Entry 2 - Let It Snow!! – Susquehanna River, Harmony, New York 7th April, 2007

Dawn over New York City

After an all-night flight with little sleep we were greeted with the sunrise over New York City. Our adventure had really begun. The time had come for us to embark on the highlight of our trip here to the US. We wearily disembarked from our flight from Salt Lake City at Newark Airport at 6am on Saturday 7th April, 2007. We were due to meet up with the motor home shuttle bus, just 2 miles away, at 8am. That seemed a fair ask and easy enough to achieve. However, after a problem with the luggage belt and a mix-up with the mode of transport to get us to the pick-up point, we didn’t make it till well after 8. I had grave fears that the shuttle bus would not be there and we would be forced to transport all six of us, some two hours away, by taxi (at our own cost).

We were blessed to find the driver still there and eager to get on his way. He was a real New Yorker. He kept us awake with his constant chatter about the political, social and spiritual welfare of his beloved country. I enjoyed his observations and chitchat (in his New York accent)– especially his memories of 9/11. We drove through some beautiful country that would have been even more beautiful if it had been autumn. I could only imagine what the colours would be like. Winter sits late over here and there is yet to be any spring budding happening, so we have to be satisfied with just imagining how it would look with foliage.

Our 'Covered Wagon'

We began our RV experience with much trepidation. The van was not as big as we expected (after everyone’s fears of how big it would be), but it was still big and the reality hit that this would not be as easy as expected. As a nervous passenger, I was initially sceptic as to whether we could pull this off for the next 13 days. It seemed so wide and on the smaller roads it didn’t logically appear to fit with other traffic going the other way. But as ever, I am the pessimist, and have to admit now that it will be fine. The roads over here are mostly wide and quite accessable.
The one reality that did hit early on was that it was going to take us longer to get to places than we thought. So we are going to have to adjust our thinking on how things will flow and attempt to make up time along the way by cutting some sites shorter.

Jordan discovers just how cold it is in New York State this time of year.

The other reality that hit from the moment we disembarked from the plane was just how cold it is here. Within an hour of driving away from the Motorhome base, much to the delight of the children, it began to snow. As we drove through the countryside the rock faces were caked in icicles giving it a mystical appearance. The rivers we crossed were a cold steel grey and the sky was shrouded in heavy snow clouds. It was starkly beautiful.

We all eagerly anticipated the viewing of the Susquehanna River, as this would be our first connection with the history of the Church. As we came around a bend and descended into a beautiful valley we saw such quaint New England type houses and a characteristic church steeple all hugging the banks of a large river – The Susquehanna River. We turned off the main highway and navigated through this small town. Following a winding country road we again noted the cold steel grey river rushing along with us.

Even though Harmony is no longer evident on the map, we soon located the historic markers along the road and took our first steps on this long awaited journey of discovery. The Susquehanna River is the site of the Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, the Melchizedek Priesthood and where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the blessings of baptism. It is also the site where Joseph and Emma’s first precious child was buried. We braved the cold and searched the path along the river to determine where the sacred ordinances would have possibly been performed.

The Susquehanna River

Dallan discovers the monument to the Restoration of the Priesthood

Is it getting colder?

In memory of Joseph & Emma's first child

With little sleep and further to drive than we had anticipated, it was a long day. However, we had been encouraged by our find along the river and pushed on. We eventually pulled over at a roadside station at around 11pm and made ready for the night. We were still short of our original destination and knew that it would have to be an early morning if we were to make it to 9am church in the morning in Palmyra. We were tired, but well edified after the day’s journey.