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