Entry 5 - Rolling Waters – Palmyra Temple & Niagara Falls, New York. 10th April, 2007.

Palmyra Temple

On our way out this morning we visited the Palmyra Temple. Because we were visiting this area on a Sunday and Monday, we were unable to do a session in the Temple. We were also concerned that the gates had been shut and locked the day before, and that we would not be able to even walk around the grounds. However, this morning there were some groundsmen doing some work and they gave us permission to drive up and wander around the grounds. That was a nice turnout. From the outside we could see that most of the windows were stained glass with what appeared to be depictions of the Sacred Grove. I would have loved to see them from the inside. Oh well, that just means I will have to come back here again some day. There were also some curious external markings on the walls. Just over the entrance there appeared to be three carvings of the moon at three different phases. I know that the moon represents one of the degrees of glory, but I was curious to know what the three different phases stood for. The head groundsman said that there were many interesting symbols all around the temple, such as the two toned pavers. However, he couldn’t enlighten us on their meaning.

The rolling waters of Niagara Falls

From here we bid farewell to Palmyra and headed west to the famous Niagara Falls. The plan was to stay overnight there and view them the next morning. However, we arrived there with enough light to drive across the boarder into Canada and view them from the best side. Parking was an issue, so we were limited to the time we had. I was impressed with the fall’s, particularly with the huge blocks of ice that lay at the base of them, and the water that was pounding them. But I have to admit that I imagined them to be a lot higher and wider. If I can draw an analogy with our expedition then the image of ‘rolling waters’ in D&C 121:33 came to mind as I watched the power of the water.

The main falls

Ice Chunks at the base of the falls

Looking back across to the US side of the smaller falls.

Icicles above the falls

We decided to move on from Niagara early, as we felt we had seen all that we wanted to here. The drive from here to our next stop in Ohio was really nice. Instead of driving the freeway we took a secondary road that followed the line of Erie Lake for a time. We were amazed at the huge chunks of ice that choked the lake. Wayne wanted to walk out on it, but I didn’t want to have to call 911 for help when he fell through it.

Lake Erie chocked with ice

The other thing that struck us was that from the moment we crossed the boarder into Pennsylvania to the moment we crossed into Ohio it snowed. It got quite heavy at times and the land transformed from blotches of green and white to total white. It was beautiful. Then once over the boarder into Ohio it mysteriously stopped. So that is how we will remember Pennsylvania.

A quick stop at a roadside rest in Pensylvania resulted in the creation of this little fella. Too bad we couldn't take him with us.

Pennsylvania snow