Church History Sites--Independence Rock

After leaving Martin's Cove, we swung on over to Independence Rock. Independence Rock was a major landmark for all pioneers heading West. It was so named because if you reached it before Independence Day, you were making good time (and would avoid any harsh winter weather). Several pioneers who passed by it left their mark by carving their names and the date they passed through; some of these carvings even date back to the 1850's when the Mormon pioneers first came through. It was neat to see and be in a place that our forefather's had been.

Signs for Independence Rock:




Here is an example of one of the early carvings (notice the date--July 4, 1850):


Tyler and Travis were among the first of our group to climb the rock, making a quick scale of it.


Seeing his uncles go before him, Gavin started climbing up right after them. When they came down some to help him up (all of us being a little concerned), he said "No. I do it myself." What a trooper!


Daddy Dave taking Megan up:


Tyler and Cassie climbing the rock. (This picture gives you an idea of how steep the rock was.)


When we neared the top, it suddenly got VERY windy (you can kind of tell from this picture.) So, our stay on top of the rock was not very long. =) We did get the chance to see several of the carvings though, which was neat.


Queen of the rock!


Monuments on the rock for those who had passed it on their migration West. (The second one from the right on top was for the Mormon pioneers.)


I'm glad we got the opportunity to climb Independence Rock.