Mark Twain State Park and Hannibal MO

       

Since so much of our visit to Mark Twain State Park involved taking care of the car here are pictures with captions of what else we did there

On the way to the campground we crossed vast areas of nothing but fields.  The roads through them were unpaved and seeing a car speeding along with its dust trail was not unusual.

We crossed the bridge over Mark Twain Lake on Rte 107 on the way to the campground

Our first night's sunset.  Although they were pretty all the other evenings, this day's was particularly so.  The day had been hot and there was some haze in the sky which caught the sun's rays.

The buzzards were all over and frequently overhead but would gather in the late afternoon in anticipation of scraps left from fishermen who'd cleaned their catch right next to our campsite.  They are not particularly pretty birds but they looked fantastic as the sun shined through their wing feathers.

We took a walk and the colors of the trees against the deep blue of the sky was gorgeous

As was the path that was lined and covered with trees.  The sun was high in the sky and we felt like we were in a light show

We walked down to the lake and marveled at the cliffs and colors

We saw no deer while we were in the campsite but as we left the campground on our way to Hannibal there were 2 young ones grazing at the entrance.  They seemed non-plussed to see humans and a car and only leapt into the woods as we got alongside them.

Entering Hannibal from the river-which we didn't-we drove in and it was less scenic

Buildings on Main St in Hannbal

We try to sample local fare wherever we go and though mostly meat we've enjoyed most of it. This is called a Maid-Rite and it's a loose ground beef burger, somewhat like a Sloppy Joe without the sauce.  It's messy to eat but tasted good.

After lunch we visited the very interesting Mark Twain Museum Gallery.  It covered his adult life and had a number of interesting displays about his many careers and a wonderful exhibit of the Norman Rockwell artist's proofs and oil paintings of the illustrations he did for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Sadly, because we did not want to keep Wayne's car too long we did not have time to see all the houses and the Mark Twain boyhood home.  

The Mississippi River from Hannibal MO

Riverboat Mark Twain

Before we left Florida (MO) and the Mark Twain State Park we visited the Historic Site.  Within the building is the cabin in which Samuel Clemens, AKA Mark Twain, was born.  Another instructive and interesting museum, we not only saw personal belongings of the family's but furniture from MT's New York City apartment and a collection of other memorabilia.  I remarked on the number of Mark Twain Museums (there is at least one other in Hartford, CT where he and his family lived for many years) and it's rather a good thing that everything is not amassed in one HUGE place but in a number of locations and as many people as possible can learn about him.  Then again, I have a personal affinity for the guy...his quotes are often ones I agree with.