Photographer ~ Author ~ Traveler
Happy Holidays, my dear friends!
I remember well the moment I took this photo. I was bundled in boots, hat, gloves and multiple layers of jackets and I was FREEZING! I watched this great blue heron walking on the snow on those spindly little legs, wading in the frigid water and fishing, seemingly not the least bit uncomfortable. What a miracle, I thought! How does he do that?
The winners of this prestigious award will be announced in June at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference to be held in San Francisco. Keep your fingers crossed, my friends…but, whatever happens, I am humbled and honored to have it included as a Finalist!
Calhoun County, Illinois
Hello my friends!!!
LOTS of news from Serendipity-land!
FIRST – I’m very excited to share with you the BRAND NEW BOOK TRAILER – Just posted! Here’s the link…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0zmzxmkj4s
If you are a follower on the Author Facebook page www.facebook.com/GayleHarper.MississippiRiver you’ve seen the wonderful media coverage lately for Roadtrip with a Raindrop!
You can also go to the “News” tab on gayleharper.com where you’ll find links to radio & tv interviews as well as newspaper and magazine articles about our little raindrop!
The calendar for the year is looking VERY busy!
Whew! It’s SO good to have you back!
In the process of rolling the existing blog into the brand-new website gayleharper.com , there were a few technological hiccups! For a period of weeks, my ability to communicate with you through this blog wasn’t working! Then, there was that random re-send of an archived post from waaaayyyy back! Technology is SWEET when it works and hair-pullingly frustrating when it doesn’t!
AND the good news is, the issues seem to be resolved and I’m told we are solidly reconnected!
Hello!!
I’ve missed you! Things in Serendipity-land have been fun and exciting, although sometimes keeping up with it feels a bit like trying to drink from a fire hose! It is time, however, to stop and catch up with my friends!
First, the book is coming along wonderfully! The copyedit is finished and we are moving into layout and design, choosing a photo for the cover and diving into a thousand other decisions and details. I’m SO thankful for the amazing team of experts working on this. We expect to have books in your hands by the fall!
Effigy Mounds National Monument is a fascinating and sacred place along the Upper Mississippi in a beautifully rugged region of northeast Iowa. The earthen mounds protected here by the National Park Service were built by prehistoric American Indian people between 800 and 1200 years ago. Some of the mounds are burial sites, while others are believed to be ceremonial, but many mysteries remain.
At precisely the perfect time, while up to my eyeballs in alligators during the Kickstarter campaign, Cathy Dondanville, a reader and a friend who I had not yet met, invited me to visit her home overlooking the Mississippi. Knowing that it would be the perfect way to recharge before the next busy phase of this project, I gratefully accepted.
Cathy’s home in the quiet farming community of Calhoun County, Illinois, is best reached by ferry as it sits on a sort of peninsula between the Illinois and the Mississippi Rivers. She is a fabulous cook and a gracious hostess – AND this is her backyard!
A Treat
First, here’s a splash of fall – a bit of calorie-free “eye candy,” (as someone commented on the Facebook page) as my thank you to you.
This was taken at Pere Marquette State Park near Alton, Illinois. From river level, the trees appeared mostly green, but looking down from the bluffs, the color took my breath away!
Thank You
Two things about this journey come together to keep me arriving in every new place as a blank slate. The first is that each day is so completely absorbing that it never allows time to look ahead to what is coming next. The second is that because all of my lodging arrangements were made by others, the incredible variety of places I have stayed has been a constant surprise.
I slept like the dead after my first jam-packed day in Memphis and I’m coming back to life slowly. The city below my hotel room window is still fast asleep, but I have an early date with the River and the friend of a friend.
Yesterday, at the end of a laugh-filled and surprise-filled day, my new buddy Diana Threadgill (who will be another day’s tale), suddenly said, “Oh my gosh! You have got to meet my friend, Joe Royer! I am calling him right now!” Then, quicker than I could say, “Serendipity,” Joe and I had made a plan to meet early this morning to get out on the Mississippi River in his sea kayak.