Hannibal, Missouri

On our way to and from Nationals, we stopped in a little town called Hannibal. You know the one? Becky Thatcher, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn written by Mark Twain?
It is a great town! We are going back again! We toured the Mark Twain Cave - saw Jesse James signature - this is one of two hide outs that Tera has seen. The cave is so cool! Literally 52 degrees inside. People have been marking in the cave for hundreds of years! There were bats and a coffin (it had been removed, but we saw where it was stored), Jesse James treasure (found by the real Huck Finn)


This is hundreds of years of bats hanging from the ceiling leaving their mark. Way back when, the bats would literally hang on to one another and form curtains.

Tera and her friend sitting on the "couch" in the caves. They installed electrical power in 1976. Before that, the cave was lit with lanterns. Looking behind the girls is the soot from the lanterns. In 1950 or so, they came in and sand blasted the rock, so it would look like it did before all the wear and tear.
The ceiling
Lean to your right (I do not know how to flip pictures right now -- I am too tired!) That is the common sense rock. If you do not run into it, you have common sense :-)

The cave center had other activities besides the two caves. We only did one, but we are going back for the other!

Yes, you go to the store and buy a bag of sand that you then sluice. Dump the sand into the pan, let water run through and find your gems! Great marketing!

Look, she found a crystal point!

Then we went to the candle shop...She is hand dipping a mouse....

The finished product. It actually fell and broke his ear so we went back on our way home and he was re-dipped to feel better. He was also given a sister to comfort him. So we now have two blue mice for pets :-) The next stop? Lovers' Leap. Read the legend

Promontory where they jumped.

A drawing showing the two lovers opposite the legend.

WE ARE DONE!