003 (Grade 6) Slanted Wayside Panel: The First Hurdle 621 words / Panel Description: 4.5 minutes
In front of you, is a slanted panel 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall, about 3 feet off the ground, directly behind the panel, is a wood fence with posts about every 4 feet. 2 wood planks run between the posts. You are near the middle of Riverview Park, which has scattered deciduous trees. About 3 feet to your left, there is a paved sidewalk. Taking the sidewalk to the left and you will get to a wood gazebo with a picnic table. Cross the sidewalk and continue straight across the park to get to a playground. Taking the sidewalk to the right, will get you an opening in the fence that leads to a gravel road. You can cross the gravel road to reach the banks of the Mississippi River.
There is a black banner across the top on the panel. Left side text reads Montrose Riverfront Park. Right side of the panel has the white, orange, and black triangular logo for the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.
Title: The First Hurdle. Main text: After the wagon train ferried across the Mississippi River, the Mormon pioneers set up camp about 5 miles, or 8 kilometers, away at Sugar Creek. The area had ample wood and water, but many travelers were not prepared. They faced extreme cold, snow, freezing rain, mud, sickness, and death. Bonded by faith and collective hardship, travelers shared supplies as they could.
The emigrants camped at Sugar Creek for nearly a month. Brigham Young and others went back and forth to Nauvoo. They concluded business and picked up more supplies. The group was uncertain about their route, destination, or future. But hopeful to find a new home out west, they pressed onward.
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Secondary Text: Temperatures dropped so low in the early months of 1846 that the Mississippi River froze. It became an ice bridge. More travelers scrambled to cross and join the journey west. End of Text
The background for the panel is a painting, which shows emigrants crossing the frozen river in a snowy winter landscape. In the background, is the town of Nauvoo, densely filled with buildings, the Nauvoo Temple, rises above all other buildings. 2 rows of covered wagon caravans extend from Nauvoo across the river toward the foreground of the painting. The wagons are led horses, mules and oxen. In the middle of the river, the wagons cross over a small snow-covered and vegetated island. In the foreground, several wagons cross onto the snowy white banks of the Montrose side of the river. Several Adults, children, and a couple of dogs are depicted walking alongside the wagons, while other emigrants are huddled together in their wagons.
In the top left corner of the panel, is a map. North is up. It depicts the wide Mississippi River in blue which curves from top to bottom on the right. The narrower Des Moines River curves from top left and meets the Mississippi River in the bottom right. Representing the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail is a curvy purple line that runs across the top half of the map. The trail starts at Nauvoo, Illinois, on the east side of the Mississippi River, and continues across the river to Montrose, Iowa, where you are, and continues west. In the middle of the map, Sugar Creek Camp is highlighted.
Text below map: By the end of February, about 3,000 emigrants had gathered here. They were ready to cross almost 300 miles, or 480 kilometers, of winter-bare Iowa prairie. End of Text
In the bottom right corner of the panel, is a QR code that you can scan with a mobile device to explore more about this wayside, including audio description.
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