Mississippi river: What is the best part of it? The culture, the serene beauty, the history, the music, the food, the water, the legends. Answer: All of them. The Great River Road runs from Mississippi head waters in northern Minnesota all the way to its mouth in Louisiana. The best part: You can drive through it. I know because I did it. I started from Louisianan and drove all the way up to Minnesota. An experience everyone should take. While, I am posting many posts about the great river, this post is mainly about serene calmness of its headwaters in Itasca State Park. The legends and search for Mississippi headwaters are known. Enjoy the humble start of the mighty river.
The word Hannibal evokes mixed emotions: A brilliant psychological thriller movie based on the violent novel by Thomas Harris, a recent TV series (I have not seen is, but highly acclaimed), and Mark Twain's hometown on the banks of Mississippi river. During my recent trip on the Great River Road, a must-visit was Hannibal. Little did I know, my visit coincided with the National Tom Sawyer Days, two and a half weeks long festival celebrating the most famous work of Mark Twain. The day I visited had fence painting competition (Genius! Whoever thought of the idea!), a mud volleyball competition, carnival, happy hour (Where everyone was invited!), and arts and crafts. These all in addition to Mark Twain's museum, his boyhood home, and many other homes from his childhood. The museum has sections of his books, its narration, movie clips and his inspirations behind some of the characters: one of the most memorable museums I have ever visited. The town was a living legacy of Mark Twain. They have been celebrating National Tom Sawyer Days from June 20th to July 7th for sixty years. (Wow!) Below are some pics from the town and the festival. Do not miss the video of the fence painting competition. The kids in the competition were dressed as Tom Sawyer. Enjoy other highlights from the Great River Road. The life is not enough to explore the Mississippi.
Olympic National Park and entire Olympic Peninsula are hundreds of acres of heavenly natural beauty. Twilight series was based in that area. I was mesmerized by sheer colors in the region. It had more colors of plants and flowers and shrubs than I can find in MS word. The most colorful trail I have ever walked was the Hall of Mosses in Hoh Rain Forest. If someone asks what should be done before dying, I would say walk the hall of mosses. The green carpeted trees, shrubs and branches were otherworldly. Looking at them I could sense the depth of the green layer. I was there in early November - late fall season there. Red and brown leaves were scattered and they were falling graciously one by one like putting on a performance for us. Except for the trail where people have walked, every inch was taken by the dense vegetation. My eyes had seen neither the many colors before nor the many shades of green. Accommodating all colors in five pictures is impossible, but I hope the five pictures below are enough highlight to motivate everyone to visit this place. Enjoy bonus videos at the bottom.
