On the Trail of the Buffalo:
Our 2010 Vacation to the Badlands and Black Hills

Day one: We drove northward, following the Mississippi (and the highways) north from Memphis through St. Louis and on to Hannibal,Missouri.

Day two: Hannibal, Missouri, childhood home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

Most of the Hannibal Mark Twain landmarks appeared a bit hokey from the outside, with the Clemens house very ordinary and such items as the Becky Thatcher House (right) and the Huckleberry Finn cabin obviously fictional.

However, there is more to Hannibal than the exterior of the buildings. The Mark Twain Museum Gallery was wonderful. Along with some interactive items for kids (and overaged kids; see the pilothouse below), there were antiques, a surprisingly good Norman Rockwell painting series of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, various artifacts, and the like. The museum was also featuring an American folk music exhibit when we visited, a delightful display which featured snatches of music from a wide ranger of blues and folk artists.

The Mark Twain house was authentically furnished, but the pervasive series of Twain statues (every room was 'occupied') detracted from the scene.

Delightfully, we found more to do than painting Tom Sawyer's fence (below, right).

 Becky Thatcher House
Pilothouse in Twain museum Tom Sawyer fence
From the Twain museum

From the Mark Twain Museum Gallery and the Twain house

The kids

 Artifacts from the Twain Museum
One of the highlights of Hannibal was the range of classic cars parked on the streets (or, in the case of the Studebaker truck, moving on the streets). I don't know if we were just missing a car show or what.
Classic Packard Studebaker Truck Classic Studebaker
The Mark Twain steamboat was just too far from authentic, what with a pair of propellers providing the propulsion from beneath a fake paddle wheel. However, the river was authentic -- the Mississippi at minor flood stage. Mississippi River Another Packard
Mississippi River Mark Twain steamboat Mark Twain steamboat

We left Hannibal about noon, crossing Missouri and heading north through western Iowa to South Dakota. Somewhere late on the northern swing, Allison snapped this incredible shot of the declining sun. We made the westward turn and hit Mitchell, South Dakota around dark. A short drive from Mitchell took us to Wall, South Dakota and the Badlands the next day.

Western sunset with clouds

On to the Badlands