Griggs family: A Day of Turmoil: Carthage Jail and A Tornado

Our day began with a trip to Carthage Jail.

This is my new favorite quote:

We started at the Visitor’s Center with a quick video telling about the Prophet Joseph Smith from people who knew and wrote of him.

Then we took a 20 minute tour of the jail itself.

Aric went first and took Riley with him, then we switched and I took Brayden on the next tour with me. Carter spent the entire time doing what he does best.

This is what the jail looks like from the inside: the jailer (a man named Stegall) and his family lived on the first floor of the jail.

The “Dungeon”: an upstairs room where the jailer moved the prisoners to ensure their safety. Coincidentally, this is where Willard Richards hid John Taylor, under a bed, after he had been grazed by a bullet in his hip, to make sure he would be out of danger. (The sister giving the tour said that the straw clotted the blood from his wound and the weight of the mattress stopped the bleeding from his hip.) Good thinking, Willard. The room where Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, John Taylor and Willard Richards were bombarded by the mob.

Joseph fell from the second story window to the well below.

My mood was a bit somber after touring the jail, but nothing could have prepared me for what our family would experience next. Here we are, in a convenience store in Monroe, Iowa, waiting out the TORNADO!

Seriously, what are the odds that a TORNADO would be in the same spot we would be. Are you kidding? Needless to say, Aric and I were more than a little freaked out when we noticed the sky turning black, the rain beating harder on the windshield and the headwind slowing our RV to about 30 miles per hour. The kicker was the fellow on the radio who told everyone to get off the road, find shelter, underground if possible. Within 10 minutes the storm went from a thunderstorm warning, to a tornado watch to a full blown tornado warning, with sirens wailing. I had to get a few pictures for posterity’s sake.

Did you notice how the clouds are starting to curl? That’s bad I’m told.

After sitting in the convenience store for about 30 minutes we were given the all clear and headed out to Nebraska. Can’t wait to see what adventures we have here.