It probably goes without needing mention, but for the sake of completeness let me say that July 4th weekend along the MIssissippi is hot and humid. Such was the case when we were there so an hour underground at 52 degrees was welcome.
The Mark Twain Cave is Missouri's oldest show cave. The cave was discovered in the early 19th century. In the late 1840s Hannibal doctor Joseph McDowell used the cave as a laboratory for his experiments with human corpses, including his 14-year old daughter. Families from Hannibal would picnic in and near the cave to take in the natural air conditioning. In 1876 two kids got separated from their schoolmates and spent several days in the cave trying to avoid a homicidal injun. Jesse James laid low in the cave after robbing a cave in 1879.
Today the cave is more sedate. There's a one-hour tour led by a local teenager spouting cave history and facts as well as unfunny jokes. This reminds me of the first law of cave tours: Cave tours are best when led by teenagers spouting puns and unfunny jokes. The worst cave tours are given by adults who take their caves way too seriously.
The tour was pretty good. We saw a lot of the spots mentioned in Tom Sawyer. There were so many twists, turns and unexplored passageways that it was easy to imagine Tom and Becky getting lost.
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