Thursday, June 18, 2009

Visiting the Home of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn





I've lived in Missouri for over 25 years now, and this is my first visit to Hannibal, MO. I've read "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn" many times, but never visited the birthplace of their conception; it's about time I made this trip.




On the way to Hannibal, David and I stopped at the Locust Creek Covered Bridge and Pershing State Park. We have had a lot of rain, so the trek to the bridge was rather muddy. We managed to find some gravel covered spots and gingerly made our way to the bridge. It's hard to imagine all the commerce this bridge saw in it's hayday. The bridge was completed in 1868 and is the longest of the four remaining covered bridges in the state of Missouri. After World War II, the course of Locust Creek was altered and the creek became a dry creek bed. Care of the bridge became the responsibility of the Missouri State Park Board in 1968 and repairs and restoration of the bridge were completed in that year.




I looks like a lot of people like to leave their sign for others to see, just like prehistoric man! We leave our marks everywhere!!




Pershing State Park has some very nice camping spots, but it is not a park I would travel a long distance to visit. I would most likely stay there if I lived within 35 miles.




The last stop before we reached Hannibal was Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, we were there at the wrong time. We should have been there early in the morning or late in the afternoon. It is definitely someplace I would like to visit again.




I tried to get a photo of the swans, but they were too far away.


Tonight we had a very good pizza for dinner and tooled around Hannibal.

I took some photos, but they are a little blurry due to not using a tripod and high ISO, not to mention taking them from a moving vehicle (don't strain your eyes). I'm really looking forward to our day trips tomorrow, in spite of the heat wave! :)

This is where we had dinner. The pizza was very thin and crispy and the sauce was excellent.




Hannibal has some very beautiful, old buildings. Just don't try taking a photo from a moving vehicle at dusk!



We drove to the waterfront and saw the riverboat and the setting sun. Very nice, but still 91 degrees outside.






This little street was so scenic. Quite a few people were out and it looked like an outside concert was taking place on one of the side streets. I wish we could have stopped to listen.



This is supposed to have a scenic overlook. We will check it out tomorrow, with a tripod.




Until tomorrow....Goodnight folks!!