Hannibal, Missouri.

One of Mark Twain’s adventures involves a cave, a fugitive from justice, and two youngsters who leave a picnic to explore. That cave is real and was explored by young Samuel Clemens. Though his story of Tom and Becky and their run-in with Injun Joe weaves a suspenseful tale, the real story of the cave is much more macabre.

The Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, Missouri is a National Natural Landmark that has been open to the public since 1886. It is the oldest show cave in the state. Today, a guide provides the true and fictional descriptions of the cave and even points out a place where Samuel Clemens wrote his last name on the cave wall. Wikipedia notes the signature was authenticated by experts.

I tried to get a photo of the signature, but it was protected by a plexiglass cover and the photo I took was unusable. While I am on the topic of photos in the cave, please excuse the noise level in my photos. Even with my best noise-reduction app, noise removal wasn’t as good as I would have liked.

Wikipedia tells the real story of the cave and you can read about it here. This post basically summarized that article. The cave was originally discovered in the early 1800s by a man named Sims. The opening photo features an image of that discovery entrance. The cave was later renamed McDowell’s Cave after it was purchased by a surgeon named Joseph Nash McDowell in 1848. McDowell used the cave as a laboratory to experiment on dead bodies.

McDowell’s conviction that conventional burials ‘suppressed the spirit of the deceased,’ and that an alternative form of burial could enhance the connection between the living and the departed, resulted in a particularly infamous incident within the cave. This event, which served as an inspiration for Twain, unfolded when McDowell positioned his recently departed child, Amanda, within a preservative casket inside the cave’s laboratory area.

Samuel Clemens, the future Mark Twain, was about 13 years old when McDowell purchased the cave. He and his friends would often explore the cave, and Clemens would later draw inspiration from his experiences there for his writings.

In 1886, McDowell opened the cave to the public. It has been a popular tourist destination ever since. The cave is known for its beautiful formations, including stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstones. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including bats, spiders, and salamanders.

For over 50 years, tourists visited the Mark Twain Cave much as Mark Twain had in his youth, by candlelight or lantern. That changed in 1939 when electric lights were installed in the tour areas of the cave.

In 1923 Judge E.T. Cameron, who had been a guide at the cave as a young man, purchased the cave. He had served as manager of the cave property through a succession of owners in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Cameron was the first to establish standardized tour routes within the cave, construct a small building near the entrance for ticket sales, and advertise the cave in newspapers as “Mark Twain Cave.”

There are two caves in the area that are operated by the current owners, the Mark Twain Cave and the Cameron Cave. You can find details about hours and ticket pricing here. In addition, they are a tour aggregator that provides several other tour options for visitors to Hannibal.

John Steiner

Hannibal, Missouri.

So, this post is about a relatively new bridge named for a favorite son. But wait, there’s more… If you look closely, another bridge is behind the one in the foreground above. But first, the bridge in the foreground is a four-lane, Steel Truss Through Deck bridge with a total length of 4,491 feet (1,369 m). Completed in October 2000, the bridge is named after Mark Twain, who was born in Hannibal in 1835. Twain’s stories about the Mississippi River were inspired by his childhood in Hannibal, and the bridge provides a modern link to the river that played such an important role in his life.

The purpose of the bridge is to route traffic over the Mississippi River between Illinois and Missouri on I-72. The bridge is 62 feet (19 m) above the Mississippi. It replaced a bridge located a short distance downstream that carried traffic on U.S. Highway 36. That original bridge was demolished and traffic was redirected to the new bridge.

Just upstream of the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge is the Wabash Bridge. The bridge is only 20 feet (6 m) above the water. The majority of bridge sections are Steel Truss through Deck, but the westernmost section is moveable to allow water traffic to move up and downstream. Previously a swing span section, that section was replaced by a vertical lift section. That construction, completed in 1994, closed the single rail bridge for three days as workers removed the swing span and replaced it with a lift span relocated from a bridge over the Tennessee River in Alabama.

You can’t see it in the image above but immediately after reaching the western bank of the river, a sheer rockface required a tunnel be drilled through the high bluff. The current owner of the bridge is the Norfolk Southern Railway. For more details, check here.

