Monday 4-13-26 Hannibal Mo, Wakonda State Park & More

 

Sunrise on the Mississippi River

We had a hot muggy day with rain and wind.

The morning temperature was 67 degrees in Clarksville, MO. The high was 83 degrees in La Grange, MO. It sprinkled on and off all morning into the afternoon. It was very humid and windy. 

We woke up to a gorgeous sunrise on the Mississippi River at Silo Access Area. We didn't have power but it was very comfortable sleeping. I got out of bed before 7:00 to go to the bathroom. I decided I was awake so I stayed up. We put things away and secured. Then we had a quick breakfast. 

It had rained while we slept and there were some rain in the area. We decided to hang around at Silo for a bit to let the rain pass through. While we waited I continued reading A Stranger In The Kingdom. Larry did some research on where to go next. 

Relaxing with a book

At 9:30 we were on the road. Our next destination was Hannibal, MO, which was 40 miles from Silo. The road we took was The Great River Road Highway 79. It was a two lane curvy country road. It was a beautiful drive through Louisiana, which was a very small town. There were a lot of trees. As we drove we noticed we just missed the rain because the roads were wet.

The Great River Road sign for Missouri

Hannibal was the boyhood home of author Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain 1835-1910). He was known for his novels of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). 

 We arrived at Hannibal at 10:30 and parked in a public parking lot in a park by the Mississippi River. Then we walked around Hannibal. First stop was at Mark Twain Dinette for lunch. We shared a roast beef & cheddar melt and onion rings and a bottle of the homemade root beer. After lunch we walked around Hannibal. We climbed the 240 steps to the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse where there was a beautiful view of the Mississippi River. We walked where the old bridge was, that stretched across the Mississippi River. They have a very nice Memorial Park. At the bottom of the hill (Cardiff Hill), where the lighthouse was located there was a huge statue of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer made by Fredrick Hibbard in 1926. Then we walked through a few shops. When we got back to the park where the Minnie was we walked around. It had a very nice marina and benches along the bank of the Mississippi River for people to sit and enjoy the river. There's a riverboat, that takes people on cruises down the Mississippi and learn the history of the area. There's a big statue of Mark Twain. We had a very nice walk.    

Fun Fact:  Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse is 54 feet tall, 200 feet above the Mississippi River and 240 steps from the statue of  Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.

A mural of Hannibal

Downtown Hannibal

Mark Twain Dinette 

Homemade Mark Twain Root Beer

Our meal

 

Mark Twain Dinette sign

Memorial Park

Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn Statue

Riverboat cruise boat

Mark Twain statue

After our walk we continued our adventure for another 30 miles to Wakonda State Park. Before leaving Hannibal we stopped by the Walmart to pick up a few items we needed. 

We arrived at Wakonda State Park at 2:30. Larry couldn't make a reservation online because the park doesn't officially open up for the season until 4/15/26. We stopped at the office and Larry went inside. The gentleman told Larry to find a site and come back. There were two campgrounds, which were Boulder Lake and Wakonda Lake. We decided on Boulder Lake because it's not full hook-ups. We had no problem, no one was there. We picked #57, which looks over Boulder Lake (20 acre lake). Larry paid for two night. The gentleman said it's available until Friday night. 

Entrance sign to Wakonda State Park

Camping at Wakonda State Park

Boulder Lake

We backed the Minnie in site #57 and Larry plugged us in. We set the Minnie up for two nights. We were glad to hear, that the water was on in the shower house. 

After dinner we went on a walk around the campground to get familiar with it and where the trailheads are. Larry walked with me for a half hour, which was a mile. While we were walking we saw a few cottontails and a beautiful woodpecker. Then I continued walking around for another 2 miles. By the end of the walk I had done 3 miles for an hour and fifteen minutes. It was very hot and humid but there was a breeze. 

A couple of cottontails

I spent the evening playing games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Klondike Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 51 minutes and 38 seconds, which put me in 19th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

Larry started a book and stopped after reading 20% of it. He didn't like it so he picked a new one.

By the end of the night I had done 13,000 steps.