GMRR Day 17 - Louisiana, MO to Hannibal, MO

The link to today's route and ride statistics is here.

First, due to last night's internet issues, here are a few photos from yesterday.  I should mention that we have finally had some tailwinds, so the long ride was not so bad.  The course was nice, with a fair amount of riding along the river.   As I said, we spent most of the day in Illinois, even though we started and ended in Missouri.

View looking back at St Louis from about 10-12 miles upriver.  We had worried about rain, but no problems.

Riding along the Mississippi in Illinois.
 
Brussels Ferry coming to pick us up to cross the Illinois River.

House on stilts along the river.

Downtown Louisiana.  We ate on the left corner.  The river is straight down the street.

Finally, to close the day, here is a Louisiana house for my wife.  To give you a feel, the Louisiana High School Class of 2016 was 51 students strong.

Now to turn my attention to today.  We woke up to a steady rain, and the prospects were iffy for the morning. The good news is the rain stopped about an hour before load, and, at the most, we had maybe a few drops for the rest of the day.  The humidity was up there, and my jersey was soaked when we got in.
The ride was short and sweet, with a few of the famous Missouri hills and rollers thrown in.  I saw 15% grade on a least two hills, and several at 10% or so.  None of them were so long I couldn't make it, so it was just a good challenge.  We had one SAG stop in New London, which is noted for the courthouse.  Here it is.

Once we got in to Hannibal, it was Mark Twain and more Mark Twain.  He is clearly a major source of revenue for the city.  Ken and I took the tour of the boyhood home, Becky Thatcher's house, and a couple of related museums.  Here are some highlights.

Mark Twain's boyhood home.  The interior tour shows how they lived.  He was the sixth of seven children.  Pretty tight quarters.

Becky Thatcher's home across the street.

Main tourist street in Hannibal.  Note the Hotel Mark Twain in the distance.

And finally, a statue of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.  I very much enjoyed wandering around town, and learning more of the Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain story.