An interesting additional detail about the bridge, as documented on Wikipedia here, involves a notable incident in 1982. During this time, a towboat experienced engine failure while navigating through robust river currents, while attempting to handle a convoy of 12 barges laden with grain. As a result, the vessel collided with one of the 250-foot (76 m) truss spans, leading to the span’s collapse into the river. This incident resulted in the entanglement of the tugboat and multiple barges, causing a disruption in river traffic for a period of nine hours. Furthermore, three of the barges managed to break loose from the entanglement and drifted downstream. Fortunately, none of those grain-filled barges struck the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge as they drifted downstream.

An interesting additional detail about the bridge, as documented on Wikipedia here, involves a notable incident in 1982. During this time, a towboat experienced engine failure while navigating through robust river currents, while attempting to handle a convoy of 12 barges laden with grain. As a result, the vessel collided with one of the 250-foot (76 m) truss spans, leading to the span’s collapse into the river. This incident resulted in the entanglement of the tugboat and multiple barges, causing a disruption in river traffic for a period of nine hours. Furthermore, three of the barges managed to break loose from the entanglement and drifted downstream. Fortunately, none of those grain-filled barges struck the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge as they drifted downstream.

For those who’d like to pixel-peep, these images can be viewed in 2K HD via my Flickr site here.

John Steiner

Hannibal, Missouri.

Planes, trains, automobiles… and ships. I don’t care about the mode of transportation, as long as I am traveling. Well, truth be told, airline travel is getting annoying. But I digress, this is about a short cruise on the Mississippi River, a cruise in the style of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. The Mark Twain Riverboat Cruise departs from the Center Street Landing and travels along the Mississippi River for one hour or two hours, depending on the type of cruise you choose. The two-hour excursion includes a buffet dinner in the large dining room, but our choice for this trip is the one-hour sightseeing cruise.

The Mark Twain Riverboat is a replica of a 19th-century paddle wheel riverboat. The boat has three decks, with indoor and outdoor seating. There is also a snack bar on board where you can purchase drinks and snacks.

Our captain, Steve, spent time on the bridge and on the exterior control set as he told stories of the river, of Mark Twain, and of the area around Hannibal. He had a first mate and a crew that managed the snacks and drink bar.

Behind the bridge, as we boarded, we chose our seats, then shortly before getting underway, we discovered there are a handful of seats in front of the bridge. That’s where I captured the opening photo of the captain as we got underway.

I think it’s a fort, and Captain Steve mentioned this building hidden from the river behind the trees. Of course, I didn’t write it down thinking that it would be an easy find in Google Maps. Well, I can’t find anything like it. There are no references that I could find of an existing fort/tourist attraction in Hannibal. I searched the things to do on TripAdvisor and saw nothing there either. If you, dear reader, know what this place is, let me know and I’ll update the post.

Just north of the landing, atop Cardiff Hill, a beloved play area of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and their companions, you will find the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse, nestled on a scenic 10-acre park. Constructed in 1935 to honor the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain’s birth, the lighthouse is a photogenic subject from the riverboat.

To reach the Lighthouse, take a journey of 244 steps leading uphill from the north end of Main Street in downtown Hannibal. Once you arrive at the Lighthouse, you’ll be treated to a panoramic view of Hannibal and the mighty Mississippi River. The Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse is an enchanting tribute to the beloved literary figure. So as not to disappoint, it’s important to note that while the surrounding area is open to the public, the interior of the Lighthouse is not open to the public.

Regular readers of this journal are probably aware of my love for bridges and their varied architecture. This bridge spans the Mississippi just north of Hannibal and carries I-72 traffic between Illinois and Missouri on I-72.

Just north (upstream) of the Interstate bridge, a railroad bridge spans the Mississippi. The Wabash Railroad Bridge is a vertical-lift section and carries a single railroad track across the Mississippi River between Hannibal, Missouri, and Pike County, Illinois. Prior to the construction of the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge, this bridge also carried traffic via U.S. Route 36 across the river. There will be more information about these bridges in a future post.

The river is home to far more freight barges than commercial passenger boats. On our short journey, we saw several barges being pushed upriver by high-powered tug boats. The barges in the image above were empty. If there were goods or products in the barges, those curved cover plates would have been extended to cover the load. There were fifteen barges in this tow, five deep and three abreast.

This chain of barges was so long, at this angle, I couldn’t get them all in a single image. With the barges in motion, I didn’t think a multiple-image panorama would be successful. This is another view of the fifteen barges being pushed by the large tug as they approached the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge.

