Westward, Ho! Day 16: A hike, a drive to Florida, a Shrine, a mod to the soft top and another Dam

Busy day today as you might surmise from the the posting's title.

Before breakfast, while it was still cool, I rode Yagi over to the nearby trailhead for the Hickory Bluff  Overlook Trail.  Its only 2.5 miles to said overlook, and the only major hassle was continually walking into spider webs spun across the dang trail!  Rather disturbing, especially when you don't spot them first to clear them away with a stick.

The overlook's view proved boring and more of a vista as there were lots of trees in the way.  However, on the way back, I spotted some interesting fungi and wood remnants:

These mushrooms were the size of dinner plates!

This wood fragment left over from when the tree was cut down

reminded me of a cityscape at first, then a 3D image of an audio wave form.

Getting back on Yagi, I rode over to the boat ramp next to the Blackjack Marina, located next to the campground, and was able to catch the water almost mirror smooth:

Heading over to check out the marina, I saw the Park Ranger's patrol boat heading out onto the lake, note the large pair of outboard engines on this craft:

After breakfast and close to 9:30AM, I drove out on the Sammy to visit Florida.  The town of Florida, MO that is.  The town which was the birthplace of Samuel L. Clemens, better known as Mark Twain.

The Mark Twain State Park is located near Florida and is the site of the Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site, or Shrine.  It's a neat museum, with free admission, with the main display being the house that Samuel Clemens was born in.

The house is inside the shrine building, having been moved there from its location in the nearby town of Florida.

Samuel L. Clemens aka Mark Twain

Born under Halley's Comet, died when the comet came back next.

Quite the coincidence don't you think?

1835-1910

Here's a shot of the house's main room:

A shot from the other side of the main room:

The second of the two rooms comprising the house, the bedroom:

In case you ever see one in a second hand bookstore:

This is apparently the story that launched Mark Twain's career as a celebrated author:

The Sammy in front of the Shrine Building

Driving over to the town of Florida, which is now just a self-described RV/Cabin settlement, I checked out the marker where Mark Twain's house had originally been located:

Yep, the bust is now in the museum

If you like Mark Twain's writing, and you're ever near Florida, MO, I recommend you check out the shrine/museum.  He's Missouri's favorite son I think, with lots more places dedicated to his memory.

On the way back to the campground, I spotted and got this picture of a low flying crop duster plane:

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading my book in the shade of the VRRV's awning in somewhat warm but not too hot weather.

After seeing a suggestion on the Samurai group forum on Facebook, I decided to try folding the soft top on the Sammy to emulate a Safari Top.  A Safari Top is basically the roof only, all the sides and rear window are folded up or removed.

I can't remove the sides on the Sammy's soft top of course, as its not designed that way.  But with some careful folding, some Velcro ties, a strap  and some small bungie cords, I got this:

So, what do you think?  I kind of like it.

I drove the Sammy over to the Clarence Cannon Dam, a few miles to the east of the Ray Behrens Rec Area to test the security of the Safari Top's lashings.  All good, got up to 65 mph at one point, with no issues.

I then drove some more, heading west towards the small town of Perry, MO.  Again, the Safari Top stayed right where it was supposed to; and I got gas in town before heading back to camp.

Busy day seemingly but really not.  I plan on checking out the dam again in the early morning tomorrow as the light will be shining on the spillway side I think.  There's also the visitor center to check out later in the morning as well.