Adventures of the Imagination In Mark Twain’s Hometown

In the few weeks that we’ve been on our Read Across America Road Trip, my son has developed several life ambitions.   When he grows up, he wants to be a(n): architect, geologist, paleontologist, or cowboy.  That’s just from exploring a few book settings over three weeks.

If nothing else, this learning vacation has served to expand the boundaries of our imagination.

Exploring Tom Sawyer’s World

It’s a small town, and you could easily see every bit of it within a few hours, but then you’d miss discovering what it’s like to see this river town from the perspective of an imaginative child.

We could’ve gotten a cheap motel room for about $50, but we chose to set up our tent at the Injun Joe Campground, thinking this was part of the Tom Sawyer experience.

Lured by ads for go carts, batting cage, and go karts, the kids chose this campground over the Mark Twain Campground.  Well, we learned our lesson.  Although these rusty amenities were available, we never touched them.  It takes a LOT of imagination to call this a campground.  (My kids call it a trailer park.)

Setting up our tent, we were fairly happy with our new home.  We’d found a spot far from the RVs that looked like they’d long forgotten the feel of the open road, and with judicious placement of tents, we were able to ignore the litter on our site.  That first night, we relaxed in our fancy screened in room, and listened to Tom Sawyer on audiobook. 

On the first night, we woke to the sounds of torrential rains.  It poured, and continued to pour throughout the day and following night.  Our gear was saturated with Mississippi River mud that promises to be a reminder of our trip for a long time to come.

The second night, we managed to lock ourselves out of the car.

Discovering Mark Twain’s Hometown

Fortunately, the rest of the trip wasn’t nearly as eventful.

In Hannibal, MO we visited Mark Twain’s boyhood home, an interpretive center, and a children’s museum.  None of these took long to explore, but all were well worth the visit. 

Beware, the gift shop is well-stocked with the kind of items that appeal to mischievous children.

Some kids may learn lessons that we may prefer they never learn.  Here’s the “real” Tom Sawyer fence:

And another in the Children’s Museum:

We skipped one of the popular attractions, the steamboat ride, but we went in for a closer look at the Mississippi River:

Personally, I preferred the Mississippi Mud Malt at the Mark Twain Dinette, served with real southern fried chicken:

Afterwards, we worked off some of this rich food with a climb to the top of Cardiff Hill, and a view of where Tom Sawyer supposedly played at pirates.

Our favorite attraction was the Mark Twain Cave.  We’ve explored more geologically exciting caverns, but this one comes with a doozy of a story.  Not only do you get the full Tom Sawyer tour, but you learn about the real-life cave inhabitants, including Jesse James and the doctor who stored a dead child.

Alex was just mesmerized by the cave, and the prospect of treasure.  For that day, at least, he planned to grow up to be a geologist.  He donned his miner’s hat, and went in search of underground treasure.  Although he had to leave Injun Joe’s treasure on sight, he was thrilled to discover and keep piece of “pure” limestone.  It may look like glass to some, but to the imaginative mind this is a rare jewel.

There comes a time in every rightly-constructed boy’s life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.  Mark Twain, Wit and Wisecracks.

Related:

Alex: Review of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn

Kayla: Tom Sawyer; Huck Finn 

Photos On Flickr: Read Across America Road Trip – Hannibal, MO

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