Wikipedia came to my rescue for describing this working boat. Basically, a pusher, also known as a pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a specialized watercraft designed primarily for propelling barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries employing these vessels commonly refer to them as towboats. These boats feature distinct characteristics such as a square bow, shallow draft, and knees, which are large plates affixed to the bow to facilitate pushing barges of varying heights. Typically, they operate in rivers and inland waterways. A group of multiple barges lashed together, or a boat with attached barges is collectively known as a “tow,” and these tows can consist of dozens of barges.

Not all freight travels the Mississippi. I happened to spot a freight train sitting on the tracks just south of Hannibal. Near the engines, there were two vehicles with people at work.

The Mark Twain Riverboat has been a unique feature on the Hannibal Riverfront for more than 30 years. Whether you are looking to spend the day on the river taking in the sights or dining on the river at sunset, what’s not to like? I can’t rate the food on the dinner cruise since we opted for the 1-hour sightseeing version. I can recommend that cruise and thoroughly enjoyed Captain Steve’s narration. Their calendar this year (2023) has daily cruises through November 4. Times of the cruises vary so check with their website here for schedules and ordering tickets. We didn’t order online but stopped by the dock and picked up tickets about three hours in advance of our cruise. Of course, we were there in mid-September when there are fewer tourists around. You may want to order online to be sure you get tickets in advance.

John Steiner

Hannibal, Missouri.

Hannibal, Missouri is a small town of about 17,000 residents that you will find on the Mississippi River about two hours north of Saint Louis, Missouri. This little town attracts many visitors because of its connection to one of America’s pre-eminent authors.

Mark Twain, born Samuel Clemens, was brought into the world in Florida, Missouri in 1835. At the age of four, his family moved about thirty miles (48 km) to Hannibal, and he spent his remaining childhood there, leaving in his 17th year. It is well known that many of the characters in his books were based on people he grew up with in Hannibal.

In his honor, Hannibal reserved a large part of the city as the Mark Twain Historic District. The lighthouse on Cardiff Hill, the riverfront area, and properties on several downtown streets with some 55 buildings are included. From the riverfront, a short walk up Hill Street will bring you to his home. The stories of Tom Sawyer are really the stories of young Samuel Clemens. His house and the area behind Tom Sawyer’s fence are part of a Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum.

Directly across the street is the home of Tom’s sweetheart, Becky. These buildings are the “core” of Samuel Clemens’ life, and his alter-ego, Tom Sawyer. The buildings and landscape of this part of Hannibal were described in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” as St. Petersburg. Some of these places also appeared in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. There is a wonderful history of the historic district here.

Around the corner from Tom and Becky’s houses, Grant’s Drug Store building was built in 1836. Also known as the pilaster house, this building was partly built from timbers shipped by steamboat from Ohio. Those timbers were used to create the pilasters, one of which is in the photo above.

The home and museum are located in two buildings. The museum is open daily, but the hours are seasonal. You can visit the entire complex of open buildings for $14 per person at this writing, but if you want the museum only, it’s only $6. Seniors and students get a break, but check the website to order tickets in advance and to check the hours they are open.

Regular readers know that I am a big fan of lighthouses, so I had to include a photo of the nearby memorial lighthouse. Even though it’s a short walk to the lighthouse, we didn’t get time to visit the navigation aid before it was time for our Mississippi River cruise, so I settled for this image captured from the Mark Twain Riverboat.

A future post will focus on our journey on the Mississippi Riverboat, Mark Twain. It’s only a short walk from Tom Sawyer’s home to the river, so it’s no wonder that Samuel Clemens became such a fan of the river.

John Steiner

St. Louis, Missouri.

This week, Amy asks us to take a walk, a photo walk. She writes, “You are invited to share your photo walk, whether park, beach or street.” You can read her challenge post here.

In my travels to new places (for me), I’ve often looked for the local botanical garden to see some of the area’s natural plants and get a feel for the local habitat. That walk through the garden always presents itself with plenty of photo opportunities. For this post, I will share one of my favorite garden visits, a walk through the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Visit at the right time of year and you will be rewarded with many flowers to select and focus upon. This is one of my favorites, a profile of a lily. No matter what season you visit, though, there will always be something worth seeing at the gardens.

The Linnean House features plants that are not suitable for the natural climate of the region around St. Louis. It is the oldest public greenhouse that is still in operation. Originally it was built to house citrus trees in pots that were brought inside for the winter, but over the years, its purpose has changed to house a wider variety of plants.

