12 month mission. At the far end on the left are the Nelson's.  On the right is the Snelson's who live in Port Angeles.  They were called on an 18 month mission to the Washington DC Temple but due to an early closer for repairs they had the opportunity to finish their mission in Nauvoo.  We knew them the best because they served on the same Saturday shift as we did and Sister Snelson trained me to work with the living endowment sisters. The last couple on the right were friends of the Snelson's who were visiting.  They also work in the Seattle Temple.

All summer we thought we would have a chance to get together and finally our schedules all aligned  we were able to go to dinner at the Nauvoo Hotel Buffet.  We had a great time catching up on the news from Seattle.

Make new friends
But keep the old
One's like silver
And the other gold!




Then we had a fun trip to Montrose to Fat Jimmy's Smokehouse for some delicious ribs with the Snelson's.  This place is just across the river directly opposite the landing at Parley Street but since we can't fly or swim that well we drove down to Hamilton, across the bridge to Keokuk, and then north to Montrose.  You may recall that this is where the fleeing pioneers landed when they first crossed the river.  It was great fun to be able to spend the evening with them. They shared about their time in Washington DC.  Interestingly enough she also helped train me to fill my ordinance coordinator position here.  I sure hope we end up on the same shift again.





There is a dam built across the Mississippi River at Keokuk and also a set of locks to carry the barges up and down the river around the dam.  The lake formed by the dam makes the water level higher behind the dam but there is also a natural drop in the elevation due to rapids.  As we returned from Montrose we noticed that there was a tug and barge just about ready to enter the lock from upstream.  We decided to stop and watch it load and then be lowered to the level of the river below.






The Ultimate Pun:  At the end of the dock there is a gate to stop people from climbing out too close to the lock channel.  Lots of people have put a lock on the lock, many of which had messages painted or scratched on them. It was kind of like carving your initials in a tree. Some of them were quite creative like the one in the center (below) that is in the shape of a fish.  It gave me a good chuckle!





Barge being loaded into the locks

Barge fulling into the barge

Bottom lock doors being opened after water level has been lowered


Bottom doors now fully opened



Barge now moving out of the locks


Barge almost out of the locks


Shot of the push tug pushing the barge further down the river

Even small boats can use the locks


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