“Mark Twain Cave — originally McDowell's Cave — is a show cave located near Hannibal, Missouri. It was named for author Mark Twain whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Clemens lived in Hannibal from 1839 to 1853, age 4 to 17.” Wikipedia

As my campground was at the cave, and the day was drizzly and wet, I decided to take a tour of the cave. Mind you, as I have aged, I have seemingly become more and more claustrophobic, and therefore wasn’t certain this was a tour I wanted to take. But, I told myself I had to get past the fears and ventured forth. The tour started with a short video about the cave. Near the end of the video the narrator stated if anyone was claustrophobic they should return to the ticket counter for a full refund. I just about turned around, but with the encouragement of a seven-year-old girl, I ventured into the cave with the group.

The group was large and the trail was narrow, I found myself at the back of the tour, mainly because I wanted to take pictures. On several occasions we could hear the guide talking but couldn’t really understand everything she was saying. We did hear the warning about her turning out lights behind us to prevent mold growing in the cave, and one time the lights went out and those of us at the back were in the dark. Luckily, the seven-year-old’s mother was quick with the light on her cell phone, and we continued on our journey.

There were some interesting things to see: the names written on the walls and ceilings, Jesse Jame’s hideout, different rock formations, and some beautifully lit areas. It was easy to imagine Sam Clemens and friends exploring and playing in the cave.

Other than the five seconds before the cell phone light came on in the dark, I never felt uncomfortable. I’m glad I took the hour-long tour, even if the price of admission seemed a little steep ($24.78).