During our visit, the greenhouse contained succulents and other desert plants. It brought us a reminder of our winter home in Arizona.

On our walk, leaving the Linnean Building, we meandered through the rose garden where a wide variety of roses attracted our attention.

We soon found a Victorian Garden complete with brick walkways and a statue. The geometric planting areas invited us to sit a spell and enjoy the view.

This garden is one of the biggest botanical gardens we have visited. I have many more images that I could share, but I will leave you with this view of a gazebo where we spent some time just enjoying the sights and smells of this beautiful garden. If you would like a more complete tour of this garden, visit my original post here.

Thanks again to Amy for suggesting we take a photo walk. It reminded me that this year, we have missed our visits to botanical gardens in our travels.

John Steiner

Last week, our Travel Tuesday visited the Missouri Botanical Garden. During that visit, I captured many images of individual blossoms from the wide selection available in the garden. You can check out last week’s post here. Not being a botanist, I won’t try to identify any of the flora I captured here. This post is simply here to share the beauty of the flowers in the garden. Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

Many of the photographs featured here can be purchased from my online store as framed artwork. To view the Framed Floral Gallery, click here.

John Steiner

For almost 160 years, the Missouri Botanical Garden has invited the state’s residents and tourists alike to enjoy the wonders of nature. Henry Shaw, a successful businessman, retired at the age of 39 and became a philanthropist who developed many St. Louis institutions.Today the garden is no longer part of Henry Shaw’s country estate. It is now in the middle of the city of St. Louis, and it attracts thousands of visitors annually.  People stroll through the 79 acres (31 Hectares) that features Shaw’s original residence, a large Japanese garden, rose garden and even a geodesic dome conservatory known as the Climatron. The image below features a view of one of the water features inside the dome. The people standing at the viewpoint should give you some idea of the size of the garden area inside the Climatron.

In addition to several gardens and the dome, the grounds contain several green houses. The Linnean House is featured in the image below. During the time of our visit, it was home to a display of desert plants.

There are so many gardens to visit, we couldn’t begin to see everything in the half-day we allotted in our travel schedule. Plan to spend a full day, you’ll be glad you did. The image below features a view of the pond in the Japanese Garden. The gallery features more images from the oriental garden. 

The Victorian District and Tower Grove House are popular attractions. The image below features a view from the Victorian Garden. Over 300 volunteers and staff members ensure that proper care is taken of the exhibits. There is even a large Plant Records database that tracks all the plants that are, or have ever been, in the garden.

The price of admission is quite reasonable at $8 USD. If you’re lucky enough to live in St. Louis City or County and can prove it, you can get in for half-price, and if you’re a resident senior it costs even less. Also for residents, admission is free on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings (check their website for exceptions.) The facility is open 9 AM to 5 PM daily. The gallery of images below features views of the gardens. Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery. Next week, expect a gallery of blossoms captured in the gardens.

John Steiner

Sometime during the last few days, Journeys with Johnbo passed a milestone. As of today, over 500 followers are tagging along on my photographic journeys.

For all of you, I am sharing a never-before-published photo. The Linnean House is a part of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Lynn and I spent a magical afternoon there exploring the grounds and enjoying the views.

In an upcoming Journey, I will have more images from the gardens. For now, I will just say that if you live close to this treasure, you are lucky indeed.

You can also find me on Facebook at my Photo By Johnbo page here.

Twitter users can find me @photobyjohnbo

I am looking forward to many more journeys in upcoming months. If you aren’t already a regular follower, hop aboard!

John Steiner

Yesterday evening we arrived home after a nine-day cross country trip from North Dakota to Tennessee and back. Our final destination in Tennessee found us in Hasty Hollow, just outside of Lynchburg, about an hour or so out of Nashville. This year, our Steiner Family Reunion brought us to the hollow where cell phone and Internet service are all but non-existent on mobile devices. 

Along the way, and during our stay in Tennessee, we visited several states that will be added to my list of state categories here in Journeys with Johnbo. Today’s Cellpic Sunday photo adds Missouri to my list, a sneak peek at the Missouri Botanical Garden in Saint Louis. This victorian garden was captured with a Samsung S7 and edited on an iPad Air. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple, the image must be captured and edited on a mobile device. More to come from the botanical garden in a future post.