Sacred Ground

Total for this ride: 34.4 miles
Total for this year: 2192.9 miles

It was cold today.  And windy.  Temps when I left the house were in the high 30's, and never got any better.  Winds were out of the east (unusual...) at 12.  So yes, it was cold.  But still no snow (or salt...), so I decided to layer up and hit the road.  I'm glad I did.

The plan was to ride in a big rectangle from Victor up to Rt 31, then east to Palmyra, south to Manchester, and west back to Victor.  The route would take me past some of the most sacred sites in the Mormon Church.

My first stop was the Joseph Smith Farm and Sacred Grove.  I've been near this site several times, but had never made an effort to see the farm.  In fact I hadn't planned to stop there today, but I saw a sign on Rt 21, and wasn't in any hurry, so I decided to make a little detour to see it.  I don't know if it's closed on Sunday (which would be kinda weird) but nobody was there when I pulled into the parking lot.  Fortunately I was still able to ride up to Smith's log house, where the Angel Moroni appeared to Smith in September 1823.  The Sacred Grove (where God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, visited the 14 year old Smith in 1820) was just beyond that, but I was wearing cleats, and didn't have a way to lock up the bike... so I hopped back on the bike and returned to my planned route.

Once I got back to Rt 21, it was a couple miles to Hill Cumorah, where Smith received the Golden Plates containing the Book of Mormon in 1823.  The site is now the scene every summer of an incredibly elaborate pageant which recounts the history of the Mormon faith.  I saw it a couple of years ago for the first time - breathtaking.

I stopped only long enough to grab the pic shown below, then head for home.  It took a while to warm up when I got back... my toes were numb for the next half hour...