My trip is winding down. I left Bryce Canyon driving through southeast Utah, which is really desolate. Then it’s into Colorado, through Denver, and across the Plains states.
But I did have one more place I really want to stop.
[A repost from June 2012.]
Southeast Utah really is desolate. There really are only a few major roads that go through that part of the state. One of them gave me a chance to look at where I’d come from, the Glen Canyon/Escalante region.
Glen Canyon/Escalante From Afar
As is typical with Utah, there was spectacular scenery everywhere. Here is “The Fluted Wall”.
The Fluted Wall
Then it was into Colorado, where I went through the Vail Pass along I-70.
Vail Pass (over 11,100 feet above sea level)
But my next destination was Hannibal, Missouri, location of Mark Twain’s boyhood home.
I’ve taken a look at some of the movies about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, in The Disneyfication of Tom Sawyer, The Disneyfication of Huckleberry Finn, and Tom Sawyer: The Reader’s Digest Edition, with the last of those being the most faithful from a barefooting point of view.
So, what would Hannibal be like?
And, as an even bigger question, would they somehow decide that they could not tolerate a barefooted visitor?
It would not be unprecedented if they did not. After all, the Haverhill Library, home of John Greenleaf Whitters, writer of “The Barefoot Boy”, bans bare feet while simultaneously sponsoring a Barefoot Boy Look-Alike Contest.
I am happy to report that I had no problems touring all the exhibits barefoot, without anything more than one of the clerks asking me if I had lost my shoes.
The place did seem to celebrate the barefootedness of the boys. For instance, many rooms had “cardboard cutouts” of Tom.
Mark Twain’s Bedroom (if I remember correctly)
Down the street was a museum (where we got to see an actor portray Mark Twain) that also had various exhibits. Again, nobody made the slightest effort to keep me out. One thing that was a bit interesting, but annoying, was that this museum had the originals for Norman Rockwell’s paintings for a 1936 edition. While he did portray the boys barefoot in a number of situations, I was surprised and disappointed that Rockwell had them shod in a number of situations I would have expected bare feet.
But here is one of the classic ones.
He “meow’d” with caution once or twice
And of course, they have to have a statue. No messing around with it either. The boys are clearly barefoot.
The Tom and Huck Statue
It was nice to visit a place that actually seemed to celebrate the barefootedness.
And of course, since I have been a Mark Twain fan from way, way back, having a complete set of his works that I got from my grandfather, I thorough enjoyed seeing all of the memorabilia.
rockwell did exactly the same things what a society had expected from him at that time. no more, no less. he’s a great artist. and i like him.
i saw twain’s town in google street view. ugly place. and i’m very-very disapointed that you, americans, are so careless with one of your most famous authors. with one of my most favourible authors.
I’m guessing that you didn’t try a visit to the Mark Twain Cave complex. When I tried going there a few years ago they would not let me in in bare feet.
As for Hannibal itself, it never was a pretty city. Mark Twain himself described it as being seedy. Once one gets away from the downtown historic area, it really is just a small mid-western city were some of the people responsible for keeping this country running live and work ordinary jobs. They aren’t being careless, it just isn’t “Disneyfied”.