Barge on Mississippi River Archives

EXCITING NEWS FROM SERENDIPITY!!

April 3, 2015 by Gayle Harper Leave a Comment

Hello, my Friends!

I’ve got some VERY exciting news to share!

I have signed a contract to cruise on the Mississippi River aboard the American Queen Steamboat!

If you aren’t familiar, it is a stunningly gorgeous ship – the largest steamboat in the world, with a capacity for 436 overnight passengers! I’ll be an onboard presenter – sharing the adventures of our little raindrop with river-loving guests from all over the world.

I’ll be traveling with her from July 23 – 29 on the gorgeous piece of river between Dubuque, Iowa and St. Paul, Minnesota, and again on the return trip, presenting the Multimedia Slide Show and signing copies of “Roadtrip with a Raindrop: 90 Days Along the Mississippi River.”

The News!!

October 6, 2010 by Gayle Harper 10 Comments

Watching a towboat push its massive load of barges up or down river is a source of endless fascination to all. Watching it angle around a sharp bend or fit perfectly into a lock makes us marvel at the captain’s skill. Learning even a little about the tonnage that they carry, as we talked about in the post called “All Things to All Creatures” on September 23 (click here if you missed that) makes us marvel that’s it’s even possible. But, they are not accessible to us and we know very little about what it’s like out there.

Cairo – A Different Perspective

August 12, 2010 by Gayle Harper 6 Comments

Cairo, IL – pronounced not like the city in Egypt but more like KAY-RO

It’s an area perched on the invisible boundary between North and South. The states of Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas are all within 100 miles of each other and the accents, foods and ways of the people are a rich stew of these varied influences. It’s also a transition from one climatic zone to another, so the plants and animals native to each intermingle here.